A useful accessory for serious off roaders
f...@leland.stanford.edu
and folks who travel far from civilization is an EPIRB.
An EPIRB (Emergeny Position Indicating Radio Beacon) is a small transmitter
powered by lithium batteries (for long storage life) that transmits
on international emergency frequencies.
It has a simple on/off switch. It will even transmit to satellites. Aircraft
and other emergency response units can triangulate to find the location
of the transmitter anywhere in the world.
I have one for my small boat and I take it when traveling the outbacks of the
western US.
For use only in serious emergencies it could get help when no other method
would work.
They are available at modest cost from marine supply stores like West Marine.
Just thought I'd pass this idea on to others.
Frank
John A. Mooney
transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
Thanks for your information.
John
f...@leland.stanford.edu wrote in article
<6v0p77$4um$1...@nntp.Stanford.EDU>...
Chris Phillipo
>
> Interesting sounding piece of technology. However, is the frequency it
> transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
> if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
> breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
>
If it's anything like an avalanche transciever, the signal is always
on. It's only meant to be a beacon to people that know you are missing
and are looking for you.
--
__________________________________
Remove "delme" from email address to reply.
f...@leland.stanford.edu
In fact, it is a serious offense to turn them on in a non-emergency situation.
As I recall you can test them only in the first few minutes of the hour. You
need an aviation radio or similar to pick up the chirping signal they emit.
I have heard anecdotes about people who have accidentally activating one
and having curious authorities appearing shortly thereafter.
Frank
In <01bded81$26842340$9401430c@mooney>, "John A. Mooney" <jamo...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>Interesting sounding piece of technology. However, is the frequency it
>transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
>if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
>breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
>
Larry Hackler
are required on a lot of aircraft. There are two sets of satellites that
track these signals, one Russian and one American. They can locate the
source of the signals on the earth's surface. The information is then sent
to a Search & Rescue organization (I believe either Civil Air Patrol or Air
Force). These people can dispatch search vehicles to the location.
They take it very serious. Though there have been some notable problems
with the system. It seems to be improving all the time. They are not
heavy and they sure can be a life saver. I would recomend using one only
in the event of a life threating situation. I would expect you would get
in a lot of trouble if you used it because you had a flat. These
organizations can easily spend thousands of dollars while conducting a
search for you. Also, other people could lose their lives because the
resources were looking for you.
Anyone, I'm going to buy one, and use it for that purpose.
John A. Mooney <jamo...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in article
<01bded81$26842340$9401430c@mooney>...
(Pete Cresswell)
>Interesting sounding piece of technology. However, is the frequency it
>transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
>if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
>breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
The high-end ones are registered in your name. And yes, the freq is monitored
24-7...I think they use a satellite system...
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell
f...@leland.stanford.edu
The expensive ones are registered. Some are mounted on boats in a way, that if
the boat goes down, they float free and turn on automatically.
The inexpensive ones ($200-300) are not registered and are not much larger than
a couple of packs of cigarettes - and they are waterproof.
Don't use them unless there is a life threatening situation.
Frank
jga...@my-dejanews.com
"John A. Mooney" <jamo...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Interesting sounding piece of technology. However, is the frequency it
> transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
> if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
> breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
>
I know that these are used on boats. The ones I have seen have been
automatically triggered by being submereged in water or are attached to a life
raft. This is probably an indication of how severe the emergency has to be
before you activate them: If it's under water or you need a life raft, you
probably need the Coast Guard too. I didn't realize you could use them on
land, but you learn something new every day.
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
f...@leland.stanford.edu
The inexpensive ones are manually activated. They work anywhere in the world -
depending on the responsiveness of the local authorities.
Aircraft carry similar units.
I looked in my West Marine catalog. They start at $230.
Frank
Bill Smotrilla
Radio license. Such a model would be illegal for land based operation. (Which is
picking nits if it saves your life). I think carrying one of the small handheld
tranceivers that covers aircraft frequencies would be useful as well.
Bill
f...@leland.stanford.edu
a license - so I don't know about that. These inexpesive units are
"Class B" and operate at 121.5Mhz and 406.0Mhz. One unit is said to
meet FCC rules for enhanced satellite detectability.
The satellites that detect these signals relay the info to NOAA who sends
it along to the proper agency.
The best fix from a satellite is a 12mi circle. I believe local S & R can
triangulate the signal as they get closer but I don't know the details.
Still - when you are far from the road (in distance or time) and there is a
life threatening emergency - its better than nothing.
More info can be had from West Marine or a manufacturer.
Frank
mangey
water crossings.
Larry Hackler
people say they were illegal. Where did you get your information? I would
like to find where in the FCC or other regulations it says they are illegal
for use on land.
Thanks,
Larry
===========
Bill Smotrilla <NOSPAM4MEbi...@tivoli.com> wrote in article
<3615096B...@tivoli.com>...
> Depending on the model you buy and the frequency it uses, it may require
a Marine
> Radio license. Such a model would be illegal for land based operation.
(Which is
> picking nits if it saves your life). <snip>
Paul Hovnanian
>
> Are you sure they are illegal? I didn't think so, but I too have heard
> people say they were illegal. Where did you get your information? I would
> like to find where in the FCC or other regulations it says they are illegal
> for use on land.
A good page with info on EPIRBs, ELTs and PRBs. My guess is that the
PRB (Personal Locator Beacon) is what 4x4s will end up using, but
not quite yet for most of us.
http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/SARSAT/emerbcns.html
Read this (including the links to USCG and other sites) and draw
your own conclusions about legality.
--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:hovn...@bcstec.ca.boeing.com
Send spam to: postm...@mouse-potato.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him.
Larry Hackler
activated EPIRB, register it with NOAA, and use it if I ever have a life
threating emergency in the wilds and need help. It seems very legal to me.
I would buy the PRB if it were available, but it is not.
For those of you that are really interested, the web site Paul referred to
has a lot of good information on it.
Larry
Paul Hovnanian wrote in message <361A2DFF...@bcstec.ca.boeing.com>...
David Stockton
>
> Interesting sounding piece of technology. However, is the frequency it
> transmits on being monitored continuously? By whom? I guess I'm wondering
> if anyone would notice the new signal if I turned the unit on after
> breaking down in the wilds of Montana in the middle of the night.
>
Their signals are received and located by many satellites.
A stolen beacon was unintentionally activated, according to news reports
several years ago, a Soviet (this was before the big changes) satellite
was reported as the first to detect it. Police found the beacon in a
wardrobe in a house in Glasgow.
These things have no half measure, they just announce that someone is in
danger. Emergency rescue measures are put in place as if many lives
depend on speed of response. At sea, ships are diverted to the area,
air-sea searches are started. Activation for anything other than a life
and death emergency could prove to be amazingly expensive. The
assumption is that an automatic beacon activation with no other (say
inmarsat) communication about the problem implies that no-one is in a
fit condition, or that everything has sunk.
A useful tool for a genuinely serious emergency.
Cheers
David
Paul Hovnanian
>
[snip]
> These things have no half measure, they just announce that someone is in
> danger. Emergency rescue measures are put in place as if many lives
> depend on speed of response. At sea, ships are diverted to the area,
> air-sea searches are started. Activation for anything other than a life
> and death emergency could prove to be amazingly expensive. The
> assumption is that an automatic beacon activation with no other (say
> inmarsat) communication about the problem implies that no-one is in a
> fit condition, or that everything has sunk.
It depends on whether you register your transmitter. I believe that,
with a registered unit, the first step SAR folks do is to contact the
owner. In the event that the transmitter was inadvertently activated
and this can be verified, no SAR resources are expended. In the
event of no answer, of course they start looking.