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Types of EPIRBs
Emergency position indicating radiobeacons (EPIRBs), devices which cost from $200 to about $1500, are designed to save your life if you get into trouble by alerting rescue authorities and indicating your location. EPIRB types are described below: Class A 121.5/243 MHZ. Float-free, automatically-activating, detectable by aircraft and satellite. Coverage is limited. An alert from this device to a rescue coordination center may be delayed 4 - 6 or more hours. Class B 121.5/243 MHZ. Manually activated version of Class A. Class C VHF ch15/16. Manually activated, operates on maritime channels only. Not detectable by satellite. These devices are being phased out by the FCC and are no longer recommended. Class S 121.5/243 MHZ. Similar to Class B, except it floats, or is an integral part of a survival craft. Category I 406/121.5 MHZ. Float-free, automatically activated EPIRB. Detectable by satellite anywhere in the world. Category II 406/121.5 MHZ. Similar to Category I, except is manually activated. Some models are also water activated. Inmarsat E 1646 MHZ. Float-free, automatically activated EPIRB. Detectable by Inmarsat geostationary satellite. Recognized by GMDSS. Not sold in the U.S.
Class A and B EPIRBs will be phased out in due course. The U.S. Coast Guard no longer recommends these EPIRBs be purchased.
Class C EPIRBs
These are manually activated devices intended for pleasure craft which do not venture far offshore and for vessels on the Great Lakes. They transmit a short burst on VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and a longer homing signal on channel 15 (156.75 MHz). Their usefulness depends upon a coast station or another vessel guarding channel 16 and recognizing the brief, recurring tone as an EPIRB. Class C EPIRBs are not recognized outside of the United States. These EPIRBs will no longer be recognized after 1999, and are no longer recommended by the Coast Guard.
received. To overcome this limitation, COSPAS-SARSAT has 406 MHz EPIRB repeaters aboard three geostationary satellites, plus one spare: GOES-W, at 135 deg W; GOES-E, at 75 deg W; INSAT-2A, at 74 deg E; and INSAT-2B (in-orbit spare), at 93.5 deg E. Ground stations capable of receiving 406 MHz. Except for areas between the United Kingdom and Norway, south of the east coast of Australia, and the area surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk near Russia, as well as polar areas, GEOSAR provides continuous global coverage of distress alerts from 406 MHz EPIRBs. Note that GEOSAR cannot detect 121.5 MHz alerts, nor can it route unregistered 406 MHz alerts to a rescue authority. GEOSAR cannot calculate the location of any alert it receives, unless the beacon has an integral GPS receiver. COSPAS-SARSAT is an international satellite-based search and rescue system established by the U.S., Russia, Canada and France to locate emergency radio beacons transmitting on the frequencies 121.5, 243 and 406 MHZ. COSPAS Space System for Search of Distress Vessels (a Russian acronym) SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking
Inmarsat E EPIRB
Inmarsat E EPIRBs transmit a distress signal to Inmarsat geostationary satellites which includes a registered identity similar to that of the 406 MHz EPIRB and a location derived from a GPS navigational satellite receiver inside the EPIRB. Inmarsat EPIRBs may be detected anywhere in the world between 70 degrees North latitude and 70 degrees South latitude. Since geostationary satellites are used, alerts are transmitted nearly instantly to a rescue coordination center associated with the Inmarsat coast earth station receiving the alert. Alerts received over the Inmarsat Atlantic Ocean Regions are routed to the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in New York, and alerts received over the Inmarsat Pacific Ocean Region are routed to the Coast Guard Pacific Area command center in San Francisco.
Testing EPIRBs
The Coast Guard urges those owning EPIRBs to periodically examine them for water tightness, battery expiration date and signal presence. FCC rules allow Class A, B, and S EPIRBs to be turned on briefly (for three audio sweeps, or one second only) during the first five minutes of each hour. Signal presence can be detected by an FM radio tuned to 99.5 MHZ, or an AM radio tuned to any vacant frequency and located close to an EPIRB. FCC rules allow Class C EPIRBs to be tested within the first five minutes of every hour, for not more than five seconds. Class C EPIRBs can be detected by a marine radio tuned to channel 15 or 16. 406 MHZ EPIRBs can be tested through its self-test function, which is an integral part of the device. 406 MHz EPIRBs can also be tested inside a container designed to prevent its reception by the satellite. Testing a 406 MHZ EPIRB by allowing it to radiate outside such a container is illegal.
Battery Replacement
406 MHz EPIRBs use a special type of lithium battery designed for long-term low-power consumption operation. Batteries must be replaced by the date indicated on the EPIRB label using the model specified by the manufacturer. It should be replaced by a dealer
approved by the manufacturer. If the replacement battery is not the proper type, the EPIRB will not operate for the duration specified in a distress.