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EPIRB's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons |
Underlined Text Contains A Link
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EPIRB's help save lives by transmitting an alert signal to rescue authorities that contains the beacon unique identification and current beacon location to facilitate rescue efforts. Rescue authorities have access to detail vessel and owner information for EPIRB's properly registered with NOAA |
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BoatUS Foundation 406 MHz EPIRB rental program Registering an EPIRB or DSC Radio is a FREE and it may save lives |
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Types of EPIRB's include:
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Category I / Category II - 406 MHz EPIRB's
Coast Guard recommends use of 406
MHz EPIRB's, preferably ones with an integral GPS navigation receiver.
If properly and professionally installed, a Category I EPIRB is preferred
to a Category II.
The 406 MHz EPIRB was specifically designed to operate with satellites and the 406 MHz signal frequency has been designated only for distress use internationally. 406 MHz EPIRB's having integral GPS navigation receivers sends identification and accurate location information to rescue authorities immediately upon activation. This type of EPIRB is the best you can buy. A satellite local user terminal can locate the 406 MHz EPIRB within 2 to 5 km and identify the vessel from the encoded vessel identity signal anywhere in the world (no range limitation). These devices are detectable by the polar orbiting COSPAS-SARSAT satellites as well as geostationary GOES weather satellites. EPIRBs detected by the GEOSTAR system, consisting of GOES and other geostationary satellites, send rescue authorities an instant alert, but without location information unless the EPIRB is equipped with an integral GPS receiver. EPIRBs detected by COSPAS-SARSAT (e.g. TIROS N) satellites provide rescue authorities the distress location, but receiving this information may be delayed as much as an hour or two. These EPIRBs also include a 121.5 MHz homing signal to allow air and rescue craft to quickly locate the EPIRB. |
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The International Satellite System For Search and Rescue
The COSPAS (Space System for Search of Distress Vessels - a Russian acronym) - SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking) System was established by the U.S., Russia, Canada and France to locate EPIRB's transmitting on the frequencies 121.5, 243 and 406 MHZ. The GEOSAR 406 MHz low earth part of the International Satellite System For Search and Rescue provides global coverage using a limited number of polar-orbiting satellite, so detection of an EPIRB alert may take up to a couple of hours. To help overcome this limitation, COSPAS-SARSAT has installed 406 MHz EPIRB repeaters aboard geostationary satellites plus ground stations capable of receiving the 406 MHz signal. Except for areas between the United Kingdom and Norway, south of the east coast of Australia, the area surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk near Russia, and polar areas, GEOSAR is now capable of providing continuous global coverage of distress alerts from 406 MHz EPIRBs. The GEOSAR System cannot:
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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 Inmarsat Atlantic Ocean Regions are routed to Coast Guard Atlantic Area command in New York, and alerts received over Inmarsat Pacific Ocean Region are routed to Coast Guard Pacific Area command in San Francisco. |
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Testing EPIRBs
EPIRB owners should periodically examine them for water tightness, battery expiration date and signal presence. 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. 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. |
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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 date indicated on 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 in a distress for the duration specified. |
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Proper registration of 406 MHz EPIRB is intended to save your life, and is mandated by Federal Communications Commission regulations. The Coast Guard is enforcing this FCC registration rule. Registeration information can be very helpful in confirming that a distress situation exists or in arranging appropriate rescue efforts. Also, GOES, a geostationary National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration weather satellite system can pick up and relay an EPIRB distress alert to the Coast Guard well before the international COSPAS-SARSAT satellite can provide location information. If the EPIRB is properly registered, the Coast Guard will be able to use the registration information to immediately begin action on the case. If the EPIRB is unregistered, a distress alert may take as much as two hours longer to reach the Coast Guard. If an unregistered EPIRB transmission is abbreviated for any reason, the satellite will be unable to determine the EPIRB's location, and the Coast Guard will be unable to respond to the distress alert. Unregistered EPIRBs have needlessly cost the lives of several mariners since the satellite system became operational.
What
happens to your registration form?
The registration sheet you fill out and send in is entered into the U.S. 406 Beacon Registration Database maintained by NOAA/NESDIS. If your EPIRB is activated, your registration information will be sent automatically to the appropriate USCG SAR Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) for response. One of the first things the RCC watch standers do is attempt to contact the owner/operator at the phone number listed in the database to determine if:
If there is no answer at this number or no information is available, the other numbers listed in the database will be called to attempt to get the information described above. When RCC personnel contact the emergency phone numbers you provide, they will have all the information you have provided on the registration form. You should let these contacts know as much about your intended voyage as possible (i.e., intended route, stops, area you normally sail/fish/recreate, duration of trip, number of people going, etc.). The more information these contacts have, the better prepared our SAR personnel will be to react. The contacts can ask the RCC personnel contacting them to be kept informed of any developments, if they so desire. |
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Registration Regulations You may be fined for false activation of an unregistered EPIRB. The U.S. Coast Guard routinely refers cases involving non-distress activation of an unregistered EPIRB (e.g., as a hoax, through gross negligence, carelessness or improper storage and handling) to the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC prosecutes cases based upon evidence and will issue warning letters or notices of apparent liability for fines up to $10,000. Coast Guard has suspended forwarding non-distress activations of properly registered 406 MHz EPIRBs to the FCC, unless activation was due to hoax or gross negligence, since these search and rescue cases are less costly to prosecute. If you purchase a new or a used 406 MHz EPIRB, it should be registered with NOAA. If you change your boat, your address, or your primary phone number, the EPIRB should be re-register with NOAA. If you sell your EPIRB, make sure the purchaser re-registers the EPIRB, or you may be called by the Coast Guard if it later becomes activated. An FCC ship station license is no longer required to purchase or carry an EPIRB. |
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How To Register Download the 406 MHz EPIRB registration form or you can request a copy of the form by mail, fax (301-568-8649), or phone 1-888-212-SAVE (1-888-212-7283). From outside the U.S., call +1 (301) 457-5430. These same phone numbers may be used to ask questions or request information. Send or fax completed form to: SARSAT Beacon Registration E/SP3, Room 3320, FB-4 THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS SERVICE AND IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE For more information see the NOAA SARSAT Homepage |
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121.5/243 MHz EPIRB's - No longer recommended The most common and least expensive type of EPIRB designed to be detected by over flying commercial or military aircraft. Satellites designed to detect these EPIRBs are limited for the following reasons:
Class A and B EPIRBs must be phased out by February 1, 2009, since satellites processing of 121.5/243 MHz emergency beacons will be terminated on this date. The U.S. Coast Guard no longer recommends purchase of these devices |
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Class C EPIRB's - These devices have been phased out and are no longer recognized Manually activated devices intended for pleasure craft that did not venture 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 depended upon a coast station or other vessel guarding channel 16 to recognize the brief, recurring tone as an EPIRB alert. Class C EPIRBs were never recognized outside the United States and were no longer recognized in the US after 1999. |
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Notices, Disclaimers, and Other Small Print |
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Website created and maintained by: W.V. Discenza, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary |
Last Updated: April 20, 2008 18:31 |