Eliminate the Search in SAR
EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons
Learn more about Emergency Radio Locator Beacons (EPIRB). This affordable technology can save your life.
Commercial fishermen have been required to carry Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons or EPIRBs for many years. EPIRBs are the marine equivalent of an aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitter or ELT. This article describes EPIRBs, the international satellite system in place to receive beacon transmissions and finally tips on how to make the installation of an EPIRB on your boat more effective.
What is an EPIRB?
EPIRBs are portable radio beacons designed to alert the Coast Guard of your vessel's position in the event of a sinking or emergency. The cost of these radios has dropped dramatically in the last few years. A new beacon can cost between $500 and $1,500. These beacons operate at a frequency of 406 MHz and are called 406 MHz EPIRBs. They come in two categories. Category I units are designed to float free from a sinking boat and will automatically activate themselves. Category II units must be manually activated by someone on the vessel. There are new units on the market that now include built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. The GPS-EPIRBs not only transmit a homing signal, but they broadcast accurate position information on a stricken vessel. EPIRBs are designed to operate within the COSPAS-SARSAT international emergency distress satellite communications system.
What is COSPAS-SARSAT?
The United States, Russia, Canada and France established a satellite and ground station system for receiving locator beacon transmissions and locating vessels in distress. The system is called COSPAS-SARSAT. A radio distress beacon transmits a coded signal that is received by the COSPAS-SARSAT network. The orbiting satellites downlink the information to ground receiving stations called Local User Terminals (LUT). Mission Control Centers (MCC) located throughout the world forward LUT location information to responsible Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC). While this may seem to be a complex chain of communications, an active EPRIB can be located in a matter of minutes. I have accidentally triggered a beacon during a vessel inspection and had the Coast Guard on the phone before I could walk back to the office.
In the United States, the Air Force and Coast Guard share RCC responsibilities. 406 MHz EPIRBs broadcast a unique code that identifies each vessel. Proper registration of an EPIRB will make it much more effective during an emergency.
Registering your EPIRB
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) maintains a database for EPRIB registrations. In the event your beacon is triggered, the contact information provided in your registration is used to call your home or business. During an actual emergency, having information about your boat and its description greatly improves the search and rescue response. Information on EPRIB registration can be found by calling NOAA at 1-888-212-7283 or visiting the NOAA SARSAT website.
Consider the purchase and installation of a 406 MHz EPIRB. This one modern device can eliminate the search in search and rescue.
