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- Newsgroups: rec.boats
- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnewsk!cbnewsj!legacy
- From: legacy@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (wayne.m.simpson)
- Subject: Re: Solo Sailor Missing
- Organization: AT&T
- Distribution: na
- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:29:14 GMT
- Message-ID: <1992Nov18.142914.6415@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>
- Summary: some info on EPIRBs
- References: <1992Nov17.032111.21359@iplmail.orl.mmc.com> <1992Nov17.145902.27644@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> <1992Nov17.193819.28872@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu>
- Sender: legacy@cbnewsj.att.com (wayne simpson)
- Lines: 40
-
- In article <1992Nov17.193819.28872@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu> whoward@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (Will Howard) writes:
- >
- > The New York Times article from Sunday 11/15 said that the EPIRB had NOT been
- >registered at all. Apparently in the rush to get the boat ready this was a
- >detail that was overlooked. I don't know if the EPIRB is required or not. I
- >agree with you that boats doing this type of sailing should have ARGOS
- >transponders, but they apparently are also not required. My understanding of
- >EPIRBs is that the signals are supposed to be picked up by aircraft, which
- >report the signal (to the Coast Guard? I don't know to whom). The longer the
- >aircraft can hold the signal and/or the more planes pick it up, the better the
- >chances of a good fix on location. Anybody else out there know more about the
- >details of EPIRBs?
-
- Yes, I can flesh this out a little. The old style 121 MHz Class A EPIRBs
- were intended to be picked either by aircraft or satellites. But either way,
- someone had to be listening as the satellites were not capable of storing
- the distress call and transmitting it at a later time. Although the old
- EPIRBs had to be licensed, they were not "registered" per se as there was
- nothing in their signals to distinguish onr transmitter from the next.
- The new 406 MHz EPIRBs transmit a signal with an identification number
- so that, when registered, the authorities know who is transmitting, and
- what sort of a boat to go looking for. In addition, the birds that listen
- to the 406 MHz signal are capable of holding the distress calls when they
- are out of touch, and transmitting them at a later time when they hook
- up to their ground stations.
- I believe either system is capable of position fixing, but the new units
- are much better at this due to the more sophisticated nature of the signals
- and the satellites that recieve them.
- On the subject of ARGOS, someone mentioned that it is a requirement for
- the race, and was to be installed by the race committee prior to the start
- of the Globe Challenge.
-
- One note of irony here. In the last BOC, Plant had similar electrical
- troubles on DURACELL. Seems that either he is electrically jinxed, or he
- should find someone better equipped to install his electrical systems.
-
- Wayne (bummed out but still hoping) Simpson
-
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