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Thread: You activated your EPIRB… now what?

  1. #1
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    Default You activated your EPIRB… now what?

    The Navagear site explores this question.

    April 9th, 2009 · by Tim Flanagan, Managing Editor

    An excellent write-up by Ryan Erickson over at the Unofficial Coast Guard Blog. This is must-read material for anybody carrying an EPIRB aboard.

    Have you ever wondered exactly how one actually gets rescued after they pull the trigger on their 406mhz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)? Or what about if you happen to be that unlucky soul who didn’t register their EPIRB?

    Well I thought I would run down the quick and dirty of what happens when the Search and Rescue system is activated by the use of an EPIRB. Click through to read the entire thing. The Unofficial Coast Guard Blog is a tremendous resource, but I can’t emphasize enough how valuable pieces like this one, in particular, can be.

    Mr. Erickson has the experience to know what he’s talking about, but since the blog remains “unofficial”, he isn’t obliged to stick to the official party line. You get the whole story. So read it.
    As mentioned in a Longpac thread, it used to be hard to find a 406 EPIRB under $500, now they can be had at various places for under $300.

    For example the MCMURDO FastFind 210 GPS Personal Location Beacon. Only $299.99 USD some places and $283. in another. Price matching usually includes shipping cost so it is nearly a wash for the local outlets to hand you one. This is a cell phone sized 406 EPIRB including a GPS that you tie on to each guy on deck at night.

    Another, for me, must have night time item also on a lanyard is the GREATLAND LASER LLC Rescue Laser Light for $99.99 USD. You point it towards another boat and the result is a bright red line pointing straight back at you.

    John Foster
    http://nonsuch22blueberry.blogspot.com/

  2. #2
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    Default Is a PLB suitable for LongPac?

    Quote Originally Posted by jfoster View Post
    As mentioned in a Longpac thread, it used to be hard to find a 406 EPIRB under $500, now they can be had at various places for under $300.

    For example the MCMURDO FastFind 210 GPS Personal Location Beacon.
    John raises a valid point; it used to be that a 406 EPIRB was implicitly a marine device with some fairly specific attributes - it floated, it ran for 48 hours, designed to work in the marine environment, and was registered with NOAA.

    With the proliferation of smaller, non-marine beacons (e.g. the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)), perhaps it is time to consider whether or not the smaller PLB 406 EPIRB's meet SSS race requirements.

    My suggestion is that PLB's do not - for example the Fast Find unit mentioned by John does not float. It might make sense to further state the functional features an acceptable EPIRB should have, much as we do with life rafts, such as: waterproof, floats, operates for a minimum of 48 hours. We already require the EPIRB be registered.

    - rob/beetle

  3. #3
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    I posted my question about the response method and delay for a PLB signal vs. an EPIRB signal. Here's the author's response:

    "The use of a PLB over an EPIRB may take longer for the Coast Guard to respond*. The reason for this is that all PBL's, in general, are the responsibility of the AFRCC (Air Force Rescue Coordination Center) as they were originally intended for those, as you mentioned, that ski or go hiking and general land activity. Land (dry earth) is the responsibility of the ARFCC over the Coast Guard. That could slow down the process of the Coast Guard responding, however, this is not always the case. If the signal emitting from the PLB is a good one and the satellites can easily determine that it is over water and not land we, the USCG, should get a call immediately from the AFRCC to take the case. We too will should also receive the signal where we can determine it to be over water or land.

    My \"personal\" advice: if you know you're going on the water have an registered EPIRB with you; however, the use of a PLB, also registered, is a lot better than nothing (and usually cheaper).

    I hope this helps." ~Ryan
    ____________________________________

    Ryan Erickson's article also makes it clear that a unit with integrated GPS could drastically reduce the response time vs. one without integrated GPS. If they don't get your position on the first pass, he says it is two hours before they get another chance!

    Note the distinction between integrated GPS (GPS in the PLB/EPIRB) vs. one with a GPS interface (it gets the coordinates from your separate GPS). I nearly bought the latter type because it was cheaper, but what happens if the EPIRB and GPS are separated before the coordinates get transferred?

    If you're in the water, that hand-held VHF is sounding pretty good!


    * See updated information in Richard's article later in this thread, under the paragraph "Are the expected delays different for a PLB than for an EPIRB?"
    Last edited by BobJ; 04-22-2009 at 08:28 AM.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Interesting article. It would seem if you're going to buy an EPIRB, getting one with an integrated GPS is the way to go, and then don't forget to register it!

    The other thing that seems obvious to me is that EPIRBS are not good solutions for someone who finds himself swimming in the cold waters of the San Francisco area. A swimmer will succumb to the cold long before any rescue assets arrive, even with a GPS position.

    I'm now firmly in the waterproof handheld VHF camp - I'm going to make sure it's on my person at all times.

    - Mark

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by tiger beetle View Post
    John raises a valid point; it used to be that a 406 EPIRB was implicitly a marine device with some fairly specific attributes - it floated, it ran for 48 hours, designed to work in the marine environment, and was registered with NOAA.

    With the proliferation of smaller, non-marine beacons (e.g. the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)), perhaps it is time to consider whether or not the smaller PLB 406 EPIRB's meet SSS race requirements.

    My suggestion is that PLB's do not - for example the Fast Find unit mentioned by John does not float. It might make sense to further state the functional features an acceptable EPIRB should have, much as we do with life rafts, such as: waterproof, floats, operates for a minimum of 48 hours. We already require the EPIRB be registered.
    - rob/beetle
    Rob is correct. More detailed information can be seen in their downloadable PDF version of their manual. http://www.fastfindplb.com/en/what_i...pdf/manual.pdf They clearly state:
    A Fast Find PLB is not an ELT or an EPIRB and does not
    meet the regulatory requirements for an ELT or an EPIRB.
    For me, the PLB, on a tether attached to me, a rescue laser, and a hand held VHF also on tethers, all tucked into my Mustang Coverall Flotation & Worksuit :: MS2075 , allow me a certain sense of security when I race Blueberry in near coastal events such as the Half Moon Bay race. Just as my Nonsuch 22 Blueberry, with its small cockpit drains and huge cockpit is not as safe as the open cockpit design of the Wyliecat 30, so too a canister raft, a proper ditch bag and full sized EPIRB would be much safer for me than my suit and pouch of tethered safety gear.

    As for race requirements, they are what they are for really good reasons.

    John
    Blueberry, Nonsuch 22, sail#48

  6. #6
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    Default

    [QUOTE...... For me, the PLB, on a tether attached to me, a rescue laser, and a hand held VHF also on tethers, all tucked into my Mustang Coverall Flotation & Worksuit [/QUOTE]


    Sounds like a LOT of bits of string.......you may not drown....but you could get strangled.......


    Jim/Haulback

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by haulback View Post
    Sounds like a LOT of bits of string.......you may not drown....but you could get strangled.......
    Jim/Haulback
    Or worse and ironic, you could get hung up on all that string during some maneuver and trip and fall overboard as a result! ;-)

    - Mark

  8. #8
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    The beacon requirements for sailing to Hawaii, and sailing to the Farallones are different.

    If I'm in the Gulf of the Farallones, I want the Coasties to know *exactly* where I am as fast as possible and if the beacon only broadcasts for 12 hours that's fine, 'cause if they (or another competitor) haven't gotten me in about 2-3 hours, I'm dead anyway. I want the fastest data transfer possible to the Coasties...and that means a PRB with integral GPS. It would sure be nice if that sucker floated.

    If I'm 1200 miles into a race to Hawaii, then if it takes the Coasties 2 more hours to figure out exactly where I am, it really doesn't matter, since it will probably take many, many hours to divert a ship to come pick me up. What I want is an EPIRB that's pretty darned accurate, but broadcasts for a LONG, LONG time so that the Coast Guard knows where I'm drifting to. In other words, I want a full fledged, floating EPIRB, with or without GPS that pumps out signal for two bleedin days..
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  9. #9
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    I also thought the Standard Horizon VHF with GPS and DSC would be a good choice. 6 watts would reach the Coast Guard wouldn't it? It seems a local distress signal would be faster than bouncing off satellites and such.
    http://www.standardhorizon.com/index...3&isArchived=0

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Gutoff View Post
    I also thought the Standard Horizon VHF with GPS and DSC would be a good choice. 6 watts would reach the Coast Guard wouldn't it?
    In a word, no. A 6" rubber antenna in your hand, attached to a 5 watt radio, has perhaps 4 miles of range (somtimes 6), assuming that you're standing on the deck. This is insufficient to get picked up by the USCG antennae unless they are quite close to you. From a bit of personal experience, that antenna doesn't do much for you 6 miles out the Gate.

    If you wish to be really heard, you want to maximize your line of sight range - which means putting an antenna as high as you possibly can. This would usually be the top of the mast - much better line of sight range.

    - rob/beetle

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