Phase Out of 121.5/243 MHz Radio Beacons Nears
Coast Guard to Discontinue Monitoring Old EPIRBs on 1 February 2009
Jan 8, 2009
The march of technology continues to advance and one change in store for mariners is the elimination of older Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) that operate on the 121.5/243 MHz (megahertz) frequency bands. Search and rescue personnel will only be able to receive signals generated by newer beacons that now operate on the 406 MHz band after 1 February 2009. New style 406 MHz EPIRBs offer numerous benefits to mariners and rescuers alike.
In a press release announcing the impending deadline, Jerry Popiel of the Ninth Coast Guard District Incident Management Branch says, "The signal from any emergency beacon activated on the U. S. waters of the Great Lakes and connecting waterways, or on land close to these waters, is automatically routed to the Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Center here. At the RCC, our round-the-clock duty officers assess the signal, determine the appropriate course of action and then dispatch a helicopter, boat or ship to the location to perform a rescue."
Advantages of 406 MHz EPIRB Technology
The change fostered in EPIRB technology was not arbitrary. Advancements made in the performance of emergency beacons makes the transition important and necessary. Some of the benefits are:
- 406 MHz EPRIBs are effectively 50 times more powerful than those using the 121.5 band
- 406 MHz EPRIBs transmit a digital signal that can distinguished by satellites from background radio emissions
- Newer beacons provide unique identification information that can be tied to a registration system, helping identify vessels in distress more accurately
- 406 MHz EPRIBs can be equipped with GPS receivers to provide more accurate location data
- The newer beacons can narrow search locations to less than a 100 meter circle within only a few minutes
- Changes in technology have reduced the number of false rescue alerts received by the Coast Guard
EPIRB Registration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
In order to accomplish their full potential, owners of 406 MHz EPIRBs need to register the devices with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Registration is free and can easily be accomplished online. Information provided to NOAA is treated as confidential and only available to rescue agencies. One important benefit of registration is that search and rescue coordinators can call the registered user of an EPIRB to help eliminate false alarms. Family members can also provide important additional vessel and route information to the Coast Guard during a search operation.
If you haven’t purchased an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon for your boat, now is the best time to do so. The technology used has never been better and prices for very capable beacons have never been lower. EPRIBs take the search out of search and rescue.
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