An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) or
Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is used to alert search and rescue
services in the event of an emergency. They do this by
transmitting a coded message on the 406 MHz distress
frequency. This message is relayed via satellite and earth station
to the nearest rescue co-ordination centre.
406 MHz EPIRBs and PLBs work with the Cospas-Sarsat polar
orbiting satellite system which provides true global coverage.
The system has an alert delay of typically 45 minutes dependant
on when the satellites come into view on the horizon.
The satellite can determine
the position of your
Smartfind E5 EPIRB or
Fastfind PLB to within 5km
(3 miles). The coded
message identifies the exact
vessel to which the E5 is
registered or the person the
Fastfind PLB is registered to.
This information allows the
rescue services to eliminate
false alerts and launch an
appropriate rescue.
The GPS enabled Smartfind Plus G5 406 MHz EPIRB and Fastfind
Plus PLB have built-in transmitters that will typically alert the
rescue services within 3 minutes. Smartfind Plus is capable of
providing typical positional accuracy of +/- 50 Metres and
position updates every 20 minutes, given a clear view skyward.
Both the Smartfind EPIRBs and Fastfind PLBs also have a
secondary distress transmitter. This transmits on 121.5 MHz and
is used for "homing" purposes. When the rescue services get
close, this allows them to direction find on the signal. To cater
for searches at night, the Smartfind EPIRBs have a high
brightness LED flashing light that aids final visual location.
How does an EPIRB work?
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Since its inception in 1982 the Cospas-Sarsat System has provided
distress alert information which has assisted in the rescue of over
18,865 persons in 5,317 distress situations. The Cospas-Sarsat
Programme assists search and rescue (SAR) activities on a
worldwide basis by providing accurate, timely, and reliable
distress alert and location data to the international community
on a non-discriminatory basis.
GPS EPIRBs
The GPS EPIRB and PLB have been designed to enhance further
the lifesaving capabilities of conventional beacons. The standard
Global Positioning System (GPS) uses an array of 27 satellites and
provides continuous positional information with a typical
accuracy of around 50m. A 406MHz EPIRB such as the Smartfind
Plus or PLB such as the Fastfind Plus has a built in GPS, when the
beacon is activated in an emergency, positional information is
incorporated into the distress message which it transmits.
This incorporation of positional information overcomes the
location problem when using geostationary satellites and can
greatly reduce the time it takes for the SAR authorities to arrive
on the scene. When speed of response and accuracy of location
are important considerations, then the GPS EPIRB offers the
best performance
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