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EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Rescue Beacon) Overview

Home » Boating » EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Rescue Beacon) » EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Rescue Beacon) Overview

Have you ever gone fishing on a stream and found you've been pulled upstream by the currents and finally settled in an area that had land and your radio was either out of order or out of range? Or perhaps the plane you were riding in develops engine trouble or simply runs out of fuel and you end up crashing on the surface of the water? The bad part about it is your radio is out or you are out of range to call for help. Scary thought right. Well not if you had an EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Rescue Beacon) on board that plane or boat. Having an EPIRB can definitely save your life one day. There are three types of beacons that are used to transmit distress signals. These three types include:

• EPIRB: This type is mainly used for maritime use. If you look at EPIRB closely, you would find there are two types. One type transmits one analog signal at 121.5MHz while the other one transmits two different signals: a digital signal at 406 MHz, and a low-power signal at 121.5MHz. This signal is what's used to send a homing signal.
• ELTs: This type is for aviation use. This was the first emergency beacons that were developed and are used in U.S. civil aircraft. ELTs were designed to handle the 121.5 MHz signal so as to alert any aircraft that was flying overhead that help is required immediately.
• PLBs: This type is mainly used for land-based or personal applications. PLBs are portable units that operate like the EPIRBs or even the ELTs. The only difference is that each person would have to carry one instead of just one being on the boat or aircraft.

Next Page: What is an EPIRB and How Many Types Are There?

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