Epirb Malfunction

[imported_QCR]

Thought this might be of interest to all epirb owners. I decided to try the test function on my Epirb (The new digital version and not more than 12 months old) only to find it is not working. I got onto GME and had a talk to the service guys and they sounded surprised and now have me returning it to the Sydney branch where it will be replaced or repaired.
Of interest an epirb cannot be returned by air, it has to do with the battery, so has to go road transport ,so for me here in Mission Beach it could take 2/3 weeks, Maybe I should have 2 as I have obviously been fishing offshore on my own for a while without this backup. I guess the moral is test very regularly.
It will be interesting to see what went wrong.

[Roo]

I test before leaving home everytime. and again before leaving the ramp.

[iricangi]

:O Doesn't sound too good lol

When you get a new epirb from the shops like i'm going to very soon, am i guaranteed a good battery because of the under supply of epirbs? Or will they be a year into the 5 year battery life?

[marco]

this is a post by paul251 from the bulk buy eprib thread , maybe you would like to ask mr mathew heap from gme why his you beaut product did what it did and why are you being so inconvienced by it .
im sure he would want to backup his words .


Re: bulk buy new epirb?
Quote:
Originally Posted by marco http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?p=855907#post855907)
some food for thought in all this , a very intelligent friend of mine even though he is a kiwi , tells me that the gme 406 is built to the absolute minimum specs for a 406 epirb and the pains wessex is of a far better qaulity and specs. may be worth getting prices for both and some further opinions about which way to go .


Marco on reading this I sent an email to GME, and Pains Wessex as I am after a top quality EPIRB, and not one made to min spec's. I would also like to make it very clear that no insult to you or your friend is/was intended. I asked Mathew if I could post his reply, and here it is.



Hi Paul,

Many thanks for passing on the comments that you read on Ausfish, I certainly cannot make in depth comments on the quality of the Paines Wessex EPIRB.
The one thing I can say is that all the GME EPIRBs meet the very stringent international standards that are set down by the COSPAS-SARSAT organisation (C/S T.001/007) certified to class 2 requirements, we also meet Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZ 4280.1, we are also Med Wheelmark approved for European sales, we also sell a number of our EPIRBs into the USA market.
To say that our unit is built to Minimum specs is some what unsubstantiated, does the person who wrote that piece know what the specs are?. At GME we have a state of the art manufacturing facility in Sydney, where all our EPIRBs are manufactured, and each EPIRB that is manufactured goes through extensive testing to ensure it will be reliable for the duration of its battery life and longer which is 6 years, as apposed to the Paines Wessex RB6 EPIRB which is only 5 years.
Any EPIRB that is sold has to have the relevant certificates, and to gain these certificates each product has to undergo extensive testing, the RB6 same as any GME EPIRB has gone through this test procedure and has the certificate to prove it.
May be the person who wrote the piece on Ausfish believes that because our unit is cheaper it is inferior, I can and I’m sure my friends at Paines Wessex would agree this is a load of rubbish.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to respond.

Regards
Matthew Heap

Marketing Manager - Marine

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=134040&page=6

[fishing111]

I've definately made my mind up now Marco...::)

[Angla]

I must admit that I personally had a 121 mhz unit which died prematurely, a few months ago. I found the people at GME more than pleasant to deal with and replaced the unit with a 406 mhz unit, at no cost. They sent it on to sydney through there own transport and all I had to do was get the unit to them and pick the new unit up.
It took a couple of weeks and good weather too. I was able to borrow a mates 121 temporarily. You could also hire one for a while, if the weather is good.

Chris

[stinky-stabi]

i have the new 406(12months old)
and also a pains wessex personal 406(scored off oil rig support vessel).lol
better to be safe than sorry...
had the fisheries smashed in to me the other night (2weeks ago)offshore
and they checked flares, fish n bait but not the epirb?

[PADDLES]

good call re the testing mate, i never test mine and maybe i should start.

[QF3 MROCP]

good call re the testing mate, i never test mine and maybe i should start.


Hi Paddles... I posted a check list the other day.. I hope this may help you to add the EPIRB to it.. From a Coast Guard perspective, we check them each morning when doing a boat checks..

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=135676&highlight=epirb