Wake Up Call - Analogue 121.5 EPIRB

[SatNav]

On Wednesday April 22 a NQ rescue helo wasted literally thousands of $$'s flying searching for an old analogue 121.5mhz Epirb signal. What this highlights is

1. People who still have old 121.5mhz Epirbs need a swift wake up call

2. People who continue to condone the carrying of old analogue 121.5mhz Epirbs under the guise of being a so called backup need a swift wake up call

3. Eventhough an anolgue 121.5mhz Epirb may be detected (by coincidence) there is no guarantee of being located as was the result of Wednesday's wasted effort covering half of North Queensland

4. Those that still have old analogue 121.5mhz Epirbs under ill informed misapprehensions of being useful should make immediate moves to ensure these types of continuing, possibly fatefull, wastefull and totally unnecessary searches never occur.

[Noelm]

same thing happened in the Illawarra region of NSW, air search, police and all sorts of drama, turned out to be an old EPIRB that had been thrown in the tip and had somehow activated!

[Fish Guts]

nice rant. i still have an old 121.5 epirb in a safety grab bag as a back up. when it turns to crap id rather have 2 chances at surviving than one. in no way can it be activated where it is stored. And there is a higher probability of it activating at a local dump when either a kid finds it or when the dozer runs over it compared to where it is now. each to their own. i dont want to get into an argument but my belief is that a 121.5 epirb will still be detected by aircraft as has occured in this situation. rather have 2 chances at getting rescued than one, especailly with the amount of non activations of distress beacons during the fatalities over the last 6 months in Qld.

[SatNav]

1. This is exactly where most people continue to get it wrong and have beliefs that don't exist

2. "Detected" by an aircraft is a long way from being found and this Epirb WAS NOT FOUND and resulted in a search from Charters Towers out to Hamilton island.

3. It will never activate at a dump if intelligent people first remove the battery (as most intelligent people would do) or simply hand it in to any Battery World shop.

4. "Each to their own" in situations like this is the same as saying Dead or Alive!

5. What people obviosuly do not realize is that without an initial specific search area (no longer provided by satellite) a 121.5 analogue is extremely difficult to locate as was evidenced last Wednesday.

6. "In no way can it be activated where it is stored." Famous last words uttered by quite a few in the past years when confronted by a helo over the boat shed and cop at the front door. This is quite an ignorant and unqualified statement really.

[Roo]

what happened to the 121.5 freq being supposedly no longer monitored. My old one is still sitting in the Garage waiting for me to get to an approved epirb drop off point.....Battery world this Saturday is the plan. They should not be put in the bin to end up in landfill.....take it to your chandler if you are unsure what to do with it.

[SatNav]

1. "What happened to the 121.5 freq being supposedly no longer monitored." It is effectively NOT monitored

2. Battery World is the place but might be shut this Saturday.

[SatNav]

"Rather have 2 chances at getting rescued than one, especailly with the amount of non activations of distress beacons during the fatalities over the last 6 months in Qld."

1. This statement deserves special and specific attention as it has been suggested there might be more to these so called "non activations" resulting in fatalities and no way of knowing why.

2. How do we know an Epirb was not activated? We simply don't! as there are no survivors to fill in the details.

3. This type of scenario could quite easily eventuate from a 121.5mhz analogue being activated. There is no guarantee a 121.5mhz will be detected, none at all.

[Fish Guts]

ok so if i was sinking off deep tempest and somehow lost my new 406 in the process of getting life jackets ect. and i happened to find my old 121.5 and activated it your saying that commercial jets coming into brisbane wouldnt see the signal ??? surely thats not correct.

I honestly think it would be more effective trigerring an old 121.5 in than sending off a flare at say 0230 in the morning when its bucketing down rain with 2 metres of swell ?

i understand your little campaign re: disposal to reduce false activations. But i persoanlly will hold onto it. you can count from 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, as much as you want.

agree to disagree

[stevej]

if you think the chance is you wont find your 406 then you should have 2 or more functioning 406s on board

one in the grab bag one in a railing mount and where ever else you think neccasary.

youve already established you think you may not find it if shit happens so go fix the problem

your the captain your responsible as they say, saying you had a non complient device on board as part of the saftey kit wont mean much if ever giving evidence if something goes wrong, having it there as a back shows you didnt think having one 406 on board was enough

[SatNav]

"And i happened to find my old 121.5 and activated it your saying that commercial jets coming into brisbane wouldnt see the signal ??? Surely thats not correct."

1. That is certainly a possibility as there is absolutely no guarantee your 121.5 analogue would be detected. That is correct there is no guarantee.

2. In the situation it was detected then there is still no further guarantee that the source of the signal will be located. This was evidenced by a well equipped rescue helo last Wednesday.

3. It is this specific point of not being able to locate the signal that you need to give considerable thought you with your continuing insistence that you expect the script and outcome to be as you expect.

[FNQCairns]

what happened to the 121.5 freq being supposedly no longer monitored. My old one is still sitting in the Garage waiting for me to get to an approved epirb drop off point.....Battery world this Saturday is the plan. They should not be put in the bin to end up in landfill.....take it to your chandler if you are unsure what to do with it.

it was a lie to dupe the sheeple, same as the mass mailout dengue letter we received, yada yada dengue in your immediate area/street.

Best to treat all words from regulated authority as dubious as the media until claim can be proven otherwise.

cheers fnq

[Ando74]

The answer is......

www.painswessex.com.au/Marine/Epirb_Frame.htm (http://www.painswessex.com.au/Marine/Epirb_Frame.htm)

Read the blurb, 406 to get rescue operation near you, inbuilt 121.5 to help with location.

So do you really need to carry two 121.5 epirb's? I think not!

If you think you do, spend the extra money for another 406, I'm sure your piece mind is worth the money.

So who ever thinks a 'back up' old 121.5 epirb is neceassry, you're kidding yourselves!

[seatime]

Some people seem to value a few 100 $$ more than the safety of themselves, their passengers, and the rescue organisations that go out there looking for them:wut:
It's just plain DUMB advise to carry old, unapproved, time expired or redundant safety gear :hanged:

Smarten up people - HAND IN YOUR ANALOGUE EPIRBs & EXPIRED FLARES. DITCH THE UNUSABLE PFDs.

[bigjimg]

And there would be no chance of getting a new battery for it anyway.So at some time in the forseable future it will be useless,if the battery isn't already expired.Jim

[Fish Guts]

maybe more time on the water less time preaching boys..you are honestly, preaching to the converted.

not going to enter into an argument. The qps and qbfp can issue an infringment if they see fit during rountine safety inspections. until then safe boating, or should i say (double clicking) for some.

and sat nav...mate....whats doing with the numbers ?

stay safe
the 121.5 bandit

[SatNav]

1. The only numbers people should be condemming are the $20,000 wasted dollars spent last Wednesday searching for some persons stupidity.

2. That sort of flying time and $$'s should be spent on saving real people not excuses

[fly_1]

Satnav, the old 121.5 are still monitored. As an airline pilot we still are required to monitor 121.5 and report all beacons heard. This is still normal practise for both domestic and international jet traffic. The info is passed onto the australian maritime centre, and then the process of searching etc begins. I am not saying I agree with people keeping their old beacons,but to say the old ones are not monitored is not 100% correct.
Trent.

[mod5]

Stop arguing about stupidity

http://www.fz-juelich.de/jsc/math/schools/wscn/Closed.gif