View Full Version : Expired batteries in my MT400 epirb need replacing
grinner2
11-03-2015, 06:52 AM
Epirb battery is now out of date ! Can someone advised what the process is ( new battery or new unit ) & what cost involved.
scottar
11-03-2015, 08:22 AM
Don't know the cost but the epirb will have to go to Sydney. I would give GME a call and then have a look at what cost a new unit is as well. A lot of owners are simply replacing the units as battery replacements have been uneconomical by comparison.
MTAQ/BTAQ
11-03-2015, 08:27 AM
I believe replacing the battery is the equivalent of buying a new EPIRB
Figures I have seen quoted for battery replacement are around $150, and maybe freight costs as well as you have to send them direct to GME.
A quick call to GME would soon confirm this.
I bought a new GPS EPIRB when mine was due for about $250.
IMO the GPS model is well worth it as they are apparently accurate to a couple of metres instead of about 5klm's with the old non-GPS MT400's
Ross
grumpysmurf
11-03-2015, 03:19 PM
Epirb battery is now out of date ! Can someone advised what the process is ( new battery or new unit ) & what cost involved.
Before you shell out for a replacement, it is worthwhile to check with GME whether your unit is under their recall (I think it should be!).
If so, they will exchange it for a brand new one with 6+6 years (12 years) battery life!
deasy
11-03-2015, 04:02 PM
Took mine to GME and replaced with a new unit for 150 around 2 years ago.
https://www.gme.net.au/emergency-beacons.aspx
Aussie123
11-03-2015, 04:23 PM
Easier to buy a new one for $265 delivered with a 10 year battery and 10 year warranty
Crunchy
11-03-2015, 04:39 PM
Easier to buy a new one for $265 delivered with a 10 year battery and 10 year warranty
Where from? Need a new one too....
Aussie123
11-03-2015, 04:52 PM
Where from? Need a new one too....
I just sent you a PM Crunch
Chimo
11-03-2015, 07:10 PM
Aussie123
Can you PM me too please.
Thanks
Cheers
Chimo
Aussie123
11-03-2015, 07:13 PM
Aussie123
Can you PM me too please.
Thanks
Cheers
Chimo
Done
Thanks Chimo
grinner2
12-03-2015, 09:36 AM
Thanks for the replys chaps .
Will be ordering one from Aussie 123 shortly .
goanna1
09-08-2018, 06:55 PM
Pm me please as well
hungry6
09-08-2018, 07:24 PM
Pm me also please.
Thanks
Wayne
EdBerg
09-08-2018, 07:57 PM
I also have one of these KTI SA1G, I think I paid about $260, but that was a few years ago. I also had one of the GME units with GPS but decided not to get the battery replaced when it was due as the cost wasn't that much different to buying a new KTI unit with new full warranty.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/u4wAAOSwBLlVVWGE/s-l64.jpg
Crunchy
10-08-2018, 09:54 AM
Where to take old ones these days? I have a couple to get rid of.....
lethal098
10-08-2018, 04:33 PM
remove the battery from the epirb, Very simple normally 4 screws, then remove and disconnect the battery,
its then safe to throw out the epirb in the trash.
Noelm
10-08-2018, 05:33 PM
If you can remove the battery so easily, why not just replace it yourself?
Dignity
10-08-2018, 10:57 PM
If you can remove the battery so easily, why not just replace it yourself?
Not sure about the legality of doing that. I think you have to reregister the epirb and that is where you come unstuck. As i went through this exercise a couple of years ago I know that it is actually dearer to replace the battery with GME products. You have to send it to them at your own cost, the replacement and testing costs exceeded the cost of a new unit plus add postage, forget it. Cheaper to replace. They have you by the balls, a legal scam.
gazza2006au
11-08-2018, 05:07 PM
Dig it's probably due to labour its easier to assemble 100 epirbs on a conveyor than to pay someone to sit down and break one open to replace a battery usually Aussie shops charge by the hour and trades charge $110 per hour so i would think the epirb manuf would charge similar, how long it takes to replace a battery im not sure but u have the expense of the battery than the testing of the unit and fix any other problems while the epirb is open it all adds up but somethings in life are sentimental to people maybe a epirb has saved someones life so the option of a repair is available
for me i would just buy a new one i wonder what the chances of one malfunctioning that is 10+ years old, risky situation i your 30km's offshore and boat snaps in half and sinks
i read someone mention the location for the extra few bucks i reckon that would be a really good choice i recall watching that west pac heli rescue show i would hate to be stuck out at sea the helicopter comes to find us does a grid search finds 4 of us and there running low on fuel and can only take 2-3 people before a refuel i would be s... bricks if i were left out at sea alone i have actually seen it on these shows they will leave u there in priority of fuel for the chopper and return whenever possible so the less mucking around the better get the more expensive epirb that locates u within meters not km's
scottar
11-08-2018, 05:18 PM
As advised by GME, the procedure was a bit more than just a battery change. Operation was tested for a 24 hour period in a purpose built (signal proof) facility to ensure the transmitter didn't drift off frequency and current consumption remained within spec so that minimum transmit times would be maintained and then the new battery and lower case (expiry dates etc were stamped into the plastic) . The last one I had done many years ago came back with a different UIN anyway so was simply a replacement at a reduced price. The last time mine ran out I took the opportunity to replace it with a GPS Epirb.
juggernaut
12-08-2018, 04:09 AM
GME battery replacement FYI.
https://www.chsmith.com.au/news/gme-mt400-battery-replacement-2010-11-05-16-47-18.html
Dignity
12-08-2018, 05:36 AM
By the time I included freight charges I bought a new one from peterbo (think thats was his avatar) delivered cheaper.
juggernaut
12-08-2018, 09:20 AM
Yep, doesn't make much financial sense to have the batteries replaced in an existing one.
gazza2006au
12-08-2018, 06:23 PM
When epirbs were like $550 Aussies wanted that option of replacing the batteries because o the cost to buy a new one back than but today they have dramatically come down in price, 10 years ago i never really looked at them knew what they were and seen the price but i was never a offshore person, these days a lot of my fishing is offshore so i paid more attention to the epirbs of today they are that cheap almost anyone can afford one
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