Archive for April 17th, 2009
Emergency beacons (emergency locator transmitters and personal locator beacons) are used to transmit distress signals on either the 121.5, 243 or 406 MHz frequencies to a constellation of Cospas-Sarsat satellites. Ground stations track these satellites and process the distress signals to obtain a location of the distress. The processed information is then forwarded to a Mission Control Center where it is combined with other location and registration information and passed to the appropriate search and rescue authorities. Alternatively, some beacons operating at the 406 MHz frequency can use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to obtain a very accurate position. This position can then be transmitted as part of the distress signal.
The Cospas-Sarsat program is operated in the United States by NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force and NASA. Since the inception of the system in 1982, over 18,000 lives have been rescued worldwide and nearly 5,000 lives have been rescued in the United States.
Get you Personal Locator Beacon today so you don’t become a statistic.