happyfeet Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I wonder what the reason is behind the frequecy change-over? Anybody got any insight into this one and why is it location based? HF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 Using a geostationary satellite is much more precise than an orbiting satellite. The satellite with 121.3 is decommissioned. So that frequency is only good for ADF homing. Location based because of the location of the geosatellite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freefall Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I guess UHF travels farther but I think its a bit of a downside that now any aircraft that happenes to be arround can't switch to 121.5 and try to help locate a downed aircraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skystar Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 The 121.5 ELT is 'old' technology. The 406 ELT will cut the search area from 25 sq Kms to around 5 sq Kms. As well they will have a ID tag so the owner/operator can be contacted imediately about the 'distress.' The feed from the 406 ELT will also give a small history burst of info tagged with the signal. I believe it includes a Lat and Long, and heading. The 406's can be checked on 121.5 the same! It's kind of like getting rid of the 8 track stereo from your car!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freefall Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 how does it broadcast on 121.5? does it have a vhf transmitter in it too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ame206350 Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 how does it broadcast on 121.5? does it have a vhf transmitter in it too? Yes. Here's a spec sheet for a common 406 ELT> http://www.kannad.com/upload/contenu/fichier/81fichier1.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Watson Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 For fear of dating myself.. I did a lot of reasearch into 406 ELTS in 1985. There was talk then about the poor perfornmance of the hardware under the current TSO the transmit frequencies (121.50 and 243.00) poor survivabilty and G switch failures. The new 406Mhz units have lots of power as the signal format is digital vs the swept analog RF that consumed lots of battery power for only a few milliwatts of Tx output. The satellite receivers can also pinpoint the location with only a few hits off the ELT. The portable 406 locator beacons (PLB) have been around about 15 years and work extremely well. In a previous career, I sold a couple to Petro Canada when they were doing a project in Siberia around that time and were using Russian helis of some sort. The engineer accidentaly moved the power switch to the ON position instead of the Test position for about 5 seconds and within minutes Petro Canada's emergency centre in Calgary was notified by SAR in Trenton that they had received notification from COSPAS-SARSAT network that one of the PLBs registered to them had gone off. A real validation of the system. I also sold some to another resource company that was working in a fairly dangerous part of the world so that they could use them to call for help if they were kidnapped. But that's another story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDIE Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks for posting the specs on these new ELT's.I am liking the battery interval of 6 years but a little concerned about the minus 20 operating temp.I have flown 20 plus days below minus 20 this year alone. I guess if you were to have a problem and need the ELT you would be wise to keep it warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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