Printer Friendly
Email a Friend
Receiver Sorts EPIRB False Alarms
01 Jun 2006
Surrey UK based Sartech Engineering has launched the Terrestrial SAR Receiver (TSR), a specialist 406 MHz receiver able to warn if an EPIRB has been activated nearby. A large percentage of EPIRB alerts are false alarms, often caused by over enthusiastic testing or inadequately secured float-free beacons being lost overboard.
Rather than wait for the satellite system to detect the signal and forward it to a shore based Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), the TSR enables the user to quickly identify the source of the signal and contact the registered owner to ascertain if the alert is genuine or false. This can save a lot of wasted time and effort at RCC as false alerts can be investigated quickly and cancelled before a full search and rescue operation is launched.
The TSR gives marinas an additional service to their customers. It can be used to test EPIRBs before a vessel sails and can pick up false alarms before embarrassment is caused. The TSR enables the Coastguard and other coastal stations to immediately receive and decode the signal direct from an EPIRB up to 50 miles away. If it has been correctly set up, the EPIRB will provide vital information such as the vessel to which it is registered, enabling the receiving station to immediately begin investigating the alert.
A 406 MHz EPIRB with GPS also transmits its exact position along with the distress signal and the TSR is able to receive and decode this position signal, enabling the local receiving station to immediately send assistance if the alert is genuine.
MJInformation No: 21965
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2008. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
Related products
For more information on products mentioned within this article visit
