USCG/NOAA SARSAT CONFERENCE 2011 EPIRB’s How They Work

How the System Works 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

C/S 406 MHz Beacons COSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz Beacons EPIRB Emergency Position Indicating Radio PLBPersonal Locator Beacon ELTEmergency Locator Beacon SSASShip Security Alert System 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of Beacons EPIRB 406 MHz Automatic activation when out of bracket and wet. Floats up right able to transmit Strobe light Min 48 hour transmit Some GPS enabled Maritime Distress Beacon 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

406 MHz VDR 406 MHz Voyage Data Recorder EPIRB with black box data recorder built in. Records last 12 hr “Black Box” data for ship. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of Beacons PLB Manual activation Carried on persons May or may not float Held out of water to transmit NO Strobe light required Min 24 hour transmit Some GPS Enabled Distress Beacon for Personal Use (Land Rescue) 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of Beacons ELT Operational Applications Automatic Fixed - AF Automatic Portable - AP Survival Equipment – S –Class A (buoyant) –Class B (non-buoyant) Automatic Deployable - AD 406 MHz ELTs 406/121.5 MHz 24 hr Transmitter “ON-OFF-ARMED- RESET” controls ELT activated by pilot, crash forces or water activated. Aviation Distress Beacon 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of Beacons ELT Aviation Distress Beacon AD AF S Class A S Class B 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS AP

SSAS 406 MHz Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) All SOLAS vsls on international voyages. Two stealth switches for remote activation. Alert goes to Atlantic Area. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

SEND SATELLITE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION DEVICES Operate over any satellite system except Cospas- Sarsat. Provide individuals in remote areas a means to alert others of an emergency situation and to aid search and rescue personnel to locate those in distress. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

C/S 406 MHz Beacon Operational Requirements Beacon 406 MHz Signal - 5 Watts Short bursts at approximately 50 second intervals (varies between 47.5 and 52.5 s), with a transmission time of 440 ms or 520 ms. Transmits in the to MHz band. Beacon Self Test 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

C/S 406 MHz Beacon Transmission Transmission consists: –Unmodulated carrier, for 160 ms, –Short synchronization signal, signal inverted for test, –Digital message that provides stored information (identification, nationality, type of user), –Optionally, current information like, type of emergency and estimated location. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

15 Hex ID C/S Beacon identification, when decoded into its 15 character hexadecimal representation, which is the EPIRB’s unique identifier. A C/S Decode Program is available at: sarsat.org/index.php?option=com_beacon decode&task=showBeacon&Itemid=85&la ng=ennique identifier number. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

15 HexID Bits 26 to 85 are converted from binary to hexadecimal. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

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C/S Beacon Coding A Beacon Coding Guide is available at: =com_content&view=article&id=189&Itemi d=118&lang=en 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Available C/S Beacon Message Protocols –EPIRB = 10 protocols –PLB = 4 protocols –ELT = 12 protocols –SSAS = 1 protocol 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Country Codes MID or Country Codes are assigned by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). US Country Codes: 366 is the preferred US Code, but 303, 338, 358, 367, 368, 369, 536 and 559 are available. MID = Maritime Identification Code 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Country Codes A full list of all the country codes is available to download at: tos/MMSI%20CODIGOS%20PAISES.pdf 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

C/S 406 MHz 406 Frequency Stability Frequency stability very important –C/S Beacon gets on frequency fast and is super stable 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

406 MHz Detection Range with the USCG DF-430 Altitude (ft)Detection Range (nm) 25, , , , , , , , , , , /9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

C/S Beacon Self Test Battery Voltage Check Full Circuitry Check Test Data burst GPS acquisition Test (Self Locating) Not required to check remaining power available in the battery. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB C/S 406 MHz Maritime Satellite Emergency Position-Indicating RadioBeacon 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Operational Requirements Strobe Light Auxiliary Radio-Locating Device121.5 MHz, 25 mW, Warble, (US. and SOLAS requirement) Lanyard – 5 to 8 meters Battery – 48hrs of continuous operation Buoyancy and Stability – float upright Designed to prevent inadvertent activation 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of Brackets Category 1 (Float Free) Automatic Release between 4 to 13 ft. EPIRB is transmitting when it gets to the surface Hydrostatic release needs replacement every two years. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Type of Brackets Category 2 (Non Float Free) Manual Release Wet sense deactivation magnet No Bracket carriage requirement 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Types of EPIRBs Class A & B 121.5MHz and 243 MHz only –Now illegal to use in the USA –No Satellite Detection 406 MHz and EPIRB –Cat 1 and 2 brackets, Class 1 and 2 batteries 406 MHZ and Self locating EPIRB –Cat 1 and 2 brackets, Class 1 and 2 batteries, GPS interface or internal GPS 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Class 1 and 2 Batteries Operating –Class 1-40° to + 55° C –Class 2-20° to + 55° C Stowage –Class 1-50° to + 70° C –Class 2-30° to + 70° C 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Lanyard 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS Lanyard: 5 to 8 meters Orange/yellow color Not rot/deteriorate

Battery Replacement Required at Expiration date or if EPIRB activated for any reason besides test. Expiration of battery = ½ Useful Life. Useful Life = power for all required testing + 48 hrs operation. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Operational Requirements Positive visual and/or audible indication that EPIRB is activated (strobe light flashing). Easily manually deployed, activate, and deactivated, and transferred to survival craft. Not be activated or deactivated by conditions encountered in maritime environment. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Control Ready – EPIRB will be ON in the water unless in its bracket. Sometimes labeled “OFF”. ON – EPIRB operates regardless of location or orientation. Unconditional “ON” position. (Requires two physical actions) Test – Self-test Function. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Beacon Switches 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Switches 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Prevention of Inadvertent Activation Must be fitted with means to prevent inadvertent activation and deactivation. Not automatically activate when water washes over while in bracket. Most EPIRBs use bracket with magnet to disable activation circuit. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Deactivation Remove beacon from water and dry off or replace in bracket Move switch to OFF or Ready position Remove cover and disconnect battery 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Activation How –By definition it transmits: out of bracket and wet, by manual switch, in or out of bracket, Or –Self test 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Activation What Happens; –Beacon starts transmitting its Unique Hex ID in a 406 MHz digital message, –121.5 MHz homer with an audible warble, –Strobe Light starts flashing. 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

EPIRB Control Functions Control PositionSatellite EPIRB Condition Satellite EPIRB/BRACKET Status Transmitter Status OnReadyWet*DryOutInOnOff X X X X X X XX X XX X X X XX XX X X XX X X X XX X X X X X 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Brackets Brackets – Cat 1 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Brackets 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS Brackets – Cat 1

Brackets Brackets - Cat 1 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Brackets Brackets - Cat 1 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Brackets Brackets - Cat 2 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Brackets 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Testing Bracket Magnet 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS A Compass provides simple detection on bracket magnet.

Bracket Water Testing 8/9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS

Questions? (305) /9/2015L. Yarbrough/D7CFVS