Hey guys,

I've been digging around for information on EPIRBs. It's all greatly
confusing, different frequencies, features, GPS enabled or not, bla bla
bla. I see some that have internal stuff to check up on itself, prices
range widely... what's the scoop? What do I really need to get found if
I am in trouble??

Btw, this was a post I found on the subject, thoughts?:


How to pick an EPIRB
My friends and I go boating a lot. Since none of us are particularily
loaded, we usually wind up on somebody's boat that definitely isn't the
latest in technology, or necessarily most trustworthy.

Of course we have a Seatow subscription and all the requisite VHF radios
and such, but after reading some stories of boating emergencies, I
decided that it's time to get an emergency locator of some kind.

First of all it took me a while to sort out what I was even looking for.
Having seen the small units that alpine rescue personnel use, I figured I
could dig up more information. Apparently, it's the EPIRB that is the
device of choice for search and rescue.

By now, I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of EPIRB
to buy. First of all, there is the frequency issue. There are 121.5 MHZ
variants, 243MHz, and 406MHz as well. 121.5 used to be the standard, a
friend of mine has one of those Breitling watches with a built-in EPIRB
(very cool, btw!). He was telling me about the newer 406 MHz frequency
and has been all worried lately whether Breitling will upgrade his watch.
He did spend a bunch of money on that thing!!

Anyways, apparently 121.5 MHz has a number of limitation and is best kept
for coastal use. I was told that the EPIRB location is not stored by
satellites, so one can find themselves in a "dead zone", and all the
great technology is a waste while you're floating in the ocean waiting to
drown.

The 406MHz version, on the other hand, gets stored by satellites, being
updated when the satellite flies over your location and updates the data
accordingly. Very cool, and much more confidence inspiring. Especially,
considering the price of these things!

Apparently the radius is about 3 miles, still a bit of a stretch, but the
best that we can get these days. Then there are two categories, CAT 1 is
automatically activated EPIRBS (when submerged in water), and CAT 2 which
has to be manually activated.

There are several manufacturers of the civilian EPRIB variety, probably
most notable being ACR. Then there's also NAT and Pains Wessex, and SEA.
Most of them carry both the category 1 & 2 versions, with a pretty wide
range of pricing depending on the model.

The 'Fastfind' by Pains Wessex is a nice compact 406MHz CAT 2 device (I'm
undecided on manual vs. automatic deployment), which can be had under
$550 if you shop around. It doesn't have GPS but promises positional
accuracy to within 3 meters with the added 121.5MHz transponder that is
used to hone in on the exact location. Good stuff! I bought mine at
YachtIQ, awesome place for all things marine electronics
(www.yachtiq.com).

If you want ALL the goodies, I'd suggest the ACR Globalfix. It'll set you
about about a grand, but you get 406MHz automatic release, internal GPS
engine for faster location (updated up to every 20 minutes), built-in
ciruitry, battery voltage, and GPS acquisition test features, and built-
in strobe. If that doesn't get you found, then you really must have ran
out of Karma points! Anyway, list on that one is like $2,500 but again at
YachtIQ they'll sell it to you for some ridiculously great price. Last
time I checked it was about a grand, but ultimately I decided to go with
the lower end Pains Wessex instead of the nice ACR. It'd be worth more
than the boat we're usually on!

So, that's all the input I have on the subject, I recommend Capt Stevie
Potts over at YachtIQ (yea I know, I'm shamelessly plugging those guys
now). He answered some of the most obscure questions ever I had, when
trying to get some replacement parts for an old fish finder.

Happy boating!


Thanks for any input you could provide! And... what's up with that
Breitling watch? Any good? Seems like it costs the same as some of the
EPIRBs and it sure looks a lot better and more portable!

- Kris