[TheList] 406 EPIRB beacons

Sun Jun 7 14:25:40 AEST 2009

Hi All.

The 406 beacons are not the magic bullet for those that get into trouble in
the bush, just another item in the toolkit.  
I purchased the non-gps 406 epirb for my 4x4 along with commercial HF radio
(4wd-Net), commercial VHF radio, VHF/UHF/HF ham radio, winch, tow ropes,
shovel, first aid kit, 20 litres of water etc etc.

In hindsight the 406 with GPS would have been the better option but at the
time the gps model was twice the price +.

My original understanding was switch on the epirb if you were in a serious
"life at risk" injury situation and wait for the helicopters to arrive.  
The information I got later from NZRCC is the response time can be from 2.5
to 6.5 hours due to location and the time for enough satellites to see your
activation.
The advise also given by RCC was response time can be greatly reduced if in
dense bush by moving the GPS to a high clear point for better signal
coverage, sending someone out with a cellphone or with comms to raise the
alarm and give response personel clear information about the location &
nature of the emergency will also help.  

The gps model sends the location at first contact with the satellite so one
pass is enough and response time much reduced but it too has to be "seen"
before the alarm is raised.

I also specified my gps when registered to be land based New Zealand North
Island only so NZRCC can discount locations that fall over water or in the
South Island.

My next EPIRB will be the gps model.

Cheers,

Rick.

-----Original Message-----
From: thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz
[mailto:thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz] On Behalf Of ZLScanner
Sent: Saturday, 6 June 2009 23:04
To: The NEW List
Subject: Re: [TheList] Scott's trip back in time

Yup you were baiting me there, weren't you hehe.

Seriously though - the new 406 beacons are making things a lot easier for
emergency services but sometimes the location (in a deep valley etc) of the
person using it may mean a delay before the satellite finally picks up the
beacon.  If you are in one of the DOC wilderness areas then the only way to
get a helicopter in to pick you up is by setting off one of these.

At 15:00 6/06/2009, you wrote:
>I knew that was coming ;-)
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz 
>[mailto:thelist-bounces at radiowiki.org.nz] On Behalf Of ZLScanner
>Sent: Saturday, 6 June 2009 11:17 a.m.
>To: The NEW List
>Subject: Re: [TheList] Scott's trip back in time
>
>But of course if he was in the South Island going tramping, I would 
>hope he had visited www.mountainradio.co.nz and had taken a radio with him.
>
>
> >I don't expect either to work in the middle of the bush in the middle 
> >of nowhere - that sort of expectation is what gets trampers etc
> into trouble!
>
>
>
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