In Australia it is maritime law to carry an EPIRB if you go outside semi-protected waters or more than 2 nautical miles off the coast in open waters. The Qld recreational boating guide has maps of these areas. With the EPRIB aboard Teria can now legally sail between Island Groups along the GBR and travel well offshore if that's the shortest course, perhaps even visit a reef on the great barrier reef one day, the options are there.
The 406 Mhz EPIRB is a sealed unit which is only used in dire emergency situations as a last resort, after other methods like good seamanship, jury rigging, auxiliary motors, waiting out bad weather, calling on the VHF radio, mobile phone or signaling another boat have failed.
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| 406 Mhz EPIRB on Teria - easy to find but also out of the way |
Activating an EPIRB is a serious business as it instigates an air-sea search and rescue effort and most times the crew is located and rescued. Being near the coast and coast guard/water police bases increases chances of boat retrieval too, if it's still afloat that is.
An activated 406 MHz EPIRB sends signals to satellites in geostationary and polar orbits (COSPAS-SARSAT system) which can store and relay the vessels data (position) to shore based receiving stations. It has global coverage. Hope this one is never used and remains in the corner, touch wood.
406 Mhz EPIRBs here need to be registered with AMSA - The Australian Maritime safety Authority. I registered on their web site. Details of the boat and owners names, registration number, call-sign, description of vessel, it's size and capabilities, 4 contact names and numbers are sent and are kept on AMSA's computer database. When an emergency EPIRB signal is received they will know where the boat is and information about it to pass on to rescue authorities.
My EPIRB is a GME MT400 model, designed and made in Australia. It's the entry level unit which cost me A$260, fortunately the price of 406 Mhz has come down recently. The MT400 has a position accuracy of 5 nautical miles and is manually activated. It also emits a 127 Mhz homing signal. Rescue vessels here are equipped with EPIRB direction-finders, so they can locate the direction of an activated epirb, then steam towards the homing signal source. The rescue vessels often have radar and FLIR (infra red night vision) and a strobe-light on the EPIRB further aids the search at closer quarters.
The switch design is improved over the old ones, it has a protective flap, which covers a sliding switch. Also it takes one minute for the signal to begin to emit after the switch is slid across. There is a switch seal, which is never to be broken as this ensures that the 6 year life of the Lithium ion batteries is maintained. There is a test button to test it before going on a big trip. GME offer a free battery replacement in 6 years time (2020) to get another 6 years of life.
The EPIRBs ID sticker arrived on a letter from AMSA a week or so after online registration. It has boat name, rego number etc on it so stuck it on the EPIRB so it wouldn't hide any serial numbers etc.
In the 1990's i owned a 127 Mhz analogue EPIRB. It cost $150 then, so after inflation the current price is comparable if not cheaper. The old units could be transferred between boats as they were not registered then so some boats could even share a unit. If one was activated the authorities had no idea who or what vessel it was. Sometimes accidental activation resulted in a big search only to find the boat safely at anchor somewhere, occasionally 127 Mhz EPIRB's activated in a landfill long after being thrown out. Now they have your mobile phone number and VHF call sign to check with you first. The satellite system stopped monitoring 127Mhz in 2009.
An activated 406 MHz EPIRB sends signals to satellites in geostationary and polar orbits (COSPAS-SARSAT system) which can store and relay the vessels data (position) to shore based receiving stations. It has global coverage. Hope this one is never used and remains in the corner, touch wood.
406 Mhz EPIRBs here need to be registered with AMSA - The Australian Maritime safety Authority. I registered on their web site. Details of the boat and owners names, registration number, call-sign, description of vessel, it's size and capabilities, 4 contact names and numbers are sent and are kept on AMSA's computer database. When an emergency EPIRB signal is received they will know where the boat is and information about it to pass on to rescue authorities.
My EPIRB is a GME MT400 model, designed and made in Australia. It's the entry level unit which cost me A$260, fortunately the price of 406 Mhz has come down recently. The MT400 has a position accuracy of 5 nautical miles and is manually activated. It also emits a 127 Mhz homing signal. Rescue vessels here are equipped with EPIRB direction-finders, so they can locate the direction of an activated epirb, then steam towards the homing signal source. The rescue vessels often have radar and FLIR (infra red night vision) and a strobe-light on the EPIRB further aids the search at closer quarters.
If i had a bigger budget or was foreign going then the GPS enabled EPIRB would be a better choice, it emits a position accurate to 100 m. High-tech rescue boats could be scarce is some places but they probably have a GPS with a go-to function.
The most expensive EPIRBs (~2x the $) have water pressure-activated switches and external housing mounts that auto-release when the water reaches it as the ship sinks. Suits serious offshore or commercial vessels.
I mounted my EPIRB inside the cabin on the mid-ship bulkhead, a dry place out of the sun. The signal can pass through fiberglass, so left room for the antenna to pop up under the side deck. It could be activated in it's holder below deck. There is a chance that you could loose the EPIRB when deployed overboard if the thin tether line broke off in rough conditions. (NB Steel boats EPIRB antennae must be outside the hull and cabin, with clear sky view).
I mounted my EPIRB inside the cabin on the mid-ship bulkhead, a dry place out of the sun. The signal can pass through fiberglass, so left room for the antenna to pop up under the side deck. It could be activated in it's holder below deck. There is a chance that you could loose the EPIRB when deployed overboard if the thin tether line broke off in rough conditions. (NB Steel boats EPIRB antennae must be outside the hull and cabin, with clear sky view).
The switch design is improved over the old ones, it has a protective flap, which covers a sliding switch. Also it takes one minute for the signal to begin to emit after the switch is slid across. There is a switch seal, which is never to be broken as this ensures that the 6 year life of the Lithium ion batteries is maintained. There is a test button to test it before going on a big trip. GME offer a free battery replacement in 6 years time (2020) to get another 6 years of life.
The EPIRBs ID sticker arrived on a letter from AMSA a week or so after online registration. It has boat name, rego number etc on it so stuck it on the EPIRB so it wouldn't hide any serial numbers etc.
In the 1990's i owned a 127 Mhz analogue EPIRB. It cost $150 then, so after inflation the current price is comparable if not cheaper. The old units could be transferred between boats as they were not registered then so some boats could even share a unit. If one was activated the authorities had no idea who or what vessel it was. Sometimes accidental activation resulted in a big search only to find the boat safely at anchor somewhere, occasionally 127 Mhz EPIRB's activated in a landfill long after being thrown out. Now they have your mobile phone number and VHF call sign to check with you first. The satellite system stopped monitoring 127Mhz in 2009.
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