Personal Locator Beacons PLBs S A R S

Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) S A R S A T

What is Cospas-Sarsat? ? ? COSPAS = Cosmicheskaya Systyema Poiska Aariynyich Sudov Which loosely translates into: “The Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress” SARSAT = Search And Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking In short, Cospas-Sarsat takes the “search” out of Search & Rescue

Emergency Beacons • Two types: 121. 5/243 MHz and 406 MHz • Three applications: - Emergency Position Indication Radio Beacons (EPIRB) - Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) - Personal Locator Beacons (PLB)

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) General Characteristics • Small and lightweight • Manually activated • Watertight • Contains transmitter, antenna, and battery. - • GPS receiver (optional) Tested at international and national levels

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) International (Cospas-Sarsat) Specifications • Transmit at 406. 028 MHz • 5 W output • Temperature range Storage: - 67 F to + 158 F (Class 1) Operating: - 40 F to + 131 F (Class 1) Storage: - 22 F to + 158 F (Class 2) Operating: - 4 F to + 131 F (Class 2) • 24 hours duration

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) National (RTCM) Specifications • Floatation - Category 1: Must float in water - Category 2: Not required to float • 121. 5 MHz homing with Morse-code “P” identifier • Self-test function

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) Identification Information • • Encoded into beacon: - Manufacturer, model, serial number - Category - GPS position (optional) Registration database: - Owner, address, telephone - Application (e. g. , hiking, canoeing) - Emergency points of contact - Additional information

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) Performance As Demonstrated in Alaska (1995 -2002) Cause of Activation Number Percent Distress Activation 154 85 Non-Distress Activation 14 8 Undetermined 12 7 Total Activation 180 100 Total Rescues: 226

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) Alert Data Distribution Air Force RCC Local User Terminal U. S. Mission Control Center Frame Relay PLB Processor Virtual Private Network State SAR Authority PLB System Voice

FOR MORE INFO… NOAA/SARSAT E/SP 3, Room 3320, FB 4 5200 Auth Road Suitland, MD 20746 1 -301 -457 -5678 Or 1 -888 -212 -SAVE (7283) Fax: 1 -301 -457 -5620 Visit Our Website! www. sarsat. noaa. gov Any Questions? ? ?