Why switch to the 406Mhz beacon (EPIRB)? | Search and Rescue - Maritime NZ

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	Why switch to a 406Mhz beacon
	All 121.5 MHz distress beacons will be obsolete from February 2009. This is because the council that controls the international satellite system has decided the satellites will stop processing 121.5 MHz analogue signals from 1 February 2009. Therefore, from 1 February 2009, only 406 MHz beacons will be detected by satellite. The decision to make 121.5 MHz beacons obsolete is firstly aimed at reducing the very high false alarm rate from analogue distress beacons worldwide. Currently, a staggering 97 percent of analogue distress beacon signals are false alarms. In New Zealand, that figure is 93 percent, and this means valuable resources are wasted by false alarms. Most importantly, 406 MHz beacons are detected quickly and more accurately, which has obvious safety advantages. For example, depending on the location of the 406 MHz beacon, the signal may be detected within minutes, compared to up to the five hours that it may take to get a confirmed satellite detection from a 121.5 MHz analogue beacon.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand strongly urges owners of 121.5 MHz distress beacons to switch to a 406 MHz beacon as soon as is practicable, and well before the February 2009 changeover date.

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