It’s almost SUMMER! Be Safe out there!

There are three types of beacons used to transmit distress signals.

EPIRBs (emergency position-indicating radio beacons: for boats & ships, big & small)

ELTs (emergency locator transmitter/ beacons for aviation/ aircraft use)

PLBs (personal locator beacons are hand held personal portable units used for multi-environment use by hunters, kayakers, hikers, and just about anyone).

Key item to make certain that you do is to register your emergency locator beacon so they know who is in trouble.

An emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon, a portable battery powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate airplanes, vessels, and persons in distress and in need of immediate rescue.

In the event of an emergency, such as the ship sinking or an airplane crash, the transmitter is activated and begins transmitting a continuous radio signal which is used by search and rescue teams to quickly locate the emergency and render aid.

Distress alerts transmitted from ELTs, EPIRBs, and PLBs, are received and processed by the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme, the international satellite system for search and rescue (SAR).

When manually activated, or automatically activated upon immersion or impact, such transmitters/ beacons send out a distress signal.

The signals are monitored worldwide and the location of the distress is detected by non-geostationary satellites using the Doppler effect for trilateration, and in more recent EPIRBs also by GPS.

The basic purpose of this system is to help rescuers find survivors within the so-called “Golden Day” (the first 24 hours following a traumatic event) during which the majority of survivors can usually be saved.

Remember, the life You Save may be Your Own!