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Subject: Mounted search and rescue
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- From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
- To: "MSAR-L" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [MSAR] Personal Locator Beacons & SARSAT
- Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 13:29:45 -0700
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are now legal and
available for backpackers, climbers, backcountry horsemen, etc., effective
today, July 1. Previously only maritime and aviation beacons were legal through
the NOAA SARSAT (Search And Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking) system for
nationwide coverage. PLBs have been in test use in Alaska since 1995 and, to
date, have saved almost 400 lives. Federal agencies have also used PLBs for
years, issued to agents in hostile environments to transmit distress signals.
PLBs are now available to the public.
"PLBs are portable units that operate much the same
as [maritime] EPIRBs or [aviation] ELTs. These beacons are designed to be
carried by an individual person instead of on a boat or aircraft. Unlike ELTs
and some EPIRBs, they can only be activated manually and operate exclusively on
406 MHz. And like EPIRBs and ELTs all PLBs also have a built-in, low-power
homing beacon that transmits on 121.5 MHz. This allows rescue forces to home in
on a beacon once the 406 MHz satellite system has gotten them "in the ballpark"
(about 2-3 miles).Some newer PLBs also allow GPS units to be integrated into the
distress signal.This GPS-encoded position dramatically improves the location
accuracy down to the 100-meter levelÂ…thatÂ’s roughly the size of a football
field."
PLBs are available through outdoor gear stores for
$300-500. The PLB must be registered every 2 years with NOAA
SARSAT. When activated, the PLB is tracked
by the SARSAT system. NOAA SARSAT then notifies the appropriate response agency
with the location of the signal. Initial contact goes through the Coast Guard
for maritime, or the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center for all inland SAR
activities in the continental U.S. The actual
search and rescue inland is normally carried out by the Civil Air Patrol or
state or local rescue services. Obviously this is likely to include SAR / MSAR
response.
In CA the contact from Air Force for non-maritime
response currently goes through OES (CA Office of Emergency Services) who then
contacts the appropriate local agency(ies) for call-out response. It is my
understanding that in a few years each state will need to be set up to do their
own beacon monitoring.
Regardless, all SAR response personnel will need to
be competent in using the GPS coordinates or a device to track the distress
beacon. And those who spend a lot of time in the backcountry may consider the
PLB a good investment for personal safety as a method to "call" for
help.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs Tulare Co, CA SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R, Hasty Team, ICP www.CEOates.com/sar |
-
[MSAR] Personal Locator Beacons & SARSAT,
Jorene Downs, 07/01/2003
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
-
Re: [MSAR] Personal Locator Beacons & SARSAT,
Deb8562, 07/01/2003
- Re: [MSAR] Personal Locator Beacons & SARSAT, Jorene Downs, 07/02/2003
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