User's Manual

2. Anatomy Of A Rescue
STEPTWO‐ HOWTHEBEACONWORKS
Howyourbeaconsummonshelp
406MHzbeaconsareatypeofportableemergencyequipmentthat
transmitsadistresssignaltosearchandrescue(SAR)organizations.The
purposeofthesebeaconsistoaidSARteamsintrackingandlocatingshipsor
individuals in jeopardy as rapidly as possible
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The406MHzfrequencyisaworldwidededicatedemergencyfrequencythat
isdetectedbyanetworkofsatellitescalledtheCospas‐Sarsat system.This
satellitesystemwasestablishedby,andcontinuestobesupportedby,its
primarybenefactors‐ theUSA,Russia,CanadaandFrance.TheCospas‐Sarsat
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learnmoreaboutthesystemvisitwww.cospas‐sarsat.org.
Whena406MHzbeaconisactivated,thedigitaldistressmessageissentto
Cospas‐Sarsat satellitesand,inturn,thedistressmessageisrelayedtoSAR
forces.ThedistressmessagecontainsthebeaconUINandonsomemodels
theGPSlocationofthebeacon.Additionalinformationaboutthebeaconis
accessedbySARforcesfromthebeaconregistrationdatabase.Atthesame
timethe406MHzsignalisactivated,a121.5MHzsignalisturnedon.The
121.5MHzsignalisusedbySARforcestohomeinon
thebeaconasthey
approachit.
The406MHzsignalisdetectedbymultiplesatellitesandfromthat
informationthelocationofthebeaconcanbecalculated.Thisdataaloneis
sufficientforSARtofindpersonsorshipsindistressinareasonable
timeframe.However,asafurtherenhancement,somebeaconshaveaGPS
engineonboard.
Thisfeatureallowsthebeacontoacquirecurrentlocation
coordinatesfromaninternalGPSreceiver.The
p
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p
oseofthisfeatureisto
User Tip
Learn more about the Cospas-Sarsat satellite
system: www.cospas-sarsat.org
pp
sendanevenmorepreciselocationofthebeacontothesatellites,i.e.,
latitudeandlongitudedata.ThishelpsSARtoreachthelocationevenfaster.
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