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Source: ONE News -
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The Mountain Safety Council is urging those heading into the great outdoors to have the latest communication devices.
After February 1 the old 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz distress beacons will not generate an alert or give your location, and the satellite system that supports these old beacons will cease to operate.
Having the latest distress beacon will ensure help is at hand if necessary.
Programme manager Chris Tews says older models will be outdated due to satellite systems discontinuing operation, so people need to update to a 406 megahertz beacon.
He says trampers and mountaineers should have a personal locator beacon to raise alerts quickly in an emergency.
How will a 406MHz distress beacon help save your life?
It works . Only 406MHz distress beacons will be monitored by satellite from February 1.
It's faster. Once activated, the signal from a 406MHz distress beacon is picked up almost instantly by satellite. The satellites supporting the old 121.5MHz and 243MHz distress beacons can take several hours to determine your location, which could be hours too late.
It's more accurate . 406MHz distress beacons give rescuers a search area of approximately 20 square kilometres. However, GPS equipped EPIRBs are strongly recommended, as they reduce the search area down to only a few square metres. This takes the "search" out of search and rescue, and increases your chances of survival. Any 406MHz beacon is a huge improvement on the 121.5/243MHz system, which had a search area of more than 1,260 square kilometres.
It brings the right response. With 406MHz distress beacons, alerts are cross-referenced against a database of registered owners. Having this information improves rescuers' ability to help you in an emergency, and to respond appropriately. Being able to contact you (or a person you nominate) also saves time and resources from being wasted on false alerts - out of the 1300.
Click here for more information on the 406Mhz beacon.
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