Quantity Required: 1 pcs
Battery Life: 48 Hrs
Operating Temperature: -40ºC to +55ºC
An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is used to alert search and rescue services in the event of an emergency. It does this by transmitting a coded message on the 406 MHZ distress frequency. This message is relayed via satellite and earth station to the nearest rescue co-ordination center.
EPIRB works with the Cospas-Sarsat polar orbiting satellite system, which provides true global coverage. The system has an alert delay of typically 45 minutes dependant to when the satellites come into view on the horizon. The satellite can determine the position of the EPIRB within 5 km (3 miles) and the coded message identifies the exact vessel to which the EPIRB is registered. This information allows the rescue services to eliminate false alerts and lunch an appropriate rescue.
The EPIRB has a secondary distress transmitter. This transmits on 121.5 MHZ and used for “homing” purposes. When the rescue services get close, this allows them to direction to find on the signal. To cater for searches at night, the EPIRB has a bright flashing light that aids final visual location.
Operational procedure
There are two way for activation of the EPIRB, one is manually and one is automatic thru HRU.
If the vessel is sinking and there is time to fetch the EPIRB then this should always be done. Remove the EPIRB from the mounting bracket. Once the liferaft is in the water, uncoil the lanyard and tie it to the liferaft, then throw the EPIRB overboard so that it floats next to the liferaft. The EPIRB will operate because its sea switch will activate, or you can manually activate it by sliding the door to the left and then momentarily pressing the ON button. (The on button is hidden behind a sliding door, which protects it from accidental activation. The sliding door has a temper seal to show if the EPIRD has been activated before.)
If there is not time to fetch the EPIRB. The EPIRB is supplied in a plastic enclosure. This is more than just a protective housing, it contains a sprung loaded lever, which automatically pushes the enclosure lid off and releases the EPIRB if your vessel sinks. A device called a Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) controls this automatic ejection. As the vessel sink, the enclosure fills with water. The HRU contains a blade, which is released due to water pressure acting on a diaphragm. Before it reaches a depth of 4 meters (13 feet), the HRU will operate and cut the plastic rod, releasing the spring coil. The spring pushes the EPIRB and enclosure lid outward. As the lid pivots off it disengages from the screw head that helped hold it in place.
The lid weighted so it rolls over and falls away. As the EPIRB floats away from the lid, it moves out of range of the magnet. Once away from the magnet its sea switch becomes armed. The EPIRB then floats on the surface with its strobe light flashing.
When activated the EPIRB will start flashing immediately. It will make any distress transmissions for the first 50 seconds. This gives you a chance to turn it off, if you activated it accidentally. During the first 50 seconds the red lamp comes on continuously. When the red lamp starts to flash, the 50 seconds is over and distress transmissions have started.
To ensure the sea switch operates properly in rough seas, if has a built-in time delay. It has to be wet for at least 2 seconds before it will activate and it has to be dry for at least 8 seconds before it will de-activate.
