On 2/21/2010 2:15 PM, Mark Jones wrote:
> So, just how good is an ELT really? How long should it take
> for someone to respond to an ELT?
For clarity, the ELTs I am talking about are the new 406Mhz units that
transmit GPS coordinates, so they know within a few feet of where you
are located. I agree completely that the old 121.5 Mhz ELTs are mostly
ineffective. Legal, but ineffective.
On 2/21/2010 1:53 PM, Larry&Sallie Flesner wrote:
> For the price, I see a definite benefit to the APRS, probably used
> with a 406 ELT.. The difference being that the APRS is constantly
> transmitting your location and will indicate where the flight
> terminated and the ELT will only arrive on scene and transmit "after
> the fact" and could (probably would) be totally useless depending on
> it's survivability.
Yes, the APRS unit will indicate where the flight terminated, but
unless you manually flip a switch to tell it to start transmitting an
"emergency" signal, there is no difference in the signal between landing
safely and crashing. The APRS unit may also be destroyed in the crash,
never giving you an opportunity to flip the "emergency" signal switch.
The important point here is that APRS must be *manually* activated to
send the "emergency" signal similar to a PLB. The ELT is the only one
of the three that will automatically activate in the event of a crash.
I just want to make sure that people are not thinking that the APRS will
function in the same manner as an ELT. It doesn't.
A 406 Mhz ELT in combination with APRS would be a nice setup, IMHO.
A complete APRS system is about the same price as a PLB, so there
really isn't much of a price advantage. It does offer some really nice
features that the PLB doesn't, though.
APRS Portable unit: $260
http://www.byonics.com/microtrak/mtaio.php
APRS Aircraft wired unit with antenna and GPS: $278
unit - http://www.byonics.com/microtrak/mt8000fa.php
antenna - http://www.byonics.com/microtrak/mt_antenna.php
gps - http://www.byonics.com/tinytrak/gps.php
Portable PLB - $290
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/mcmurdofastfind.php
-Dj
--
Dj Merrill - N1JOV
Glastar Sportsman 2+2 Builder #7118 N421DJ - http://deej.net/sportsman/
Grumman Yankee Driver N9870L - http://deej.net/yankee/
