Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
gold chain crowd?

I think I remember seeing them between $2-3k.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
> site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
> watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
> the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
> powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
> is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
> gold chain crowd?
>

Check www.froogle.com, and you'll see prices anywhere from $4K and up.
Similar pricing on new ones on ebay (Breitling Emergency), but it doesn't
look like anyone's buying.


"John Doe" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> I think I remember seeing them between $2-3k.
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
> > site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
> > watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
> > the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
> > powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
> > is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
> > gold chain crowd?
> >
>
>

wrote:
> Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
> site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
> watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
> the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
> powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
> is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
> gold chain crowd?
>
Maybe this is also of interest
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Orders/2001/da012410.doc

wrote:
> Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
> site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
> watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
> the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
> powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
> is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
> gold chain crowd?
>

in the same price range you could buy yourself an EPIRB with
embedded GPS; may be not as stylish but a tad more effective
I would guess

--Sylvain

That IS quite interesting. Thanks for posting. So to sum it up, yes, it was
true that it was sold to only licensed pilots for about one year then
Breitling was allowed to sell it to non-pilots. I was confused as to the
"one time use" description. I always thought that you can replace a battery
in the watch after the ELT was used. Maybe they mean the battery itself is
one-time-use?

I have a lower-end Breitling and love it. However, getting it repaired in
New York will set you back $250 just to look at it. Only the certified
repair shops have access to watch parts. They DO buff it as part of the deal
but for that money, it's the least they can do.

Marco


"Wolfgang Kemper" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
> > Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
> > site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
> > watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
> > the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
> > powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
> > is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
> > gold chain crowd?
> >
> Maybe this is also of interest
> http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Orders/2001/da012410.doc



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In article >,
Marco Leon <mmleon(at)yahoo.com> wrote:
>That IS quite interesting. Thanks for posting. So to sum it up, yes, it was
>true that it was sold to only licensed pilots for about one year then
>Breitling was allowed to sell it to non-pilots. I was confused as to the
>"one time use" description. I always thought that you can replace a battery
>in the watch after the ELT was used. Maybe they mean the battery itself is
>one-time-use?

IIRC, to activate the ELT, you unscrewed a knob and pulled out the
antenna. There was no way to rewind it.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/

I think what they mean by one time use is described in paragraph 2 as
breaking a cap.

The device is worn on a person’s wrist, and activated by breaking a cap and
uncoiling an antenna from the watch case.




"Marco Leon" <mmleon(at)yahoo.com> wrote in message
...
> That IS quite interesting. Thanks for posting. So to sum it up, yes, it
> was
> true that it was sold to only licensed pilots for about one year then
> Breitling was allowed to sell it to non-pilots. I was confused as to the
> "one time use" description. I always thought that you can replace a
> battery
> in the watch after the ELT was used. Maybe they mean the battery itself is
> one-time-use?
>
> I have a lower-end Breitling and love it. However, getting it repaired in
> New York will set you back $250 just to look at it. Only the certified
> repair shops have access to watch parts. They DO buff it as part of the
> deal
> but for that money, it's the least they can do.
>
> Marco
>
>
> "Wolfgang Kemper" > wrote in message
> ...
>> wrote:
>> > Anybody know how much these watches sell for? No info on the Breitling
>> > site. I recall reading years ago when these first came out that these
>> > watches were only sold to pilots (doubtful) with the intent to limit
>> > the number of false ELT signals. Then again, I doubt the transmitter is
>> > powerful enough to reach any DF gear unless the aircraft or ground unit
>> > is very close by. So... is this just a (overpriced) gimmick for the
>> > gold chain crowd?
>> >
>> Maybe this is also of interest
>> http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Orders/2001/da012410.doc
>
>
>
> Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.usenet.com

Sylvain wrote:
> wrote:
> in the same price range you could buy yourself an EPIRB with
> embedded GPS; may be not as stylish but a tad more effective
> I would guess

A tad? I trust you're being sarcastic. A 406MHz PLB can be had for
under $600 and will squawk your GPS coordinates up to a satellite. Even
the best 121.5 ELT won't help until someone hears it, and even then the
search grids can start out pretty large (ask any CAP SAR folks). Where
I fly (New England) I doubt there's too many places I could go down and
go unnoticed for very long*, but if I spent more time away from the
densely populated areas I'd have this on my shopping list.

-cwk.

* To be fair, once one goes north of Manchester NH, things get plenty
thin enough. Five or six years back a Lear went down on approach into
Lebanon, and the wreckage wasn't found for a couple years. Especially
in Winter one doesn't have to be out in the open very long for it to
prove deadly.

Hmmm, so how do you verify that the battery still has juice like the ELT's
in our aircraft? Or is that replaced with service?

Marco



"Gig 601XL Builder" <wr.giacona@coxDOTnet> wrote in message
news:2rABe.40272$DC2.26328@okepread01...
> I think what they mean by one time use is described in paragraph 2 as
> breaking a cap.
>
> The device is worn on a person's wrist, and activated by breaking a cap
and
> uncoiling an antenna from the watch case.
>
>



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> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> * To be fair, once one goes north of Manchester NH, things get plenty
> thin enough. Five or six years back a Lear went down on approach into
> Lebanon, and the wreckage wasn't found for a couple years. Especially
> in Winter one doesn't have to be out in the open very long for it to
> prove deadly.


Interesting story there:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001208X07226&ntsbno=NYC97FA194&akey=1

http://brian76.mystarband.net/Learjet.htm

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> A tad? I trust you're being sarcastic. A 406MHz PLB can be had for
> under $600 and will squawk your GPS coordinates up to a satellite. Even
> the best 121.5 ELT won't help until someone hears it

It's not clear what you mean here, but the satellite system listening for
ELT signals does detect 121.5 as well. It's not nearly as effective as
having GPS coordinates broadcast -- it can take a few hours just to get a
rough fix on your location by satellite -- but it's not like you are
depending on some person who just happens to be listening to 121.5 to
randomly fly by your location.

Pete

Peter Duniho wrote:
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> > A tad? I trust you're being sarcastic. A 406MHz PLB can be had for
> > under $600 and will squawk your GPS coordinates up to a satellite. Even
> > the best 121.5 ELT won't help until someone hears it
>
> It's not clear what you mean here, but the satellite system listening for
> ELT signals does detect 121.5 as well. It's not nearly as effective as
> having GPS coordinates broadcast -- it can take a few hours just to get a
> rough fix on your location by satellite -- but it's not like you are
> depending on some person who just happens to be listening to 121.5 to
> randomly fly by your location.


My bad. Duh!

IIRC in order for the satellites to provide a fix your signal needs to
be heard by several different birds, usually on multiple passes. From
my nautical experience with EPIRBs I recall fixes being on the order of
"within 5-60 miles of this point." In the open ocean, that's really a
needle in a haystack, particularly because you may have only one or two
ships in the area to look for you. In aviation we have it better
because DF'ing equipment will be brought into play very quickly, and
that area can be narrowed down better than at sea, where the satellite
fix is likely to be the only option.

There are some different dynamics at work between boating and flying
emergencies. There are many situations in which you can lose the boat
but not get seriously injured, and ride out a few days (or more) in a
life raft. An airplane crash on the other hand seem to me more likely
to involve injuries which, without immediate medical attention, will
prove deadly. So one could argue that the speed of rescue is more
critical in flying than boating, though I'd say that one who can afford
either should consider a PLB+GPS pretty seriously.

Best,
-cwk.