121.5 ELTs banned

Since satellite cover has been withdrawn for 121.5
(High false alert rate, poor localization)
406.0 and 406.1 ELTs will be needed, following a recent FCC determination.

Brian W

I thought the FCC determination was that it should be "considered", not that
it was "final".


"brian whatcott" wrote in message
...
Since satellite cover has been withdrawn for 121.5
(High false alert rate, poor localization)
406.0 and 406.1 ELTs will be needed, following a recent FCC determination.

Brian W

Just saw this in my inbox:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news..._202760-1.html


The Federal Communications Commission took the general aviation world
by surprise when it said in a recent report it will prohibit the sale
or use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters, effective in
August. The Aircraft Electronics Association said it just learned of
the new rule today, and has begun working with the FAA, FCC and others
to allow for timely compliance without grounding thousands of general
aviation aircraft. The 121.5 ELTs are allowed under FAA rules. The FCC
said its rules have been amended to "prohibit further certification,
manufacture, importation, sale or use of 121.5 MHz ELTs." The FCC says
that if the 121.5 units are no longer available, aircraft owners and
operators will "migrate" to the newer 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs, which are
monitored by satellite, while the 121.5 frequency is not. "Were we to
permit continued marketing and use of 121.5 MHz ELTs ... it would
engender the risk that aircraft owners and operators would mistakenly
rely on those ELTs for the relay of distress alerts," the FCC says.
AOPA said today it is opposed to the rule change.

"The FCC is making a regulatory change that would impose an extra cost
on GA operators, without properly communicating with the industry or
understanding the implications of its action," said AOPA Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. "There is no FAA
requirement to replace 121.5 MHz units with 406 MHz technology. When
two government agencies don't coordinate, GA can suffer." The AEA said
dealers should refrain from selling any new 121.5 MHz ELTs "until
further understanding of this new prohibition can be understood and a
realistic timeline for transition can be established."

Bugger! Just listed two 121.5 / 243MHz ELTs on E-bay.
Suppose it'll be prison soon.
Jim

On Jun 21, 6:09*pm, 5Z wrote:
Just saw this in my inbox:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news..._202760-1.html

The Federal Communications Commission took the general aviation world
by surprise when it said in a recent report it will prohibit the sale
or use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters, effective in
August. The Aircraft Electronics Association said it just learned of
the new rule today, and has begun working with the FAA, FCC and others
to allow for timely compliance without grounding thousands of general
aviation aircraft. The 121.5 ELTs are allowed under FAA rules. The FCC
said its rules have been amended to "prohibit further certification,
manufacture, importation, sale or use of 121.5 MHz ELTs." The FCC says
that if the 121.5 units are no longer available, aircraft owners and
operators will "migrate" to the newer 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs, which are
monitored by satellite, while the 121.5 frequency is not. "Were we to
permit continued marketing and use of 121.5 MHz ELTs ... it would
engender the risk that aircraft owners and operators would mistakenly
rely on those ELTs for the relay of distress alerts," the FCC says.
AOPA said today it is opposed to the rule change.

"The FCC is making a regulatory change that would impose an extra cost
on GA operators, without properly communicating with the industry or
understanding the implications of its action," said AOPA Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. "There is no FAA
requirement to replace 121.5 MHz units with 406 MHz technology. When
two government agencies don't coordinate, GA can suffer." The AEA said
dealers should refrain from selling any new 121.5 MHz ELTs "until
further understanding of this new prohibition can be understood and a
realistic timeline for transition can be established."

121.5 MHz ELTs *should* be removed from manufacturing, marketing and
sale. They are a bad joke compared to 406 MHz ELTs, especially with
the discontinuation or COSPAS-SARSAT monitoring of 121.5Mhz. And there
is still too much confusion out there about this.

It's less clear what the FCC prohibition of use really means and when
it will be effective (are they going to fine someboyd who trips a
121.5MHz ELT and gets rescued?). SAR organizations will still use
121.5 Mhz for homing on 406 MHZ ELTs and PLBs (that also have 121.5
MHz homing signals).

For gliders ELT seem very problematic, too hard to mount, antennas
often very poorly installed, too many false alarms and a question if
an ELT will alarm reliably enough at many glider crash energy levels.
I'd much rather have a manually activated PLB instead of an ELT -- and
personally I use a SPOT tacker in tracking mode to provide a rough
last-known position that does not rely in impact activation or being
physically able to active a PLB.

Darryl

Darryl Ramm wrote:
For gliders ELT seem very problematic, too hard to mount, antennas

Moreover:
How to test proper functioning of 406 MHz with 118 - 136 MHz radios?

brian whatcott wrote:
Since satellite cover has been withdrawn for 121.5
(High false alert rate, poor localization)
406.0 and 406.1 ELTs will be needed, following a recent FCC determination.

Brian W

I can see the 406 units providing better localization, but how do they
lower the high false alert rate? I assume they still use a "G Switch"
to activate?

I would think that localization could be good on the 121.5 units if they
would be made to accept GPS data and transmit lat/long data when they go
off...

5Z wrote:
Just saw this in my inbox:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news..._202760-1.html


The Federal Communications Commission took the general aviation world
by surprise when it said in a recent report ...... "Were we to
permit continued marketing and use of 121.5 MHz ELTs ... it would
engender the risk that aircraft owners and operators would mistakenly
rely on those ELTs for the relay of distress alerts," the FCC says.
AOPA said today it is opposed to the rule change.


OK, maybe the satellites don't monitor the 121.5 units anymore, but
haven't commercial airliners been required to monitor 121.5 at all
times? I would think there are enough flight routes in the USA that
almost all areas would be in range of an overflying jetliner to pick up
the signal...

Darryl Ramm wrote:


I'd much rather have a manually activated PLB instead of an ELT -- and
personally I use a SPOT tacker in tracking mode to provide a rough
last-known position that does not rely in impact activation or being
physically able to active a PLB.

Darryl

Are these 406 units ONLY activated manually? If so, what if a guy is
too busy flying the plane and forgets to activate the 406 unit? If
that's the only way to set one off, the rescue rate may be less than the
121.5 units...

Peter Hermann wrote:
Darryl Ramm wrote:
For gliders ELT seem very problematic, too hard to mount, antennas

Moreover:
How to test proper functioning of 406 MHz with 118 - 136 MHz radios?

When the FCC bans VHF radio for aircraft use and requires us to move
to UHF, it will solve that problem. Until then, you'll either have to
believe a little LED transmit light or find a ham radio friend with a
UHF handheld radio to listen for you. I will do it for a small fee