iscover
This was once a Cessna 206. Disappearing en route over mountainous rainforest the aircraft took many days to locate utilising the costly resources of dozens of search aircraft and hundreds of people in the air and on the ground. In these conditions it is not unusual for the aircraft to never actually be located. Whilst this particular accident was nonsurvivable, many others are and a speedy location of the wreck could well save lives that otherwise would have been lost. Carriage of an ELB is the first step to ensuring that an overdue aircraft is located with a minimum of lost time and excessive cost. (CAA)
Why Your ELB May Not Save You
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Why Your Elb May Not Save You
A little known fact is the reality that a large fraction of the ELBs (also known as ELTs) currently in use in Australia cannot be tracked by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite network. As such they can only be tracked at shorter ranges by airborne VHF homing receivers and as a result, the probability of location is substantially reduced.
Historically, the Emergency Locator Beacon (ELB) evolved as a device which would produce an AM modulated VHF signal operating at 121. 5 MHz – this signal would then be tracked by VHF homing receiver equipped aircraft searching for the source of the signal. A typical ELB of this generation is optimised for detection by conventional AM VHF receivers and this reflects in the use of a style of AM (Amplitude Modulation) where as much as possible of the power produced by the transmitter is concentrated in the audibly detectable part of the signal transmitted. This produces a signal which is more readily detected by conventional airborne AM VHF receivers; in this fashion the probability of detection was maximised.
Technology has evolved however and the late eighties saw the establishment of the COSPAS/SARSAT international search and rescue program, based on the use of a constellation of satellites in polar orbit. With 23 participating states and strong links with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Civil Aviation Organisation (!CAO) and International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR- a standards body), COSPAS/SARSAT has become a powerful tool in the hands of search and rescue organisations. The current constellation of 5 satellites is comprised of a mix of US NOAA vehicles and Soviet Nadezhda vehicles, equipped with beacon tracking facilities.
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