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STEP TWO - HOW THE BEACON WORKS 1. How your beacon brings help
406 MHz beacons are a type of portable emergency equipment that transmits
a distress signal to search and rescue (SAR) organizations. The purpose of
these beacons is to aid SAR teams in tracking and locating ships or
individuals in jeopardy as rapidly as possible.
The 406 MHz frequenc y is a worldwide dedicated emergency frequency that
is detected by a special system of satellites called the Cospas-Sarsat system .
This satellite system was established by, and continues to be supporte d by,
its primary benefactors - the USA, Russia, Canada and France. The Cospas -
Sarsat system has saved over 24,500 lives - and counting - since its
inception. See Appendix G or the Cospas-Sarsat website for more
information about the system at www.cospas-sarsat.org.
When a 406 MHz beacon is activated, the digital d istress message is sent to
Cospas-Sarsat satellites and, in turn, the distress message is relayed to SAR.
The distress message contains important information about the beacon and
its owner. Additional inform ation about the beacon is accessed by SAR from
the beacon registration da tabase. At the sam e time the 406 MHz signal is
activated, a 121.5 MHz sig nal is turned on. The 121.5 MHz signal is used by
SAR to home in on the beacon as they approach it.
The 406 MHz signal is detected by multiple satellites and from that
information the location of the beacon can be calculated. This data alone is
sufficient for SAR to find persons or ships in distress in a reasonable
timeframe.