Analog Epirbs No Longer Being Monitored

摘要

After a nine-year transition period, analog-style Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) are no longer being monitored by search and rescue agencies.rnSince Feb. 1, the U.S. Coast Guard and other search-and-rescue personnel have been receiving distress alerts broadcast using digital 406-MHz EPIRBs only. Satellites no longer process signals from analog EPIRBs that transmit only on 121.5 or 243 MHz.rnManufacturers stopped making analog units about five years ago and refused to service them as the changeover deadline approached. Most commercial users had switched over long before the deadline, but some smaller vessels and recreational cruising boats continued to use them until the deadline. The Coast Guard did not keep records of the units still in operation because there was no requirement to register them, unlike the new units.