# Old EPIRBS,,,Hold onto the them ???



## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Well last year i put up A post on a local fishing forum asking for EPIRBS that nobody wanted anymore as they were upgrading to the new system, we got 3 months out of them and then i thought we would hand them in to Battery World for disposal as the satterlite was turned off,,,

Well since then i have heard of 3 people being rescued with the old EPIRBS because planes can pick up the signal,,i don't know about anybody else but i will be holding onto mine,,theres a 2000 people waiting list for the new ones here and i don't think i will ever buy an EPIRB i think a Shark Shield is more important safety device for kayaks.

Anybody have any thoughts on the subject ?


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Shorty said:


> Well since then i have heard of 3 people being rescued with the old EPIRBS because planes can pick up the signal,,


There were two instances on the Gold Coast last week from activated old EPIRBS, signals picked up by aircraft and and two searches started, to later find the units on the local garbage tip and police said probably activated by the garbage truck compaction ram.

Police said they may press charges for false report due to search costs and incorrect disposal of the units [Battery World was mentioned as being correct way]... but no comments were made for a genuine rescue should it happen using an old EPIRB


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Thats interesting Dodge,,i think its the goverments own fault in a way,they have been telling the public they will be useless from Feb !st,although Battery World and other places have been reccomended as drop of points people might be a little lazy ,just like with car batterys,,,i m sure they never knew they actually still work and that aircraft can pick them up.

The bottom line is they still save lives and the goverment has been pushing folks hard in the direction of buying new ones instead of telling them that aircraft can still pick up your signal.


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## deano199 (Nov 2, 2008)

WOW i might hold on to dads old one just incase


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## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

In that case, can you still get the batteries replaced?


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## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

2000 person waiting list? The BCFs and tackle shops I go to have got them in and i've seen them on the net for purchase?

Bottom line is this - the sun is setting, you're bobbing in the ocean in the middle of nowhere with you boat bobbing in the other direction or sinking...do you want to be floating there thinking I hope a plane is flying overhead that can detect this signal and I hope the pilot reports it and I hope the authorities don't dismiss it as another old epirb going off at the dump or do you want to be thinking, phew my new epirb is activated and shortly the authorities will have the search party out and they'll be able to pinpoint my location to within a 5km radius? Your call.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

beefs said:


> 2000 person waiting list? The BCFs and tackle shops I go to have got them in and i've seen them on the net for purchase?
> 
> .


Travis list the waiting list comment was at the beginning of the year when they were like hens teeth to locate and buy mate


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## bigbulki (Aug 17, 2008)

Hens don't have teeth silly. :lol:


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## Feral (Oct 18, 2008)

Well being as they absolutely insisted they would not be usable after the switch off date, and they would not be monitored, there should be no harm in activating where ever or when ever you want.

So my take is get an old tube, tie your old epirb on, go down to pinkenba, toss it in on the outgoing tide and watch them waste the money.


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## auskayaks (Apr 6, 2009)

Now that is a silly suggestion.
You know there are idiots out there that would do just that.
The new system was introduced to be seperate from the avaiation search and rescue frequencies.
Any one who deliberatly uneceesarily activates an EPIRB new or old should be prosecuted as they are tying up resources that may be required for a genuine emergency.
I carry a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker in my yak when out which has EPIRB like emergency signals but through a private rescue system that is not recognised by Maritime. This unit also allows me tracking of my movement on Google Maps so my family know where I am.
If i was in trouble and needed help I would hope that the services responded and not out chasing rubber tubes for a joke.


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## YakCult (Nov 4, 2008)

Just for what it's worth - 
A mate of mine (used to go to school with - a long time ago  ), is a commercial 747 captain. I asked him a month ago, if they still monitored the OLD EPIRB frequency - to which he replied, "yes!" 
"One of the aircraft's 3 receivers still sits on that frequency and it's running." 
I would think some other aircraft would still do it, although I didn't ask him that. 
I'm not suggesting in the slightest that you could depend on it to save your life, but it just MAY be a tad better than nothing!!


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## GoneFishn (May 17, 2007)

One of the main reasons they have gone to the 406mhz digital frequency as follows.



> Advantages of a 406 MHZ EPIRB over the older analogue EPIRBs include world wide coverage, position location accuracy to within 5 kms (100 m for the MT403G GPS model) and a more stable transmitted signal resulting in faster response time. Most importantly, the addition of a unique digitally coded message provides Search and Rescue authorities with vital information including the country of beacon registration and identification of the vessel in distress thus greatly reducing the incidence of false alerts and unneccesary deployment of valuable rescue resources.


I would not rely on the old models and to be honest if I was to get one I would go the GPS model to reduce search area.


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## Feral (Oct 18, 2008)

Why should we be prosecuted if we activate an old one?, they insisted it would not be monitored after the given date, so by their own words it should not be a problem. Plenty of TV, newspaper and magazine adds that say exactly that were published.

If they lied, its their problem.


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## GoneFishn (May 17, 2007)

I dont think you would be prosecuted Feral but you would be sent the hefty bill, I would think.

Now who is going to be the first to set one off :lol:


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## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

Gday Guys, Lets get this one back on topic ok, silly comments on safety issue's probably arn't the best move for any of us.

The original post was from a fair while ago so lets see this one off to sleep and deal with the more relevant issue of what epirbs we can use now and how we rate them.

This topics dealing with that viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26120 so lets carry on a sensible discution about EPIRB's in there.

Your help on this would be great guys and girls.

Dave


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