Jake,
The Internet is a great place and is certainly a wealth of text.
I am questioning the validity of that quote you posted. I'm not arguing (yet) since I have not taken the time to read up and build a case against it, but I know that I have read, in more than one place, that the 406 MHZ satellites used for the system are
NOT geostationary and therefore
do NOT instantaneously read your distress signal.My PLB is specifically built for marine usage. That differs from what the text of your quote claims.
Okay, (maybe we are both correct) here is an excerpt from a USCG site. It shows that there are both Polar Obiting and Geostationary satellites being used. The reason for the delay of up to an hour or two is because of the
orbitalites . So, .. you can be noticed instantaneously, but your approximate location may not be reported, for as much as 2 hours.
These devices are detectable not only by COSPAS-SARSAT satellites which are polar orbiting, but also by geostationary GOES weather satellites. EPIRBs detected by the GEOSTAR system, consisting of GOES and other geostationary satellites, send rescue authorities an instant alert, but without location information unless the EPIRB is equipped with an integral GPS receiver. EPIRBs detected by COSPAS-SARSAT (e.g. TIROS N) satellites provide rescue authorities location of distress, but location and sometimes alerting may be delayed as much as an hour or two.
One thing that we all should be warned of is that there is a HUGE fine for false alarms. Also, if you use the "test" feature, you must only do so during the first five minutes of any given hour of the day.
GARY
