I think they messed up the translation. There is nothing that emits a signal if you are 'about to impact the ocean', other than the pilots screaming.

I believe they must be talking about the ELT's I mentioned above. The ELT's are independent units, not tied to any of the aircraft systems, and they are both portable, you are supposed to take them with you into the life rafts, if you ditch in the ocean.

The **** Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) are both tied to the airplane's electrical systems, and other systems. Those are the "Black Boxes" (actually painted bright orange, so they can be easier found) the media talks about.

But they are not the ELT's, which do emit an emergency signal once activated, on a VHF radio freq. which is 121.50.

If you own a VHF handheld, you might be able to hear the woo-woo-woo signal it puts out if you are near an airport when somebody tests one.