Jake

Out of curiosity how do you test these transmitters to verify that you are not fooling yourself?

On aircraft ELT's you turn on a receiver tuned to 121.5 and then momentarily switch the ELT on and off. Obviously you should hear the beacon's wail. This is done at a specific time, which is noted in the "Airman's Information Publication" (AIP).

This allows you to check the ELT and to make sure that SAR is not dispatched on a false mission.