One of the frustrating parts of owning a 406 MHz EPIRB, PLB or ELT has been that it is nearly impossible for the average consumer to actually test their beacon. We have been pretty much forced to rely on the beacon’s own internal self-test mechanism.

Mind you, it’s not that there have been failures and such that leads me to be concerned. 406 MHz beacons have proven extremely reliable and I confidentially bet my life on this technology every time I go into the wilderness, flying or boating. However, it’s just human nature to prefer to really know something works because we can see it work. The more technology involved, the more it helps raise our confidence level.

Enter Procon, Inc’s SafeLife Systems. They have established their own ground stations (technically called Local User Terminals or LUTs) to receive the self-test burst from the Geosynchronous satellites. Even better, you may be eligible to participate in a free Beta Test of the system, and thereby a free test of your 406 MHz beacon, and just by applying to participate in the Beta Test you will be eligible to receive 30% off the cost of the various SafeTrip and beacon testing services SafeLife will be offering.

They have asked me to invite you to come help wring out their 406 Beacon Test System. More details and links to the Beta Test Program on my Blog: http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=108

I was going to recommend as an alternative that PLBs could be taken to an FCC licensed radio service facility (such as what I used to own) and the transmission could be tested there without engaging the response system. However, this is a far better testing service, as it tests not only the personal transmitter, but whether or not it engages the system. I would recommend this over other closed circuit methods.

I must say, it is about time someone out there offered such a service. Being out in the cold wet woods is the wrong time to discover you own a $400 piece of junk.

Just a few dumb questions - ACR PLB
1. What percentage of battery life does each test consume?
2. When getting close to battery service life, why not send it back to factory?
3. Has an ACR PLB ever failed within its battery service life?

Which one? <g> There have been three generations at this point.



No idea. The battery life is based on, among other things, self-testing the PLB every month for the rated replacement interval of the battery, which for ACR is 5 or 6 years, depending on the model. That is generally a conservative half of the rated life of the battery.

After all that the PLB is supposed to still function for 24 hours at either -20 C or -40 C, depending on the model.



Generally speaking, by the time it is ready for a battery replacement, it makes more sense to get the new, better, smaller, lighter and cheaper PLB. By and large it just makes little sense to replace the battery in an older PLB.



Yes, and the same can be said of all the PLB manufacturers. That's why it's so important to run the self-test on a regular basis or before embarking on something where your life may depend upon it. That's what the self-test is for. Despite all the effort that goes into making these lifesaving devices reliable and robust, they are still manufactured products with electronics and batteries. Some percentage will fail prematurely.

When was the last time you ran a self-test on your PLB or EPIRB?

Once a month? I need to re-read my owner's manual, because I could have sworn that the ACR MicrOFix manual stated that the self-test should be limited to ONE self test. ...dashes off to read the manual...

OK, I was confusing the beacon test with the GPS receiver test. Yes, the beacon test is recommended for once/month. (Which means I have been neglecting this test. I will remedy this now.)

The GPS receiver test, however is limited to one test only:


http://www.acrelectronics.com/microfix/microfixman.pdf

That is correct. The full GPS test for the MircOFix/ResQFix is one time only. In fact, that is conservative and based on a full, ten-minute test. In most circumstances it will only taked a couple minutes or less. But, since it is designed primarily as a confidence builder, they didn't feel any benefit accrued to more tests. Their upcoming versions of the PLB will provide for more full tests (and will transmit the location in the test burst), though the ultimate value of the additonal tests are debateable.