Thread: PLB EPIRB Distress Beacon - A few highly recommended MUST Do’s. To Be Repeated Again

Originally Posted by Bubble07

ok done some more research..
when the PLB (above example) is coded to another country ie. (AMSA (oz)) vs (RCCNZ (nz)) & subsequently registered in that jurisdiction (by law)...

1: Does this mean that Australia has a role in the communication chain in the event of an activation?
YES.. the Australian Search and Rescue authorities will be the first point of contact, which may delay emergency response

2: If so is that role passive or active(ie. we'd require them to do something)?
Not sure on the AMSA process, but i suspect there's a handover process involved (based upon the above answer.. ie. the 'delay') but only guessing there

3: what is the process for maintaining registration details?suspect there's a link to the AMSA or some other involved agency in OZ. is it retailer dependant? NO

so in summary.. the plb above should work fine in NZ & it is one of the cheapest on the NZ market & nice & compact. most probably never activate them anyhow. on sale at the moment too.

Hello Bubble07
Let me help you in the answers considering it is me who sells the item on skippersmate.co.nz

1: There is no law requirement in Au for PLBs to be registered. Their operation is covered by what is known as a "Class Licence" with the Au Communication & Media Authority (ACMA). In NZ, NZ coded beacons are required by law to be registered although 30+% are not.

2: AMSA does have role in all this regardless of it being Au or NZ coded. AMSA is the regional Mission Control Centre (MCC) for the South West Pacific. https://www.cospas-sarsat.int/en/con...ts-details-all
If a Au beacon is activated in NZ, both Au & NZ will be advised at the same time, an NZ beacon, MNZ advised. THERE ARE NO DELAYS. THIS ALL OCCURS IN A VERY SHORT TIMEFRAME. Your comment really is a "guess".

3: Each country has their own registration database and share the ownership / emergency contact information with their global partners if a beacon is activated globally.

4: retailers have no involvement with the registration nor have access to the data.

This is a report from last Sunday that MNZ published of a beacon being activated in Brisbane that they too pick up the alert.

28 1458 Local Time (28 0258 UTC)

RCCNZ received a Cospas-Sarsat alert for an Australian coded EPIRB with a doppler position inside the NZSRR and another in Brisbane. Enquiries revealed that JRCC Australia had already responded to an incident concerning this EPIRB in the Australian SRR. No further SAR action was taken.

How do I know this one? I was in the radio room helping to manage it when our Coast Guard team went out to start the search and rescue (SaR)

If you have any unanswered questions, call me, my number is on the signature block below.

and when you loose one..derigister it so good folks dont get called out of bed at 05;00 and helicoptor dispatched into the middle of back country in shitty weather to look for you..TEN YEARS after you lost it because it has self activated!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

and when you loose one..derigister it so good folks dont get called out of bed at 05;00 and helicoptor dispatched into the middle of back country in shitty weather to look for you..TEN YEARS after you lost it because it has self activated!!!!!!!!!

I think what you mean is contact maritime rescue and have them flag the beacons hexadecimal serial number and rough location as lost in their records.

Registration has no bearing on actioning a SAR response, the term is often poorly understood by many users.

well cancel the friggin thing however you do it...so good folks dont get called out for false alarm and helicopters dont go flying around in dodgy weather for nothing.

If getting rid of it then yes cancel it and then pull the battery out before chucking it away