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1) most current 406MHz ELTs do indeed transmit during the self-test. As an example, the Kannad 406Compact transmits sufficiently long on 121.5 to produce two of the characteristic audio sweeps we're accustomed to hearing. Sometimes a VHF comm radio won't break squelch fast enough to catch this brief burst so I advise to manually break squelch on your VHF receiver prior to commencing ELT self test. This way it's certain you'll hear the two audio sweeps. Just make sure the radio volume is set low enough that you can also hear the buzzer (audio alerter) on the ELT during the test. 2) 406 ELT's do indeed transmit a burst of data encoded on the 406MHz signal during self-test. This burst of data has a validity bit which is set to an invalid, or "test" state, for the purposes of self-test. This prevents scrambling of SAR assets but still produces a signal which can be used for complete end-to-end system test, right to the ground earth station. Note that if you should allow self-test to extend past 50 seconds, that validity bit will be set to "valid" and you WILL be sending a real distress message. |
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Also, are test transmissions logged so one can tell if the sat picked up the transmission and sent it to the ground station? |
The five minute rule still applies because the 121.5 ELT signal is still transmitted.
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Does that mean when and if an FCC "ban" on 121.5 MHz ELT's goes into effect, early adopters get to replace their dual 406/121.5 units? :( Or figure out how to disable the 121.5 transmitter without also disabling the requisite technically standard orderliness required, even for Experimentals.... I sort of answered my other question myself. There's at least one web-based service to confirms that 406 MHz self-test bursts were received by a satellite and ground stations. But it's 30 bucks to set up and another 30 annually. :mad: |
I doubt very much that the 121.5 will be eliminated. The SAR guys need a signal to home in on, the 121.5 is what they need and use. The 405 is done in bursts that you can't home in on because they are not a continuous transmitted signal.
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A few more thoughts...
1) Test ELT's in the first 5 minutes of the UTC hour, irrespective of their primary operating frequency. (I just learned something new today. I work in the telecoms industry and discovered that 911 testing in one Canadian province can only be done at a specified time on one day of the week. Seems aviation isn't the only world where this kind of limitation exists.) 2) Yes, absolutely, the 406 test signal can be used to do end-to-end testing. I've given thought to subscribing to one of the web-based services for that very purpose. 3) 121.5 is still used for "homing", whether it's by airborne or foot search. The last notes I have from RTCA don't show any movement on inclusion of the 121.5 signal - it looks like it's here for quite a while to come. 4) The FCC "ban" is intended to limit the "primary" transmitting frequency of the ELT, not the secondary which is currently how the 121.5 signal is classified on 406MHz ELTs 5) Between 15 & 20 years ago I worked for a company which produced several working prototypes of man-pack 406MHz homing devices for use by ground searchers. Having seen the results of testing conducted on hidden 406 test beacons I can say with certainty that a 406 homing device not only is possible but should be widely developed for field deployment. The problem is that governments don't want to spend any $$ for new homing equipment. It's much easier for them to pass regulations which require rich airplane owners to re-equip! :rolleyes: |
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