Annual 406 ELT Check Question...

[TomVal]

I have a Kannad 406 ELT. The manual indicates that you need special equipment to conduct the 406 portion of the frequency check. What constitutes a valid field check for the annual sign off or do you have to have an avionics shop conduct the test?

Regards,

[Canadian_JOY]

Tom - the answer is pretty simple... Perform the self-test and a successful result means you've used the internal monitors to check frequency and power. It's an imprecise check but it is all you can do without specialized equipment. By the same token, the same test performed on the old 121.5 units where we listened on a VHF receiver tuned to 121.5 was an even rougher check as those older units didn't have nearly as much signal monitoring built into them.

BTW, none of the Kannad's I've installed have ever failed (we have to send ELT's to an avionics shop in order to meet Canadian annual inspection requirements). Wish I could say the same for the ARTEX 406 units...

[RV6_flyer]

Tom:

Also do not forget that you need to test that the G-switch works. You do not need to hit the ELT against something to make it activate, just swing it from your head to knees and stop very quick before you hurt yourself.

See FAR 92.207 (d).

[TomVal]

Mark and Gary,

Thank you for the info.

Regards,
Tom

[Canadian_JOY]

One VERY important point to note... Do NOT allow your ELT to be activated for 50 seconds or more. During the first 50 seconds the ELT is in warm-up/self-test mode and the signal it is broadcasting is flagged as being invalid. Once you cross the 50 second mark, you will be transmitting a valid distress signal and it won't be long before the search activities begin.

Again, 50 seconds is the magic number. Best not to let any ELT test go on longer than the bare minimum necessary to ensure completion of the self-test sequence, generally 10 seconds or less.