Bret,
I too am using the Kannad 406 AF. But don't make the same mistake I made. Battery life on a new unit is good for 6 years. By the time I was finished with my build, I had to buy replacement batteries, because they had expired. Another $200
Hi Bret, I think I'm going with the Kannad unit.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=139403
Terry
Bret - Have you considered putting in the cheapest unit to meet regs and then go with a personal 406 capable unit?
I am a firm believer that there are two kinds of RV accidents; those you walk away from, and those you don't. If I can walk, or crawl, I can activate the personal beacon. If I can't, well, it doesn't matter how long it takes them to find my body.
I am sure this is arguable. It is only my opinion, which is always subject to change. However, I can not think of an RV accident that involved someone being located and saved by an ELT mounted in the aircraft, but perhaps others can chime in.
A couple of comments - I've made them here before. Sorry to be so frank, but tell me, do you carry life insurance? Will you leave behind family members who might give a hoot about your well-being? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, you want your carcass to be found quickly. 406 is the only way to go, if for no reason than to help your family access your life insurance funds more quickly.
With respect to carrying a PLB, that's a great idea IN ADDITION to a 406 ELT. While you're at it, file a flight plan or flight itinerary so folks will know when you haven't arrived as expected. Belt, suspenders, and another belt if you can. You most certainly don't want to be reliant on a device that you have to activate manually - you may not be either conscious or alive to do so. Remember, it might be your passenger who has survived - your choice of ELT needs to ensure they don't needlessly suffer in the event you don't survive the impact.
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I like frankness and appreciate it. Your opinion is appreciated.
I am self insured. Your points are biased to your own situation and values, but well taken. Each must make their own.
I am still waiting to hear about the ELT that saved somebody's bacon in an RV, or even one that located a crash site. Are there any? There has to be some.
Sorry Bret - Hopefully this discussion gets you closer to your own decision. I will bow out now, listen and learn. (Would it surprise you that I haven't upgraded my ELT?
A ha! so digging into this deeper, Vans sells the ELT bracket that gets installed behind the baggage wall on two J channels, totally enclosed in the aluminum fuse. So this was probably originally designed for the 121 and not the 406. The 406 needs to see the sky, so even if we put it in the baggage area, it is not going to see sky if and when most of the accident end up upside down......where is everyone putting this box? if the GPS antenna is on the unit, and folks are installing them incorrectly, maybe that's why we get the negative reports? I will be traveling Through the Sierras often and would like to be found if the unthinkable happens.
For vfr flying I p!an to go with PLB ,as it offers everything except automation ! Tom
I have a similar story. Elapsed time from activation to resolution of the alarm was 8 minutes when a mechanic managed to turn on the brand new ELT he was installing. The best part of the story was the false alarm was dealt with by a few phone calls. No airplanes were scrambled, no lives were put at risk.
Come on now. They don't scramble airplanes everytime an ELT goes off. I would assume they follow a similar regiment to what they have always done? If it goes off at an airport, like Bret's example, or in an urban area, they will assume a false alarm and follow that protocol.
Well, all too often SAR resources ARE scrambled for 121.5 ELTs. That's the challenge of the 121.5 technology - it's totally anonymous. Its the registration of the 406 beacon that allows a rapid and tightly-targetted communications search. It's these communications searches that are proving to be so effective in weeding out false alarms.
While I am not an active member of the Canadian CASARA (civil SAR organization) my hangar-mate is, as are several flying friends. I can assure you they get scrambled frequently to search for 121.5 ELTs that are in hangars, trunks of cars, etc. Not very long ago we had a Herc spend about an hour circling one of the local suburbs, thanks to a 121.5 ELT transmitting from a person's home. Scrambling airplanes to look for 121.5 ELT's is still happening, all too frequently.
It looks like the G trigger is in the forward direction, thinking about mounting in the spot designated in the plans behind the baggage wall, upside down but still forward arranged forward, and then install a Lexan window on the bottom of the fuse, in case a crash and end up upside down, and the external antenna gets damaged or coax severed, the internal GPS antenna can see the sky and yell for HELP? YES-NO? any other thoughts-ideas?
It looks like the G trigger is in the forward direction, thinking about mounting in the spot designated in the plans behind the baggage wall, upside down but still forward arranged forward, and then install a Lexan window on the bottom of the fuse, in case a crash and end up upside down, and the external antenna gets damaged or coax severed, the internal GPS antenna can see the sky and yell for HELP? YES-NO? any other thoughts-ideas?
The g trigger looks for sudden decelleration in the forward AND vertical directions. Do not mount it upside down.
Ok, thanks Bob. Any suggestions for where to mount one of theses so we have an open RF window for the internal GPS antenna?
RV7A Flyer wrote:
"So what's the difference between a 406 MHz ELT and a PLB, really? Essentially, only the automation of initiating a signal, right? They're both GPS-based, satellite-detected, and initiate S&R immediately upon receipt of first signal, IIRC."
A couple of points of education here, if I may...
1) neither ELT nor PLB are GPS-based. they can both use GPS position to narrow the search area, but the primary means of location remains the production of a small search area through multiple passes of LEO satellites (soon to be MEO satellites), using Doppler, to locate the transmitter. If that transmitter is sending GPS information then that GPS position is provided to SAR via a geostationary satellite and virtually eliminates the need for multiple LEO satellites, thus giving SAR your position within minutes.
2) 121.5 ELTs are NOT satellite detected, and haven't been for several years. If your 121.5 ELT goes off, you're reliant on an over-flying aircraft hearing your transmission, then finding the transmitter is done by brute-force searching with airplanes and people. There is no way to take even a rough position hack off your 121.5 transmission - that died when the last 121.5 satellite splashed down in the ocean. Again, 121.5 ELT signals are NOT monitored by COSPAS-SARSAT, period.
3) a 121.5 ELT + a PLB does NOT = redundancy. A 406 ELT + a PLB = redundancy. Again, no big brother up in the heavens is looking for your 121.5 signal. A 121.5 ELT signal does NOT initiate SAR unless somebody just happens to hear it. Do you want to take the chance that you're unconscious, bleeding out, with your PLB hanging dormant on your harness? Think about it!