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Are you using a 406Mhz ELT

wrench

By wrench
in General Mooney Talk

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Are you using a 406Mhz ELT  

61 members have voted

  1. 1. Are you using a 406Mhz ELT

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Gone Grand Master

Gone

Posted
Posted

I have heard all the arguments about the cost and the possibility of false alarms in 406's being as great as the 121's but I don't care.  The resolution of the location of a 406 automatic-fixed installation within 30 seconds of signal initiation is not more than 100 meters.  That is way better than a circular error probable (CEP) of 5 miles after two passess of the old (now defunct) satellite (about 6 hours after a 121 instrument starts transmitting).


I had mine installed in January this year.  I plumbed it myself.

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alex Proficient

alex

Posted
Posted

I installed mine about three months ago, works well the only down side is the antenna placement. I was unable to use the old one and I did not want to mess with the dorsal fin and repainting. Easy to install.

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wrench Collaborator

wrench

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Thanks so far and keep the responses coming guys. My search & rescue guy was guessing no more than 15%. I know this isn't scientific and Mooney pilots my not represent the GA cross-section in this matter but I think it starts a good discussion. In remote areas an air search of the 121.5 signal my be difficult due to weather grounding search aircraft and a ground search very time consuming using a Directional Finding technique in rough or inaccessible terrain that's where a 406 ELT really can be of benefit to the downed aviator by transmitting the GPS coordinates to rescue people.

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jetdriven Grand Master

jetdriven

Posted
Posted

My personal idea is use the 121.5 elt to satisfy the regs and a 406 EPRIB on an armband to save your life. 


On our 201 the antenna routes through two bulkheads from the ELT unit on its way to the antenna.  Neatly zip tied and secured every few inches.  if the aircraft breaks up, the antenna cable is going to be pulled in two.

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John Pleisse Grand Master

John Pleisse

Posted
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I'm a CASARA pilot (Cdn analogue to your Civil Air Patrol) + former paramedic. Having a automatic-fixed 406 installation is probably the the cheapest insurance you can buy. Upgrading your old unit from 121 to 406 is <2k all in. Sure, a portable SPOT or similar unit can be purchased for $200, and have some pretty useful additional features, but they are pretty hard to operate when unconscious. I have both. 


Larry aka BorealOne


1996 Ovation TKS

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Awful_Charlie Mentor

Awful_Charlie

Posted
Posted

We are obliged to do it in Europe, so I swapped out the AK unit I had for a 121.5+406 version.  With a new battery pack on the old 121.5 unit, I've attached that to the liferaft, so if the plane goes to the bottom of the sea and I make it out, I have a 121.5 unit for them to home in to the liferaft, hopefully with me in it!

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  • 3 weeks later...
DaV8or Grand Master

DaV8or

Posted
Posted

Quote: butchgilbert

Just replaced my ACK E-01 with an E-04 Retro Kit from Aircraft Spruce ($540), I could have replaced it myself but let my avionics shop do it.  Glad I did, I fly alot in south Florida and the Keys, I want them to find me if I go down.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Bennett Mentor

Bennett

Posted
Posted

I have a portable 406 unit in the flight bag, and another portable 406 in my ditch bag.  I will have a fixed unit installed in January.  I just wish there was a better antenna solution.  I recently had my airplane painted, and the thought of removing the fin to place it there (where the current 121.5 antenna now resides) is unpalatble. As Oshkosh I saw a fin like antenna that has some potential, but it is still relatively large, and I wonder if a thin whip has less drag.  I hate looking like an antenna farm, and I keep trying to reduce drag, not increase it. There is a 406 unit that does not require an external antenna, but I think it is for composite aircraft only.  Any ideas?

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Lionudakis Proficient

Lionudakis

Posted
Posted

I installed one a few years ago, tripped it accidentaly (remote was wired backwards from mfr) usaf or whoever monitors it called with a minute or so, and had our location on the airport. Not sure how it all works, but.. That could be the difference between life and death if your hanging upside down in a tree in the cold with a gash in your head. A close friend augered in a C175 at night, we found the wreckage after searching by air some 15 hrs later, atc confirmed the 121.5 signal had went off all night.  AT least with a 406 activation, phone calls can be made to your phone number, and the dozen or so that are registered to your beacon code within minutes, and SAR has gps coordinates to go right too. In aviation dollars. 600 bucks isn't much !


ACK's are down to 579 bucks at ACspruce  

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Steve65E-NC Proficient

Steve65E-NC

Posted
Posted

I wish that I believed that the FAA has finished defining the requirements for this equipment.  If they had, volumn would make them a lot cheaper and more plentiful.  Surely the FAA would not leave all the early subscribers holding the bag.  Until then a PLB looks like a better investment since it has multiple vehicle application (boat, wilderness, airplane).  

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