Search and rescue beacons soon to make the digital jump
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Starting February 1, Cospas-Sarsat will discontinue monitoring the frequencies that are used for analog-based emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRB), the 121.5 and 243 MHz frequencies. Search and rescue (SAR) groups worldwide will only monitor the 406 MHz frequency, which is dedicated to digital locators. The 406 MHz digital band has many advantages over the older analog systems. Since the locators send data to satellites, rather than