LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
would add little to an EPIRB’s cost.
A chip would allow geostationary
satellites to immediately ascertain
accurate position information, instead
of awaiting a LEO satellite pass and
Doppler calculations that would
produce an inferior fix at a much
later time.
Instead of NASA spending money
on more satellites and infrastructure,
without FLIR
the universality and immediacy
offered by a built-in GPS chip in an
EPIRB seems to be a more effective
approach, with the added benefits
of immediate location and much-improved accuracy. More timely and
more successful searches, with less
cost, would be a welcome benefit.
David George
Toronto, Ontario
with FLIR
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and more in total darkness.
“Survival by Satellite” by Joe Minick
is very well done and interesting. I
was somewhat surprised that he
didn’t mention the GPS capability of
some of the EPIRBs on the market. I
purchased my Precision 406 GPS
EPIRB in January 2002 and have
carried it since, thankfully with no
need to deploy it. Its ability to not
only broadcast an emergency alert
but also broadcast our position has
been a great comfort to the admiral.
Perhaps it will be covered in the
second part of Joe’s two-part series.
My unit was manufactured by Pains
Wessex and has been serviced once
for a recall and once for a scheduled
battery change. At the time we
purchased it, we were in Florida and
were preparing to cross part of the
Gulf of Mexico. We are now back in
the Great Lakes, where one is often
far from search and rescue units, and
the EPIRB’s capabilities continue to
reassure the admiral.
Capt. Bill Bartilson
La Cigale
Akron, Ohio
I personally agree that an EPIRB
or PLB that incorporates an internal
GPS receiver may be the best choice.
Part two of my series (which you’ll
find on page 56 of this issue) discusses
why the option of connecting an
external GPS receiver to a distress
beacon may be desirable in some
instances and also describes plans for
new satellite technology that might
eliminate the need for a GPS receiver
to provide a more accurate beacon
position.—Joe Minick
find out
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WORDS OF CAUTION
This is a letter from a reader who
reads your magazine cover to cover.
Keep up the good work!
My letter is in response to “What’s
Wrong With This Picture” by Steve
D’Antonio in the September ’08 issue,
concerning shift cables. While tight
