Older rescue beacons now obsolete

Boaties and those enjoying the great outdoors might never be heard if they set off their old rescue beacons.

The 121.5MHz and 243MHz emergency locator beacons can send out a signal for as long as their batteries last but the chances of their being heard are remote, says National Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman Nigel Clifford.

The old beacons have not been monitored by satellites since the beginning of last month but if they are activated there is a remote chance they could be picked up by a passing aircraft, he said.

The beacons had been replaced by a new 406MHz model, which had already proven its worth.

Last week, one of three trampers in the rugged Kaweka Ranges became hypothermic. The other two set off their 406MHz beacon and the party were quickly rescued.

The new beacons are sold with or without a GPS navigation system and Mr Clifford said that, with the GPS, they could be traced to within about 100m.

The 406 beacons also had the advantage of being registered with search authorities. Registration included details of the person or boat and contact telephone details.

The older beacons were accurate to a radius of about 8km, while the new beacons could be accurate to between 100m and 300m, Mr Clifford said.

"The satellite system no longer processes the signal for 121.5 and 243 [beacons]," he said. "You can still set it of and it still works but what is happening is that the satellite simply has got its fingers in its ears."

He urged people to replace the old beacons with the new 406MHz models.

- NZPA