5 ms·

I suggest doing something useful: Tiny emergency transmitter at Marine VHF16. This is voice-only channel, so maybe it should just repeat prerecorded message at

I suggest doing something useful: Tiny emergency transmitter at Marine VHF16. This is voice-only channel, so maybe it should just repeat prerecorded message at every hour. Rescue services can pinpoint the source, so nothing fancy needed. Activating this transmitter would be illegal, but me myself prefer life in prison to death.

drewbug 6y ago
47 CFR § 97.403: Safety of life and protection of property. > No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.
- timonoko 6y ago
  I think some guy in Oregon ended in prison because he activated the EPIRB dozens of times -- for broken fingernails and other such emergencies.
- tzs 6y ago
  I'm sure there must be something that covers it, but I'm not sure it that. That seems to only apply to amateur stations, which 47 CFR defines as stations in an amateur service. I.e., ham radio stations. I've got a ham radio license, so it would cover me if I transmitted outside of the ham bands, or exceeded power limits, or used an unauthorized modulation method to try to help save lives and protect property, but for someone without a ham license I think we'd have to look elsewhere for legal cover.
deleted 6y ago
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jcrawfordor 6y ago
I can't really imagine this having any advantages over a PLB which are fairly inexpensive and already built to be waterproof and impact resistant. PLBs are monitored from orbit by COSPAS-SARSAT and modern versions have active location reporting which nearly guarantees fairly rapid reception and location fix. Satellite monitoring of aviation guard (121.5) has been officially ended by COSPAS-SARSAT and I'm not sure it ever monitored marine radio. Radiolocation of VHF 16 can be done but is going to be substantially more time consuming and less accurate than a COSPAS-SARSAT report - accuracy requires having nearby vessels properly equipped or sending an aircraft.
- timonoko 6y ago
  They are not inexpensive. In Finland you need a Radio Operator Licence and pay some 20€ annually and also you have to pay for reprogramming the special "National ID". And thus this mostly useless device costs 400€: https://www.marnela.com/product/1304-01261 https://www.marnela.com/product/1304-01261 Some 40 years ago I made 2 Mhz emergency Morse transmitter from RCA Cosmac, because I planned to spend a summer on Antarctis. It worked quite well with long ass wire antenna. But they do not monitor that frequency anymore and nobody understands morse.

drewbug 6y ago

47 CFR § 97.403: Safety of life and protection of property. > No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.

timonoko 6y ago
I think some guy in Oregon ended in prison because he activated the EPIRB dozens of times -- for broken fingernails and other such emergencies.
tzs 6y ago
I'm sure there must be something that covers it, but I'm not sure it that. That seems to only apply to amateur stations, which 47 CFR defines as stations in an amateur service. I.e., ham radio stations. I've got a ham radio license, so it would cover me if I transmitted outside of the ham bands, or exceeded power limits, or used an unauthorized modulation method to try to help save lives and protect property, but for someone without a ham license I think we'd have to look elsewhere for legal cover.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

jcrawfordor 6y ago

I can't really imagine this having any advantages over a PLB which are fairly inexpensive and already built to be waterproof and impact resistant. PLBs are monitored from orbit by COSPAS-SARSAT and modern versions have active location reporting which nearly guarantees fairly rapid reception and location fix. Satellite monitoring of aviation guard (121.5) has been officially ended by COSPAS-SARSAT and I'm not sure it ever monitored marine radio. Radiolocation of VHF 16 can be done but is going to be substantially more time consuming and less accurate than a COSPAS-SARSAT report - accuracy requires having nearby vessels properly equipped or sending an aircraft.

timonoko 6y ago
They are not inexpensive. In Finland you need a Radio Operator Licence and pay some 20€ annually and also you have to pay for reprogramming the special "National ID". And thus this mostly useless device costs 400€: https://www.marnela.com/product/1304-01261 https://www.marnela.com/product/1304-01261 Some 40 years ago I made 2 Mhz emergency Morse transmitter from RCA Cosmac, because I planned to spend a summer on Antarctis. It worked quite well with long ass wire antenna. But they do not monitor that frequency anymore and nobody understands morse.