mcmurdo E3 Owner's Manual page 3

1. PURPOSE
An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is used to alert search
and rescue services in the event of an emergency. It does this by transmitting a
coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency. This message is relayed via
satellite and earth station to the nearest rescue co-ordination centre.
The McMurdo E3 works with the Cospas-Sarsat polar orbiting satellite system which
provides true global coverage. The system has an alert delay of typically 45 minutes
dependant on when the satellites come into view on the horizon.
The satellite can determine the position of your E3 to within 5km (3 miles) and the
coded message identifies the exact vessel to which the E3 was registered. This
information allows the rescue services to eliminate false alerts and launch an
appropriate rescue.
The E3 also has a secondary distress transmitter. This transmits on 121.5 MHz and
is used for "homing" purposes. When the rescue services get close, this allows
them to direction find on the signal. To cater for searches at night, the E3 has a
bright flashing light that aids final visual location.
Battery expiry date
READY
button
Lanyard
Strobe
Red lamp
PRESS TO
TEST
READY
Antenna
Program point
S
E
A
L
Sea contacts
1
ON button
under here