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To: Red Badger

Ha, maybe.

Seriously, obtaining FAA certification for anything takes quite a while. An ELT, in particular, is tough because it must survive a crash and still put out a minimum transmit power for a minimum period.

Transitioning to 406MHz ELTs is technically a good thing for many reasons, but the issue here is how that transition takes place and how quickly. Slamming this on GA rather than allowing the marketplace (i.e. aircraft owners) to manage the transition is the problem. There are tradeoffs and alternatives, such as keeping the older 121.5 MHz intstallation in the aircraft but carrying a portable 406 MHz unit in your flight bag at a much lower cost. Also, the batteries in the ELTs must be replaced periodically, and some owners opt to upgrade to 406 when their 121.5 ELT battery needs replacement.

This reminds me of the recent pulling of the plug on the LORAN-C navigation system that was done on short notice and very quickly earlier this year.


27 posted on 06/22/2010 7:49:40 AM PDT by 76Tiger
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To: 76Tiger

I’m wondering what will become of that 121.5 MHz frequency allocation...................Who stands at the door, campaign contribution in hand, ready to utilize that freq?.................


34 posted on 06/22/2010 8:14:41 AM PDT by Red Badger (No, Obama's not the Antichrist. He's just some guy in the neighborhood.............)
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