New EPIRBs must be in use by Jan. 1
Friday, December 22 2006
Unalaska, AK – The Coast Guard is shifting its emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) frequency, and boaters and fishermen better switch, too. As of January 1, the 121.5 and 243 megahertz EPIRBs will be prohibited, and new digital 406 megahertz models will be required.
The Coast Guard says the change is a result of the unreliability of the old EPIRBs, which produced about 50 false alerts for every one genuine alert.
