Satellite-detectable Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are proving to be valuable emergency life-saving devices for outdoor activities of all kinds. A dramatic increase in PLB registrations in the U.S. last year indicates a growing popularity and consumer interest in these rescue beacons, especially among hunters, campers, hikers, climbers, skiers and boaters.

Quick Facts

Following an experimental pilot PLB program in Alaska, which resulted in many lives saved over the course of a seven-year period, PLBs have become highly visible to the public since July 2003 when the FCC authorized them by rule for use in the U.S.A. PLBs perform the same function as an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) but are smaller and lighter. Advances in PLB technology include the addition of a GPS receiver which makes alerting and location and, subsequently rescue, faster than ever before.

PLBs and EPIRBs transmit signals on internationally recognized distress frequencies. The 406 MHz signal is monitored by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT) detects and locates distress signals. GPS coordinates greatly assist search and rescue crews.

In 2006, there was an increase from the previous year of almost 2,000 PLB registrations with NOAA. In 2006, there were 7,949 PLB registrations for a total of 18,060 PLB registrations in the U.S. database to date. More than half, 11,472, are ACR PLBs. To date in 2006, NOAA has reported PLBs have assisted in the rescue of 35 people in 20 incidents in the U.S.

U.S.-based ACR Electronics, Inc., www.acrelectronics.com, manufactures and distributes the TerraFix™, AquaFix™ and AeroFix™ PLB brands. ACR is the leading manufacturer of PLBs and EPIRBs in the U.S. ACR Electronics, according to NOAA Satellite and Information Service, makes more than 50 percent of the 151,477 satellite-detectable beacons registered in America today.

Worldwide, the Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz satellite system is credited with rescuing 20,300 people since the program’s inception in 1982. Of that number, 5,381 persons were rescued in the U.S.

See www.acrelectronics.com