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From: Rick Kennerly (no email)
Date: Tue Aug 03 1999 - 22:01:54 EDT
I have to admit that find this discussion about aviation radios, well, a
bit...surreal. What are you people thinking? How hot is the sun you're
standing in? Why not just get a 121.5/243 beacon? These units are cheap,
they transmit day and night--whether you're awake to hear the plane go over
or not--they have a distinctive tone that will attract the attention of even
the drowsiest flight crew cruising along with the 121.5 volume turned down
low and the BBC turned up, and they are much more energy efficient than a
voice signal--sending a louder and stronger signal longer on less power than
a voice handheld. For reasons lost to antiquity aviation VHF is even less
efficient and less powerful than Marine VHF as aviation radio signals are
amplitude modulated, not frequency modulated. Puny, fuzzy, weak, dumb.
Besides, many flights that you will never hear will go by low on your
horizon, particularly if you are not directly under one of the major routes.
You're cutting your chances of attracting the attention of all possible
aircraft many times over by relying on voice transmissions. Transmitting
mayday in the blind on the random chance that somebody will hear is
dangerous wishful thinking.
While I'd never give up the offer of a ride, I'd rather see a bit more
emphasis placed on self rescue than the piling on yet another "essential"
piece of "indispensable" safety equipment. Besides, if 121.5/243 epribs
were so hot and if the aviation relay community was so reliable, we wouldn't
have the satellite automated notification 406 units. Aviation voice
transmissions just add a less sure thing to the equation than even epirbs
were.
Rick - nh2f
Westsail 32 Xapic
Annapolis, MD
A small boat & a suitcase full of money
beats a 40 footer tied to the Bank
Westsail Home: http://www.erols.com/woax
Xapic's Home: http://www.abs.net/~nh2f
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