Why didn't the EPRIB work?
In reading about an EPRIB I learned it is designed to communicate with a satellite and then transfer its coordinates to a station on land. Why didn't that work?
share21st century EPIRBs do communicate with the SARSAT constellation of orbiting satellites, but this was 1989 and the Rose Noelle only had the bare minimum of required gear. In those days an EPRIB would have just been a beacon transmitting a pinging noise on 121.5 mhz or another appropriate marine frequency for that part of the world. A ship passing nearby, say within about 10-15 miles might have heard it and steered to investigate. Same with an aircraft passing overhead, but that supposes that someone is looking for them. While most aircraft can receive 121.5, pilots don't tune that freq unless they are looking for someone. The Rose Noelle wasn't even reported missing for 3 weeks. Well after the beacon and run out of battery power.
shareGreat answer. thanks. i was wondering myself. didn't realize it happened in 1989.
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" While most aircraft can receive 121.5, pilots don't tune that freq unless they are looking for someone."
Sorry, this is incorrect. I'm an airline pilot and I can tell you that all aircraft can receive and transmit on 121.5 and this frequency is monitored by airline traffic almost continuously. Aircraft radios have a squelch function that cuts out reception below a certain strength to reduce the fatigue from having to listen to static. This means a broadcast must be a certain strength to "break through" the radio's preset squelch. I haven't seen the movie yet, just reading through the reviews and posts, but it's possible that the EPIRB had a weak battery or antennae issue that limited the strength of the radio transmission or possibly they were drifting in an area without aircraft overflying.