9/3/2015 BeaconFAQInternationalCOSPASSARSAT

Beacon FAQ

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BEACONS

Whatisa406MHzCospasSarsatbeacon?

Howdoesadistressbeaconwork?

WhatisaHexID,andwherecanIfindmine?

WhathappensifIdonotregistermy406MHzemergencybeacon?

WhatifIaccidentallyactivatemybeacon?

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REGISTRATION

Whoshouldregistera406MHzemergencybeacon?

HowcanIregistermy406MHzEPIRB,ELTorPLB?

WhatinformationdoIneedbeforeIcancompletetheonlineregistrationofmybeacon?

WhatcanIdoifIhavea406MHzemergencybeaconcodedforacountrythatdoesnot
maintaina406MHzemergencybeaconregistrationdatabase?

DoesCospasSarsatacceptregistrationsbymailoremail?

HowdoIupdatemybeaconregistrationinformation?

WhatisaHexID,andwherecanIfindmine?

HowcanIdeterminethecountrycodeofmybeacon?

HowdoIfindmybeaconmodelnumber?

HowdoIfindmybeacontypeapprovalcertificate(TAC)number?

WhatdoIaddasAdditionalData?

DoesCospasSarsatsendProofofRegistrationdecalsandconfirmationreports?

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HowlongismyregistrationinformationvalidintheInternational406MHzBeacon
RegistrationDatabase?

Towhomismy406MHzemergencybeaconregistrationinformationreleased?

WhoshouldIlistasanemergencypointofcontactonmy406MHzemergencybeacon
registrationform?

WhydoIhavetorenewmyregistrationeverytwoyears?

WhatdoIdoifIlendmyemergencybeacontosomeone?

WhatshouldIdoifIsellmybeacon?

HowdoIchangeregistrationinformationifIpurchasedabeaconfromsomeoneelse?

WhatdoesINMARSATmean?

WhatsaRadioCallSign?

WhendoIreceiveaconfirmationrequestformybeaconregistration?

DoIreceivearequestforconfirmationafterIveflaggedmyregistrationasOUTOF
SERVICEoranotherspecialstatus?

Willmyrecordbedeleted?

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TROUBLESHOOTING

HowcanIretrieveaforgottenpassword?

WhycantIdeletemyrecord?

WhydoesthewebbasedregistrationsystemtakemetotheLOGINpagewhenIhit
SUBMIT?

HowdoIcontactyouifIhavefurtherquestions?

Whatisa406MHzCospasSarsatbeacon?

ACospasSarsat406MHzbeacon,alsocalledadistressradiobeaconoremergency
beacon,isaradiotransmitterthatcanbeactivatedinalifethreateningemergencyto

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summonassistancefromgovernmentauthorities.

A406MHzbeacondesignedforuseinanaircraftisknownasanEmergencyLocator
Transmitter(ELT).OnedesignedforuseaboardamarinevesseliscalledanEmergency
PositionIndicatingRadioBeacon(EPIRB).Andonethatisdesignedtobecarriedbyan
individualisknownasaPersonalLocatorBeacon(PLB).SometimesPLBsarecarried
aboardaircraftorvessels,butyoumustcheckwithlocalauthoritiesaboutthe
circumstancesunderwhichthisispermitted.SomeELTs(oftenoldermodels)transmit
onlyalegacyanaloguesignalon121.5MHzor243MHz.CospasSarsat
doesNOTmonitorthosefrequenciesandsuchbeaconsrelyonbeingreceivedonlyby
nearbyaircraftorrescuepersonnel.ForsatellitereceptionofalertsbyCospasSarsatthe
beaconmustbeamodelthattransmitsat406MHz.

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Howdoesadistressbeaconwork?

Whenadistressbeaconisactivated,ittransmitsasignalthatcanbedetectedby
satellites.Asthesatellitesorbittheearth,they"listen"foranyactivatedbeaconsand
carrythebeaconsignalstogroundstationsthatcomputetheirpositionsandreportto
rescueauthorities.

Formoredetailssee"CospasSarsatSystem"(Public/SystemOverview).

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HowcanIregistermy406MHzEPIRB,ELTorPLB?

Youshouldregisteryourbeaconwiththenationalauthorityassociatedwiththecountry
codeinthehexadecimalidentification(15HexID)ofyourbeacon.Youcanregisteryour
beacononlinewiththeCospasSarsatIBRDifyourcountrydoesnotprovidearegistration
facilityandyourcountryhasalloweddirectregistrationintheIBRD.Clickhereforalistof
countriesthatallowdirectregistrationbybeaconownersintheIBRD
(www.406registration.com).

Consultthe"BeaconRegistrationContactInformation"toknowwhereyoushouldregister
yourbeaconandtheassociatedpointofcontact.Ifnotinformationisprovidedforyour
Country,pleaseregisteryourbeaconintheIBRDatwww.406registration.com

AdditionalcontactinformatinisavailableindocumentC/SS.007,CospasSarsat
HandbookofBeaconRegulationsinourProfessionalswebsiteunder"System
Documents"(Pro/Documents).

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WhatinformationdoIneedbeforeIcancompletetheonlineregistrationofmy
beacon?

TheIBRDhas12requiredfields.

YoumustfillthesefieldsinordertohaveyourregistrationacceptedintheIBRD:

BeaconID
Password(Youwillbeaskedtocreateapassword)
OwnerName
Ownerphonenumber
Ownerphonenumbertype(forexample:home,cell,work,fax,other)
EmergencycontactName
Emergencycontactphonenumber
Emergencycontactphonenumbertype(forexample:home,cell,work,fax,other)
VehicleType(Selectablefromalist)
VehicleName(notrequiredforPLB)
MMSI/CallSign/InmarsatNumber/vesselcellphonenumber(atleastone,forEPIRB
only)
VehicleRegistrationNumber(notrequiredforPLB)

Forsecurityreasons,theonlineregistrationformexpiresafter20minutes.Inorderto
makeregistrationeasy,youmaywishtogatheralltheinformationneededtocompletethe
requiredfieldsbeforeyoubegintheonlineregistrationprocess.

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Whoshouldregistera406MHzemergencybeacon?

All406MHzemergencybeaconowners/operatorsshouldregistertheir406MHz
emergencybeacon(ELTs,PLBsandEPIRBs).RegistrationinformationisvitaltoSearch
andRescue(SAR)serviceswhileprosecutingSARcasesitistoyourbenefittohavea
registeredbeaconintheeventofadistress.

AllvesselsundertheSOLASconventionandaircraftoperatingundertheICAO
regulationsmustregistertheirbeacons.SomenationalAdministrationsalsorequire
registrationof406MHzbeacons.

DocumentC/SS.007,CospasSarsatHandbookofBeaconRegulations,providesthe
statusof406MHzbeaconregulationsinspecificcountriesandextractsofsome
internationalregulationspertainingto406MHzbeacons.Youmayalsowishtocheckwith
yourlocalsearchandrescueormaritime/aviationtransportationauthoritiesforfurther
details.

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WhatcanIdoifIhavea406MHzemergencybeaconcodedforacountrythatdoes
notmaintaina406MHzemergencybeaconregistrationdatabase?

YoucanregisteryourbeaconintheInternational406MHzBeaconRegistrationDatabase
(IBRD)whichismaintainedbyCospasSarsatandavailableatwww.406registration.com.

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DoesCospasSarsatacceptregistrationsbymailoremail?

NO.CospasSarsatpolicyprovidesthatregistrationinformationcanonlybeacceptedvia
theonlinefacilitiesprovidedbytheIBRDatwww.406registration.com.

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HowdoIupdatemybeaconregistrationinformation?

Gotowww.406registration.comandmaketheupdatebylogginginwithyourbeacon15
characterHexIDandthepasswordyouestablishedwhenyouinitiallyregisteredyour
beacon.Youshouldupdateyourregistrationinformationanytimetheinformationchanges
andconfirmregistrationdetailseverytwoyears.

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HowcanIretrieveaforgottenpassword?

Accessthewebbasedregistrationdatabase(www.406registration.com),andclickthefirst
optiontoviewpreviouslyregisteredbeacons.Choosealanguage,acceptthedisclaimer
andclickonAccessBeacon.TypeinyourbeaconIDandclickthelinkintheForgot
passwordsection.Answerthequestionsonthescreen.Youwillbeaskedasecurity
question.Afteryourcorrectanswerisprovided,yourpasswordwillbeemailedtoyouat
theemailaddressyouprovidedwhenyouregisteredyourbeacon.

Ifyouremailaddresshaschanged,contactthedatabaseadministratorattheCospas
SarsatSecretariatviaemailatadmin@406registration.comtorequestthepassword.Be
preparedtogiveasmuchinformationpossibleaboutthebeaconID,thebeaconowner,
theemergencycontactpersonandthevehicle/vesselthebeaconisinstalledon.

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WhatisaHexID,andwherecanIfindmine?

TheHexIDisa15hexadecimalcharacterstring(validrange:numbers0through9and
lettersAthroughF),referredtoasthebeacon15HexIdentification,or15HexID.Your

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beacons15characterHexIDuniquelyidentifiesyour406MHzbeaconandisencodedin
themessageyourbeacontransmitstosearchandrescueservicesifyourbeaconis
activated.Whenyourbeaconisactivatedsatelliteswilldetectthetransmissionandrelay
thedistressalerttosearchandrescueservices.TheHexIDcontainsthecountrycode
andotheridentificationfeaturesrelativetothecarrierwhicharedependentuponthe
codingprotocolused.TheHexIDcanidentifythecarrierusingtheradiocallsign,aserial
number,aircraftregistrationmarking,etc.

YoushouldfindyourbeaconsHexIDonalabelaffixedtothebeaconorinthebeacon
documentationprovidedbyyourbeaconmanufacturer.Ifyouhavedifficultylocatingyour
beaconHexID,contactyourbeaconmanufacturer.

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HowcanIdeterminethecountrycodeofmybeacon?

Youcandecodeyourbeacons15characterHexIDtoobtainthecountrycodeusingthe
"BeaconMessageDecodeProgram"availableundertheProfessionalpartofourwebsite
(Pro/Beacons/BeaconInformation).

TheInternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU)providesalistofcountriesassociated
witheachthreedigitcountrycodeatwww.itu.int/cgibin/htsh/glad/cga_mids.sh.

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DoesCospasSarsatsendProofofRegistrationdecalsandconfirmationreports?

CospasSarsatdoesnotprovideProofofRegistrationdecals.However,anemail
confirmingtheregistrationofyourbeaconwillbesentautomaticallyifyouprovideavalid
emailaddresswhenyouregisteryourbeacon.

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HowlongismyregistrationinformationvalidintheInternational406MHzBeacon
RegistrationDatabase?

Youshouldconfirmyourregistrationinformationeverytwoyears.However,youare
encouragedtoprovideupdatestoyourregistrationanytimeachangeofinformation
occurs.Beaconregistrationsthathavenotbeenupdatedorconfirmedfor10yearswillbe
removedfromthedatabase.

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Towhomismy406MHzemergencybeaconregistrationinformationreleased?

Althoughtheinformationprovidedwillbecomeamatterofpublicrecord,thisinformation
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willbeusedonlyforitsintendedpurpose:toassistSARservicesincarryingouttheir
missionofsearchandrescueandfalsealertabatement.TheNationalAdministration
designatedbythecountrycodeofthebeaconwillalsohaveaccesstothisinformation.

CospasSarsatwillnotberesponsibleforunauthorisedaccessorunauthorisedchangesto
IBRDregistrationdatathatmayresultfrommaliciousactivities.CospasSarsatwill,ona
besteffortbasis,implementmeasurestoprotecttheintegrityofthedata,however,
CospasSarsatdoesnotguaranteethatregistrationinformationwillnotbecorruptedor
lost.

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WhathappensifIdonotregistermy406MHzemergencybeacon?

TheSystemwillstillworkbutnotregisteringyourbeacondefeatsthepurposeofowninga
beaconandtakingadvantageofcurrenttechnology.TheCospasSarsatSystemis
designedtoprovidebothidentificationandlocationinformation.Identificationinformation
suchastheradiocallsignoraircrafttailnumbercanbeencodedintothe406MHz
emergencybeacon.Ifthebeaconisencodedwithaserialnumber,itisveryimportant
thatitberegisteredasnoinformationaboutthebeaconusercanbeencodedinthe
beacon'smessage.Furthermoresomecountriesmandateregistrationbylawandthere
maybepenaltiesfornotregistering.

AslongastheSystemisabletoobtainaposition(eitherusingDopplerprocessingor
throughtheuseofbeaconsthatcantransmittheirpositionaspartofthe406MHz
message),searchandrescuepersonnelcanrespondtoadistresssignal.However,when
apositionisnotavailable,searchandrescuepersonnelhavetorelyonregistration
information.ItisinthesecasesthatrescuecouldbedelayeduntiltheSystemcanobtain
aposition.Evenwithaposition,theresponsemaybedelayeduntilthesearchandrescue
personneldeterminethenatureofthedistressandtheircapabilitytorespondtothe
locationofthedistress.Whenregisteringabeacon,trytolisttwocontacts,oneofwhich
thesearchandrescuepersonnelwouldbeabletoreachatanytimeoftheday.

Beaconscanbestolenandactivatedmaliciouslyandtheycanbeactivatedaccidentallyif
notcaredforinapropermanner.Insuchcircumstancestheregistrationdatacanbeused
tocontacttheownerand/oremergencycontactstoestablishthatanemergencysituation
doesnotexist.Thiscanassisttheownertoremedyafaultifoneexistsanditcanassist
theSARauthoritytotakeappropriateactionifnoemergencyexists.Thismeansthatyour
registrationcanhelpavoidtheunnecessaryuseofvaluableSARresourcesandputting
rescuerslivesatrisk.

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WhoshouldIlistasanemergencypointofcontactonmy406MHzemergency

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beaconregistrationform?

Youshouldlistfamilyand/orfriendsthatcanbeeasilycontacted(e.g.,carryacellphone,
orareusuallyavailableatworkorathome)andwouldhaveknowledgeaboutwhereyou
sailorflyandarenotlikelytobeinvolvedinanydistresssituationassociatedwiththis
beacon.Listsomeonewhoknowswhereyouareandwhoisnottravellingwithyou.Ifyou
arerentingorborrowingabeacon,havethecontactinformationaddedintheAdditional
Datafield.

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WhydoIhavetorenewmyregistrationeverytwoyears?

Theregistrationinformationyouprovideisusedtohelplocateyouincaseofan
emergency.Therefore,theinformationhastobecurrentandaccurate.TheInternational
MaritimeOrganization(IMO)recommendsthatregistrationinformationbeupdated
annually.Moreimportantly,accurateregistrationinformationcouldhelpsaveyourlife.

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WhatdoIdoifIlendmyemergencybeacontosomeone?

Thatdependsonhowfrequentlyandforhowlongyoulendyourbeacon.Ifyoufrequently
lendyourbeacontosomeoneelseoritisusedonanothervessel,youmaywishtonote
thisfactintheADDITIONALDATAsectionoftheregistrationform.Thesameholdstrue
ifyoulendyourbeacontosomeoneforanextendedperiod.Inthesecases,addingan
emailaddressisimportantsothatyouareimmediatelynotifiedwhentheregistrationis
updated.Ifyourentedabeacon,youshouldhavethebeaconrentalcompanyupdatetheir
registrationinformationandspecifyyouremergencycontactinformationandthedetailsof
yourtrip.

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WhatshouldIdoifIsellmybeacon?

Youshouldlogontothewww.406registration.comwebsiteandchangethestatusofyour
beacontoSOLD.Untilyoudothis,thepersonwhoboughtthebeaconcannotregisterthe
beaconundertheirownname.

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HowdoIchangeregistrationinformationifIpurchasedabeaconfromsomeone
else?

Thepersonyouboughtthebeaconfrommusthavechangedthestatusofthebeaconto

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SOLDifitwasregisteredintheIBRD.Oncethishasbeendone,youcansimplylogonto
theIBRD(www.406registration.com),selectNEWREGISTRATION,andcompletethe
onlineform.Ifthepreviousownerhasregisteredthebeaconbutnotchangeditsstatusin
theIBRD,youwillnotbeabletoregisterthebeacon.

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HowdoIfindmybeaconmodelnumber?

Thisisnotarequiredfield,however,themodelnumberisusuallyprovidedonthebeacon
itselfalongwiththeserialnumberorwiththebeacondocumentation.

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HowdoIfindmybeacontypeapprovalcertificate(TAC)number?

Thisisnotarequiredfield.ThetypeapprovalcertificatenumberwasissuedbyCospas
Sarsatwhenthebeaconwasfirstapprovedforuse.

Ifyouarehavingtroubledeterminingyourbeacontypeapprovalcertificatenumber,alist
ofallbeaconsthathavebeentypeapprovedbyCospasSarsatisavailableinour
Professionalswebsiteat"ApprovedBeaconModels(TACs)"(Pro/Beacons/Beacon
Information).

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WhatdoesINMARSATmean?

INMARSATownsandoperatesaglobalsatellitenetworkandoffersmobilesatellite
communicationsformaritime,aviationandlandbasedusers.Thisissupplementary
informationforregistrationpurposesonly.Thisisnotarequiredfield.Ifyoudonothave
asatellitephoneorINMARSATphoneyoucanleavethisfieldblank.

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WhatsaRadioCallSign?

Inbroadcastingandradiocommunication,acallsignorcallsignisauniquedesignation
foratransmittingstation.Theycanbeformallyassignedbyagovernmentagency,or
informallyadoptedbyindividualsororganizations.Thisissupplementalinformationfor
registrationpurposesonly.Thisisnotarequiredfield.Ifyoudonothavearadio
callsignyoucanleavethisfieldblank.

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WhydoesthewebbasedregistrationsystemtakemetotheLOGINpagewhenI

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hitSUBMIT?

Chancesareyoutooklongerthan20minutestocompleteorupdateyourregistration.If
youneedmorethan20minutestocompleteyourregistrationform,youcanclick
SUBMITafteryouhavefilledinalltherequiredfieldsandthenclickUpdateto
completetheremaininginformation.

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WhendoIreceiveaconfirmationrequestformybeaconregistration?

Ifyouhaveprovidedavalidemailaddress,theconfirmationrequestisemailed2years
afterthelastupdate.

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DoIreceivearequestforconfirmationafterIveflaggedmyregistrationasOUTOF
SERVICEoranotherspecialstatus?

No,youwillnotreceivearequestforconfirmationifyourbeaconhasbeenflaggedinthe
IBRDasoutofservice,stolen,sold,destroyed,lostorreplaced.

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Willmyrecordbedeleted?

Ifyourrecordissettoaspecialstatusandisnotupdatedfor10years,itwillbedeleted.

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WhycantIdeletemyrecord?

Youcanonlychangethestatusofyourbeacon.Onlythedatabasemanagercandeletea
beaconrecord.

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WhatdoIaddasAdditionalData?

Youcanentertripitineraries,datesoftrip,specialmedicationinformation,andphysical
condition.Themoreinformationyouprovide,theeasieritisforSARservicestohelpyou.

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WhatifIaccidentallyactivatemybeacon?

ThemostimportantthingistoturnitoffandlettheSearchandRescueAuthoritiesknow

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assoonasyoucan.Thereisnopenaltyforaccidentallyactivatingyourbeacon.

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HowdoIcontactyouifIhavefurtherquestions?

YoucancontacttheIBRDManager:

byemail:dbadmin@406registration.com

orbyphone:+15149546761

YoucanalsousethefeedbackfacilityprovidedintheIBRDsoftware.Toaccessthis
facility,gotowww.406registration.com,selectthefirstlink"Toregisterabeaconor
view/amendyourregistrationdataclickhere"andchooseaninterfacelanguage.Under
thedisclaimer,youwillfindalinkfortheFeedbacksurvey.

FaLangtranslationsystembyFaboba

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