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Old 15-12-2011, 04:19   #1
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EPIRB USA VS Australia?

There was some debate a while ago in the boat importation thread regarding EPIRBS and compatibility between USA and Australia. Obviously they will work all over the world but there was some issue with the legality of registration between different types in different countries.

I was wondering if I can buy one in the USA when I get there of if I should buy one in Australia before I go? Or if it even matters?
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Old 15-12-2011, 13:57   #2
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Can distress beacons be used overseas or can beacons registered in a foreign country be used in Australia?

Cospas-Sarsat is a global system and distress beacon alerts are received by the satellites from anywhere on the Earth's surface. If an Australian-coded distress beacon is activated overseas an alert will be sent to the Rescue Coordination Centre responsible for the region in which the distress incident is occurring. A second notification is then sent to RCC-Australia as the registrar for the beacon.
Likewise, alerts from beacons registered in other countries that are activated in the Australian region will be received by RCC-Australia. Australian residents who buy a distress beacon registered elsewhere should have the beacon recoded with the Australian country code by a local agent and have it registered with AMSA.

AMSA Beacons Information - Registration
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Old 15-12-2011, 23:34   #3
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dennisail View Post
There was some debate a while ago in the boat importation thread regarding EPIRBS and compatibility between USA and Australia. Obviously they will work all over the world but there was some issue with the legality of registration between different types in different countries.

I was wondering if I can buy one in the USA when I get there of if I should buy one in Australia before I go? Or if it even matters?
If your an Aussie buy an Aussie one,
If your an American buy a USA one,

I have both, Australian registered to me and my Boat.

American one registered to the previous owner, American citizen, and also registered to my boat,

You can buy the USA one from me if you want it,
But you must register it in the USA to your name and your vessel.

But it doesnt matter where it is registered, They will come and find you any where in the world if you have an Epirb 406 and you set it off.

You also have two or more people that are registered on the registry, They contact them first to make sure your Epirb has not gone off accidently,
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Old 16-12-2011, 00:12   #4
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

How much for the USA one? I'm Canadian. Does that matter?
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Old 16-12-2011, 00:13   #5
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Well I just want to be rescued if I set it off and I don't want confusion. What type is the one you have MrB, how old, when does it expire and how much do you want for it?

I just found that I can get an Aussie GPS epirb for $389, rather than the $600us they cost over there so that will be a no brainer. The personal ones are much cheaper in the USA though and I want one of those for who ever is on watch at night. What is involved with getting a GPS recoded?
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Old 16-12-2011, 00:53   #6
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dennisail View Post
What is involved with getting a GPS recoded?
First of all you need one (EPIRB) that can be recoded, not all of them are able...

Your dealer should be able to do the recoding, or at the very least, be able to organise it...it's not a difficult job, i could do the one we currently have on board, but because I'm not authorised i would get my balls handed to me if i did..........
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Old 16-12-2011, 01:05   #7
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dennisail View Post
Well I just want to be rescued if I set it off and I don't want confusion. What type is the one you have MrB, how old, when does it expire and how much do you want for it?
Battery replacement due date 05/2014

GlobalFIX
ACR Electronics, Inc
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 USA
Owners Manual on Website.

COSPAS-SARSAT
2DCC3FF23AFFBFF. Name of vessel. Tere Hau Nui,

It comes with an owners book,
After reading it, It can be reprogramed to any country,
You will have to reregister it in your name and your boats name as well.
This can be done online, Thats how I registered mine,

$300-00 and you pay the postage,

I think it is actually the GPS one,

M/N RLB-35 Cat 11
FCC ID B66ACR-RLB-35
Class 1 P/N 2744
Canada 1322873111E2
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Old 16-12-2011, 01:49   #8
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SS Little-Devil View Post
How much for the USA one? I'm Canadian. Does that matter?
We are Canadian with a Canadian registered boat, but have a USA EPIRB (was much cheaper for the same model in Defender). No problems registering it in US. MMSI points to the Canadian registry, and that's ok.
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Old 16-12-2011, 01:55   #9
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

To change the country code you don't do anything to the unit itself: the unit has a serial number. When you change the country code, it's just changed in the global COSPAS-SARSAT database based on the unit's serial number. Same with owner/boat information.

To recode the unit serial number - that's a different issue. That's where you need to open up the unit. The serial number is changed only in exceptional circumstances.

You don't need to recode the unit's serial number to reregister it with another country. Just don't forget to first unregister it in the country you bought it from, then register in the country you live (for PLB) or the boat is registered in (EPIRB).
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Old 16-12-2011, 15:12   #10
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiusha View Post
To change the country code you don't do anything to the unit itself: the unit has a serial number. When you change the country code, it's just changed in the global COSPAS-SARSAT database based on the unit's serial number. Same with owner/boat information.

To recode the unit serial number - that's a different issue. That's where you need to open up the unit. The serial number is changed only in exceptional circumstances.

You don't need to recode the unit's serial number to reregister it with another country. Just don't forget to first unregister it in the country you bought it from, then register in the country you live (for PLB) or the boat is registered in (EPIRB).

Sorry wrong,

Base Epirb coding, ie the 15 hex or 30 hex identifier, contains a country identifier, that is used to direct the alert to the designated Rescue centre of that country. In order to correctly register on the Australian registry, that country ID in the hex code needs to be reprogrammed.

( bit 27-36 contains 503 = Australia)

Furthermore, many countries, require Call Sign/ MMSI combinations to be programmed into their EPIRBS. Australia does not. If I remember correctly, the EPRIB spec supports 10 protocol variations, including GPS location, long and short codes etc, see Beacon Coding Guide for a comprehensive overview.

countries will not register a beacon with the incorrect country code in the hex field, my understanding is that is what applies in Australia. This is because each RCC maintains its own databases and they are not maintained on a global basis. So you must register with the registration centre of the hex code.

In such cases a foreign beacon needs not only to have the hex code reprogrammed, but additional information and a particular protocol selection needs to be programmed as well. Any local agent can programme the units for a small fee.

An alternative , for a US purchased EPIRB is just to register the EPIRB with the US service, They quite happily take foreign addresses, even if you have to circumvent the address fields on their web site, and they will send you the confirmation sticker worldwide. ( I know thats what I do). In my case, in Europe, if my EPRIB alerts, the US service will get the message, I will correctly appear in their database and they will "hand off" the rescue to the local RCC, This is done manually and is what happens anyway if you are not in their waters ( american boat or otherwise).

EPRIB recoding is all done by non-contact methods ( inductive or light ) which do not require the agent to open the unit at all. Its very easy, if you could get hold of the programming software and the interface, but they keep this stuff for agents only.

Most people do not realise that there are a multitude of EPRIB coding schemes.
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Old 16-12-2011, 15:32   #11
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Quote:
Originally Posted by goboatingnow View Post
Sorry wrong,

Base Epirb coding, ie the 15 hex or 30 hex identifier, contains a country identifier, that is used to direct the alert to the designated Rescue centre of that country. In order to correctly register on the Australian registry, that country ID in the hex code needs to be reprogrammed.

( bit 27-36 contains 503 = Australia)

Furthermore, many countries, require Call Sign/ MMSI combinations to be programmed into their EPIRBS. Australia does not. If I remember correctly, the EPRIB spec supports 10 protocol variations, including GPS location, long and short codes etc, see Beacon Coding Guide for a comprehensive overview.

countries will not register a beacon with the incorrect country code in the hex field, my understanding is that is what applies in Australia. This is because each RCC maintains its own databases and they are not maintained on a global basis. So you must register with the registration centre of the hex code.

In such cases a foreign beacon needs not only to have the hex code reprogrammed, but additional information and a particular protocol selection needs to be programmed as well. Any local agent can programme the units for a small fee.

An alternative , for a US purchased EPIRB is just to register the EPIRB with the US service, They quite happily take foreign addresses, even if you have to circumvent the address fields on their web site, and they will send you the confirmation sticker worldwide. ( I know thats what I do). In my case, in Europe, if my EPRIB alerts, the US service will get the message, I will correctly appear in their database and they will "hand off" the rescue to the local RCC, This is done manually and is what happens anyway if you are not in their waters ( american boat or otherwise).

EPRIB recoding is all done by non-contact methods ( inductive or light ) which do not require the agent to open the unit at all. Its very easy, if you could get hold of the programming software and the interface, but they keep this stuff for agents only.

Most people do not realise that there are a multitude of EPRIB coding schemes.
Dave
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Old 16-12-2011, 15:54   #12
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

I have left out IBRD cospar/sarsat central programming for the sake of simplicity, some registration administrations allows users to register there directly and some dont. This facility was introduced in 2006, to try and centralise worldwide SAR databases, some countries are more ahead of others in this regard.

There is no doubt that in time there should be a worldwide standardised approach, but it aint there just yet,

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Old 16-12-2011, 18:06   #13
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

goboatingnow, thank you for a very informative post!
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Old 19-12-2011, 03:09   #14
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

Thanks guys. I think I will just buy the AU one.
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Old 23-12-2011, 03:29   #15
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Re: EPIRB USA VS Australia?

I heard there can be problems with bringing EPIRBS on planes. Is there anything I should be aware of when buying an EPIRB in Australia and bringing it to the USA by plane in my luggage?
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