Emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) are one piece of equipment airplane owners love to hate. They don’t work very we’ll and they always seem to need replacement batteries. Beginning next year, the government will cease satellite monitoring of 121.5 MHz ELTs, making what didnt work that we’ll to begin with instantly all but useless. Rather than invest as much as $4000 in a new 406 MHz ELT, one option owners have asked us about is carrying one of the new 406 MHz, GPS-enhanced portable locator beacons or PLBs. Theyre relatively inexpensive, have a good record thus far and can do double duty as an ELT and a rescue-me beacon for the car, the boat or outdoor activities of all kinds. While this makes sense, there are some limitations. Read on. On February 1, 2009, COSPAS-SARSAT, the international organization formed to oversee the ELT satellite-monitoring network, will stop listening for the 121.5 and 243.0 MHz signals from traditional ELTs. A new ELT standard (TSO C126) using digital technology and 406.025 MHz is a huge step forward, but these arent required equipment. Yet. The FAA so far has refused to expand the ELT requirement to embrace 406 ELTs and until prices for these come down from the flight levels, PLBs remain an attractive alternative. We looked at five current-generation models from five different manufacturers. While they all perform the same basic task-broadcasting your location with a GPS fix encoded-there are differences between them. Worth noting here is that the oversight agencies take a dim view of setting these things off willy-nilly to see if they work, thus we were unable to test them in the heat of battle. For that reason, our evaluations are based on examination of the units and their specifications and interviews with the manufacturers. For a detailed live test of PLBs, we recommend reading a report on the trials conducted by the Equipped to Survive Foundation at www.equipped.org. New models, including some covered here, have been introduced since that test was conducted. 
Overview
Current-generation PLBs are basically a portable 406 ELT without the crash-impact activation feature. You have to switch it on manually, something which involves extending an antenna and pressing a button. PLB designs are of two basic types: With or without a built-in GPS receiver. Sending the GPS coordinates to the satellite can narrow down the effective search area from within a 5 kilometer radius when using 406 MHz Doppler shift techniques to 100 meters, which also eliminates the multiple-pass delay. That alone makes a PLB with built-in GPS the way to go, in our view.
All of these PLBs comply with international standards and, by regulation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted those standards as its own. A PLB must be FCC-approved before it can be registered in the U.S. And the free registration is necessary if owners expect to get the full benefit of a PLB, since each one carries a discrete digital signature thats part of its transmitted signal. All of the units we examined have some means to test and verify their operation, but without radiating signals. Also, just because two PLBs meet required specs, doesnt necessarily mean they perform equally under all conditions.
ACR MicroFix
ACR Electronics MicroFix PLB is about the same size and weight as a cellphone circa 1998, but without the day-glow green plastic shell. Also missing is a telephone keypad; there are only two buttons on the MicroFix, one to activate its self-test function and the other to get rescued. The “get-rescued” button is hidden under a tab attached to the antennas base and cant be pressed without first extending the antenna.
The antenna itself is a black-coated, flat, spring-steel affair-think metal tape measure-wrapped around the unit when in storage. The antennas tip, molded from the same day-glow green plastic, fits into a locking slot opposite the antennas pivot point. A lanyard and a black plastic snap-on belt carrier round out the package.
Activation is simple: Swing up the antenna, removing the tip from its recess, then press and hold the on/off button for one second. A pictogram on the front depicts extending the antenna and pressing the activation button, but it doesnt suggest holding the button.
GME Accusat MT410G
GMEs Accusat MT410G, manufactured in Australia, is vaguely rectangular in shape and encased in international-yellow plastic. Atop the unit is a built-in strobe light; more about that later. The unit has no LEDs, no push buttons and no cute styling. It comes with a black soft protective case, which includes a belt loop and a hook-and-loop closure.
On its back side is the antenna: Push to release a spring-loaded plastic latch and pull up and away from the unit to break a security seal, extending the stainless-steel cable antenna. Thats it-the unit is activated and is zapping its message to the nearest satellite. This is the only PLB of which were aware thats equipped with a built-in strobe light. Its not nearly as bright as an aircraft strobe, but it does work and is a feature present in none of the other units we considered. It would easily be visible to searchers using night vision gear.
Kannad 406 XS-3 GPS
Kannad is a subsidiary of the France-based Martec Group known in the U.S. for a line of ELTs variously marketed under both company names. The 406 XS-3 GPS model is the companys third-generation PLB and comes with a six-year battery, exceeded only by the GME Accusat MT410G. Its oval shape distinguishes it from the rest of the PLBs we examined.
The Kannad uses the same tape-measure-style antenna as the other units and this fits into a channel of soft black plastic wrapped around the PLBs circumference.