Class B EPIRB

[xort]

Does a Class B EPIRB have any use at all? There's one on the boat I just bought. Battery is probably dead.

[Plumper]

From Wikipedia:

Class B EPIRBs, also called Category B or "Mini B", operate a 121.5 MHz homing signal only and are usually manual deployment only units. They are the cheapest units but also the least capable. Since the signal has no identification component, Class B EPIRBs are not registered. Due to their limitations, Class B EPIRBs are slowly being phased out. As the International Cospas-Sarsat program will no longer monitor Category B EPIRB signals as of February 1, 2009, this type of beacon will become fully obsolete (see above.) Although the U.S. Coast Guard no longer recommends them, they remain in wide use.

[gtod25]

Class B - 121.5/243 MHz. Manually activated version of Class A. These devices have been phased out by the FCC and are no longer recognized.

121.5 Mhz will still be monitored my aircraft but satellite monitoring will be phased out by 2009.

Might have some use as part of a wind chime.

I would spend my money on a ResQFix.

[Valiente]

I did. It's a nice unit and is of course three hundred bucks cheaper this year than last...damn your jump in value, Canadian dollar!

[sailingdog]

They're illegal for use as of last year IIRC in the USA. Probably not worth spending any money on the unit.