WEBVTT - How does an EPIRB distress radio work?

0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:03.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from house stuff Works dot com

0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:14.400
<v Speaker 1>where smart happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question,

0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:18.320
<v Speaker 1>how does an e P I r B distress radio work?

0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:22.960
<v Speaker 1>E P I r B stands for Emergency Position indicating

0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.799
<v Speaker 1>Radio beacon and e P I RB is meant to

0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:31.240
<v Speaker 1>help rescuers locate you in an emergency situation, and these

0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.400
<v Speaker 1>radios have saved many lives since their creation in the

0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:37.920
<v Speaker 1>nineties seventies. Voters are the main users of e P

0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.839
<v Speaker 1>I r B s. A modern e P I r

0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:44.840
<v Speaker 1>B is a sophisticated device that contains a five watt

0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.880
<v Speaker 1>transmitter operating at four hundred and six megaherts, a quarter

0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:53.720
<v Speaker 1>wat radio transmitter operating at one one point five megaherts,

0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:58.800
<v Speaker 1>and optionally a GPS receiver. Once activated, both of the

0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:03.560
<v Speaker 1>radio start trans submitting approximately two thousand miles or thirty

0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:08.120
<v Speaker 1>nine thousand kilometers up in space. A GOES weather satellite

0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.560
<v Speaker 1>in a geosynchronous orbit can detect the four hundred six

0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:16.080
<v Speaker 1>megahurt signal. Embedded in that signal is a unique serial number,

0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.240
<v Speaker 1>and if the unit is equipped with a GPS receiver,

0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.399
<v Speaker 1>the exact location of the radio is conveyed in the

0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.040
<v Speaker 1>signal as well. If the e p I r B

0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.680
<v Speaker 1>is properly registered, the serial number lets the coast Guard

0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:32.640
<v Speaker 1>know who owns that e p I r B. Rescuers

0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:34.920
<v Speaker 1>and planes or boats can home in on the e

0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.279
<v Speaker 1>p I r B using either the four hundred six

0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:43.000
<v Speaker 1>or the one point five megahurt signals. Older e p

0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:47.080
<v Speaker 1>I rbs did not contain the GPS receiver, so the

0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:51.120
<v Speaker 1>Goes satellite received only a serial number to locate the

0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.600
<v Speaker 1>e p I r B. Another set of satellites orbiting

0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.720
<v Speaker 1>the planet in low polar orbit could pick up the

0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:01.280
<v Speaker 1>signal as it passed overhead. This would give a rough

0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.720
<v Speaker 1>fix on the location, but it took several hours for

0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.720
<v Speaker 1>the satellite to come into range. For more on this

0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:15.919
<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff Works dot com.