PLB Usage Grows in U.S.

More Rescues Credited to the Use of the Satellite Detectable
Locator Beacons
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
During a three-day span last month, two separate outdoors
enthusiasts ran into life-threatening situations in the wilderness and
used Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) in order to survive.

Even though the circumstances of each rescue were different, one
involved a hiker and the other an ATV rider, their outcomes were very
similar - two lives saved.

PLBs are proving to be valuable emergency life-saving devices for
outdoor activities of all kinds. Since the first of this year, 18
people in eleven incidents have used PLBs to signal for help in the
U.S.

"A continued increase in PLB registrations in the U.S. last year
indicates a growing popularity and consumer interest in these locator
beacons, especially among hunters, campers, hikers, climbers, skiers
and boaters," said Paul Hardin, executive vice president of sales and
marketing for ACR Electronics, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based
manufacturer, which introduced PLB products to the U.S. in 2003.

PLBs, unlike other recently introduced personal tracking gadgets,
transmit signals on internationally recognized distress frequencies.
The 406 MHz signal is monitored by NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided
Tracking System (SARSAT) detects and locates distress signals. GPS
coordinates greatly assist search and rescue crews, and in the event
GPS isn't acquired, position can be calculated through Doppler Shift
as a reliable backup.

NOAA has reported that in 2007, PLBs assisted in the rescue of 88
people in 38 incidents. In 2006, PLBs assisted in the rescue of 37
people in 22 incidents. PLB registrations in 2007 showed a 66.85
percent increase over the previous years' total. Worldwide, the
COSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz satellite system, which is celebrating 25 years
of operation, is credited with rescuing more than 23,000 people since
the program's inception in 1982. Of that number, more than 5,000
persons were rescued in the U.S.

James Langston, Search and Rescue (SAR) Program Coordinator for
Arizona's Division of Emergency Management, directed the March 18th
rescue of ATV rider James Tibbetts, a 65-year-old Las Vegas retiree,
in the northwest corner of the state. Langston personally owns a PLB
and wants people who venture into the backcountry to know about the
usefulness of the beacons. "If we get a call from the RCC (Rescue
Coordination Center) about someone being in a life threatening
situation, then we respond. If people need help, there's a spirit of
cooperation among all the rescue agencies."

Langston recommends that once victims determine that all means of
self-rescue have been attempted and assistance is needed, then they
should not hesitate to activate a PLB. "I don't want people to wait
until they are on the verge of death to seek help. They need to know
that are we (SAR) are already out looking for them by then," he said.
"That's what the beacons are for. I'd rather they set it off sooner
than when they get to the verge of death."

On March 15th just three days before this rescue, Dr. John Vaughan
and his son, Scott, both experienced hikers from Southern California,
activated their ACR MicroFix(TM) PLB during an ill-fated hiking trip
in the San Bernardino Mountains, east of Los Angeles. It was a
complicated and technical rescue involving severe injuries to Dr.
Vaughan and 15 ground responders who climbed to 8,500 feet in the
middle of the dark, snowy night to carry the victim down on a litter.

Dr. Vaughan said he had decided a month earlier to purchase an
emergency-locating mechanism of some kind because he often hikes
alone. His busy medical practice makes it difficult to pair up with
other hikers. He went online to research what was available and found
that a PLB was what he needed. "For people who backpack, a PLB is an
excellent device. In looking at the other devices on the market, I saw
that they do not connect up with national government services, like
NOAA and the Air Force. After reading reviews, they also showed that
they had spotty connections. There is a fair amount of information
written up on it."

ACR Electronics, Inc. (www.acrelectronics.com), a Cobham plc
Company, designs and manufactures a complete line of safety and
survival products including EPIRBs, PLBs, SSAS, AIS, SARTs and safety
accessories. The quality systems of this facility have been registered
by UL to the ISO 9001:2000 Series Standards. Recognized as the world
leader in safety and survival technologies, ACR has provided safety
equipment to the aviation and marine industries as well as to the
military since 1956.

Quick PLB facts:

-- Works in concert with the COSPAS-SARSAT System. Dedicated
global satellite SAR system

-- Serious Life Saving Equipment. Designed to work when all else
has failed. Approved to International Standards for life
saving equipment.

-- SAR agencies: NOAA, USCG, US Air Force and NASAR (National
Association of Search & Rescue)

-- Emergency signals received by two satellite groups: GEOSAR
(stationary/provides immediate alert) LEOSAR (provides
location/orbits every 100 minutes)

-- User Fee: NONE (tax payer supported system)

-- NO annual subscription fee

-- Three redundant methods of pinpointing location: 406
MHz/Satellite Triangulation, GPS transmission and 121.5 MHz
homing frequency

-- Alert notification 50 seconds with GPS; one hour without GPS

-- Lithium batteries with 11-year shelf life

-- Antennas: 1 for GPS and 1 for distress message

-- Cost: $499-$699 (one time cost/no annual subscription or
special user fees)

ACR Electronics, Inc., Fort Lauderdale
John Bell, 954-970-3394
prseitz@bellsouth.net

Copyright Business Wire 2008