Having recently purchased N57Q, I haven't gotten around to fixing all of the TLC items left wanting. Among these is the occasional activation of the ACK brand ELT when the master switch is shut off after a flight. I have known about the problem since I purchased the craft in March and have been fairly dilligent about checking it after each flight. Today I didn't and it was on, inside the metal hangar, for several hours until some fellows from county search and rescue came by.
It isn't like in the past where it took many hours of searching by ground personnel to locate the transmitter. Now the signal is picked up by satellites roaming above which use doppler shift to calculate the location. When the team arrived, they had received the Lat/Lon from Langley which was within 1/4 mile of my actual location. Once in the area it only took them about 5 minutes with a directional antenna to find me. Of course the fact I live on an air park and had the hangar doors open didn't hurt. Had I actually been in trouble, help being that quick to locate me is somewhat re-assuring. I live in southern NM and routinely fly over vast sparsely inhabited areas. Dick Chevalier 1st Aero Squadron Airpark (NM09) Columbus, NM.
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