Tommy, You are the man! Great job on that letter. 121.5 is fine for most of us hamburger-run folks--I hope they give us a little more time. Of course as a new AandP I would love to install new units--but not that much. John
--- On Wed, 6/23/10, JThomas Terry <[email protected]> wrote: From: JThomas Terry <[email protected]> Subject: [ercoupe-tech] 121.5 ELT's To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 5:40 PM After a couple of days, there doesn’t seem to be much new information on the supposed banning of 121.5 ELTs in August. The FCC, as far as I know at this time, has not denied the alleged ban, but they have not admitted it either. Either way, I really do not think it can be done quite as quickly as the first reports indicated. Given the lack of comment by the FCC, I feel that they are up to something. With that in mind, I wrote the following letter to the FCC. I’m sure it isn’t perfect but feel free to use it as is or as food for thought to write your own. Tommy N93929 Chairman Julius Genachowski Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street SW Washington, DC 20554 Sir: Recent reports concerning the FCC’s decision to prohibit use of Emergency Locator Transmitters on 121.5 MHz are alarming. We all know that these ELTs are not tremendously dependable or accurate and I do not think anyone will argue that the potential of the 406 MHz Elts promises to be far superior. However, the reports being circulated, and to my knowledge not denied by your agency, are indicating a very short time for the retirement of the 121.5 ELTs. Sir, this is not practical in many aspects: 1. Production and delivery. Can the manufacturers of the 406 ELTs produce 100,000 units in time to meet the rumored retirement date of August? 2. Installation. Given the down turn in general aviation maintenance facilities; can 100,000 units be installed by the retirement date? 3. Cost. Currently an ELT operating on 121.5 MHz can be bought for as little as $200.00. However, the cheapest 406 MHz ELT I have personally been able to locate will cost approximately $800.00 by the time it is delivered and another $200 for installation. This is a minimum cost of $1000.00 for each and every general aviation aircraft in the country. This will mean an outlay of approximately $100000000.00 (One Hundred Million Dollars) from a segment of our economy that is already struggling if not dying. If so, to what or who’s benefit? 4. Triple frequency units. In recent years there have been many triple frequency units sold and installed. These units operate on 121.5 MHz, 243.0 MHz, and 406 MHz. Does this new regulation ban those new units because they transmit on 121.5? 5. Search equipment. Who will be responsible for re-equipping all search aircraft and ground teams with new radio signal direction finding equipment? 6. Reliability. Even with all of its short comings and problems 121.5 or some other ground based and ground searched signal must be maintained. As good as the satellite systems are; there are times and places where the satellites just cannot be “seen.” Even when the 121.5MHz ELT’s were being monitored by satellite, many signals were reported by other aircraft that were later or never heard by the satellites. On the subject of cost: Does the FCC plan on issuing vouchers for the replacement units, similar to those issued for television converters boxes? That is only logical since this change will apparently be mandated without any concern for those it affects. Personally, I would be willing to meet half way as my ELT is not new and I would eventually have to replace it anyhow. All things considered, from my perspective and probably that of about 600,000 others; this new proposal is extremely short-sighted and it is clear your commission has not thought this new regulation completely through. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions concerning my comments. Copies: Hon. Henry Cuellar, U.S. House of Representatives Mr. Craig Fuller, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Mr. Tom Poberezny, Experimental Aircraft Association Mr. Skip Carden, Ercoupe Owners Club Commissioner Michael J. Copps Commissioner Robert McDowell Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker
