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ACR EPIRB - cost to send out for service ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Milacron
  • Start date Start date
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Another consideration, not for the battery change but the service, is it sending a false signal. Would be uncomfortable having the coastguard helicopter hovering above you and having to explain you had serviced it yourself.
I had a similar occurrence and the units test results and failings were forwarded to the Miami controller who had asked me to keep him informed.
 
Tinman said:
Recently went thru the same situation. Dump the old and get a new one. I opened the old ARC after receiving the new one and found it had been damaged the last time it was serviced. Very likely it would not have worked if needed. The new one has a 10 year battery and it will get dumped when it needs service. By then you will probably wear it like a watch. Also bought a PLB to use on the Hat, dinghy, and CC.
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For my curiosity, can you elaborate on the "had been damaged" part ? What exactly did you see that was damaged ? For example was it electronics board related or potential water intrusion related ?

Also, did you go thru the LED and strobe light test sequence beforehand and get confirmed "one green" LED and one strobe flash at the end of that test that confirms it is working properly ?

But as I said before, that confirms it works out of water but the ultimate test is if it will transmit properly automatically in the water. I think even that test you could do by calling the EPRIB monitoring station ahead of time and letting them know you are going to do that test...anyone, correct me if I'm wrong about that as they may no longer offer that possibility.
 
Colwyn D said:
I had a similar occurrence and the units test results and failings were forwarded to the Miami controller who had asked me to keep him informed.
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Can you elaborate on that ? Did one of your visiting nephews pull up on the test lever too far and leave it on ??
 
SKYCHENEY said:
Open it up and take pics. I want to see what's inside.
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LOL...it is tempting...if nothing else I'm very curious what exactly they were using for batteries. In my field small (typically aprox AA size) lithium batteries are used to keep the parameter memory in CNC controls for years when the machine is off the grid. I once had a CNC EDM machine which had the original (could tell via date code) lithium battery in there...a 1993 machine in 2012....battery was 19 years old and still had the spec 3.1 volts.

Still, unlike conventional batteries which tend to loose voltage gradually, a lithium will tend to keep voltage a long time and then fade quickly so I quickly changed out that battery. Someone here already mentioned even though it tests good now, could my EPRIB be trusted to transmit and strobe for 24 hours...maybe.... but probably not, thus this topic.
 
When faced with exactly the same option, I looked pretty far into changing out the batteries myself (found an approved supplier, etc.), but eventually opted to buy new.

It turns out that there are sales and deals to be had (ACR offered a cash-back $100) and the biggest factor was that new features are included all of the time.

The basic EPIRB functionality is the same, but you can now get the auto-deploy feature cheaper, and a hot-start which keeps the GPS updated via an optical link so it begins broadcasting immediately instead of waiting up to 30 min for a good satellite fix in an emergency.

I purchased from The GPS Store and a happy with the result.

DAN
 
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Milacron said:
For my curiosity, can you elaborate on the "had been damaged" part ? What exactly did you see that was damaged ? For example was it electronics board related or potential water intrusion related ?

Also, did you go thru the LED and strobe light test sequence beforehand and get confirmed "one green" LED and one strobe flash at the end of that test that confirms it is working properly ?

But as I said before, that confirms it works out of water but the ultimate test is if it will transmit properly automatically in the water. I think even that test you could do by calling the EPRIB monitoring station ahead of time and letting them know you are going to do that test...anyone, correct me if I'm wrong about that as they may no longer offer that possibility.
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Some screws had been over tightened and split the plastic receiver which held some parts in place. I canned the unit, especially after ARC quit supporting the unit I had. Yours mat not be serviceable by ARC either. It was old technology for a safety locator beacon that would only be used in a true emergency. Hardly worth putting anyone at risk over. The cost for EPIRB's are more reasonable and in the disposable electronics category with the cost of service so high. With 7 to 10 year batteries available why not just replace with a new unit when expired. I went with the Ocean Signal EPIRB and PLB because of the warranty and battery life. Much smaller unit than the old ARC. You can carry the PLB on you belt anywhere you go and probably should be worn by all captains as a backup to the epirb. Depending how you use your boat the PLB may be all you need.
 
I usually stick mine on EBay a year before the battery expires. There's always some cheapskate that wants to save money on safety equiptment. I carry 2 on the boat. 1 manual in the ditch bag and 1 hydrostatic release. I stagger them so that one is no more than 3 years old.
 
rsmith said:
I usually stick mine on EBay a year before the battery expires. There's always some cheapskate that wants to save money on safety equiptment. I carry 2 on the boat. 1 manual in the ditch bag and 1 hydrostatic release. I stagger them so that one is no more than 3 years old.
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Makes more sense than anything I have read in this whole thread.
 
SKYCHENEY said:
Makes more sense than anything I have read in this whole thread.
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Maybe...depends on what ya can get for it. If it's a $600 one and you can sell it for $350 or more....reasonable idea. If it a $600 one and you can only get less than $200 then it's hardly worth the trouble of taking photos, creating the ad, dealing with shipping...and buying more new EPIRBs than you would otherwise.

Like rotating tires...great idea if it's free and you don't have to sit and wait a long time for them to do it. But if it cost what it often cost and you do it on scheduled mileage as recommended, it's less expensive to not do it. Tires won't last as long, but still less money output in long run.

For example..good until 2023 but still brings a pittance...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACR-Satelli...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
 
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Milacron said:
Maybe...depends on what ya can get for it. If it's a $600 one and you can sell it for $350 or more....reasonable idea. If it a $600 one and you can only get less than $200 then it's hardly worth the trouble of taking photos, creating the ad, dealing with shipping...and buying more new EPIRBs than you would otherwise.

Like rotating tires...great idea if it's free and you don't have to sit and wait a long time for them to do it. But if it cost what it often cost and you do it on scheduled mileage as recommended, it's less expensive to not do it. Tires won't last as long, but still less money output in long run.

For example..good until 2023 but still brings a pittance...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACR-Satelli...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Click to expand...

I was actually referring to the safety of having 2, not the selling of the old ones.
 
No nephews involved. I posted in another thread that the damn thing sent it's registration number out but no location, no strobe lights or anything, first we knew was marina said coastguard has been looking for you. I returned it to the manufacturer for investigation and they found a hairline crack in the casing that had allowed moisture into the unit. Seemed unlikely to me as it had lived inside mounted in it's holder since new. This was a mcmurdo unit 406 with gps.
 
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Milacron said:
Maybe...depends on what ya can get for it. If it's a $600 one and you can sell it for $350 or more....reasonable idea. If it a $600 one and you can only get less than $200 then it's hardly worth the trouble of taking photos, creating the ad, dealing with shipping...and buying more new EPIRBs than you would otherwise.

Like rotating tires...great idea if it's free and you don't have to sit and wait a long time for them to do it. But if it cost what it often cost and you do it on scheduled mileage as recommended, it's less expensive to not do it. Tires won't last as long, but still less money output in long run.

For example..good until 2023 but still brings a pittance...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACR-Satelli...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Click to expand...

No need to maintain vehicles. Oil changes are just a fabrication of the petroleum industry. Tires are made to wear. No need to fight that. Don't bother painting the bottom either. It's not needed if you don't leave the dock.

By the way forget the bilge pumps too.
 
Boatsb said:
No need to maintain vehicles. Oil changes are just a fabrication of the petroleum industry. Tires are made to wear. No need to fight that. Don't bother painting the bottom either. It's not needed if you don't leave the dock.

By the way forget the bilge pumps too.
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Leave it to you to attempt a negative spin on everything. Heres a test for you Sherlock, assuming average driving conditions (i.e. not driving in sandstorms, etc) how often should one change the oil in a car ?
 
Milacron said:
Maybe...depends on what ya can get for it. If it's a $600 one and you can sell it for $350 or more....reasonable idea. If it a $600 one and you can only get less than $200 then it's hardly worth the trouble of taking photos, creating the ad, dealing with shipping...and buying more new EPIRBs than you would otherwise.

Like rotating tires...great idea if it's free and you don't have to sit and wait a long time for them to do it. But if it cost what it often cost and you do it on scheduled mileage as recommended, it's less expensive to not do it. Tires won't last as long, but still less money output in long run.

For example..good until 2023 but still brings a pittance...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACR-Satelli...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Click to expand...


HELLO!!! It's a fricking 2003 and an antique! It typically costs me $20 to 50 plus what I would have paid for a battery to upgrade. I do this with my scuba tanks too before the hydro runs out.
 
popcorn.gif
 
rsmith said:
HELLO!!! It's a fricking 2003 and an antique! It typically costs me $20 to 50 plus what I would have paid for a battery to upgrade. I do this with my scuba tanks too before the hydro runs out.
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Must be one expensive ass battery...
 
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