Happy 406 Day
It’s not 4/20 yet, but it is 4/06.
The United States Coast Guard will not be celebrating the former, but they are celebrating the latter. April 6 is known to the Coasties as 406 MHz Day, calling attention to the importance of emergency position indicating radio beacons (known to sailors far and wide as EPIRBs).
"An EPIRB is a device that is designed to transmit a distress signal if you get into trouble," explains a recent USCG press release. "No matter where you are in the world, an EPIRB sends a signal to emergency responders through a satellite system called COSPAS-SARSAT."
In 2017, within the United States and its surrounding waters, 275 people owe their rescue to the use of 406 MHz EPIRBs and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites, which are part of the international search and rescue satellite-aided tracking system. This system uses a sprawling network of spacecraft to detect and locate distress signals quickly from emergency beacons aboard boats, aircraft and handheld personal locator devices.
