406 ELT Caviat Emptor
 

We ordered an Ameri-King 406 ELT from Gulf Coast avionics a week or two ago for $852, advertized in writing as follows: "It transmits aircraft GPS/NAV data, immediately and accurately, on triple (406 Satellite/243 Military/121.5 Civilian) MHz frequencies."

Upon receipt, I read through the entire installation manual, then called Ameri-King's Engineering Manager Kieth Van to confirm the supplied harness met the wire requirements to carry the RS-232 signal from the panel GPS to the ELT.

I started getting a bad feeling when Kieth's first question was "How much did you pay for the ELT?" The upshot was the $852 unit did not include the necessary GPS interface (written advertizing to the contrary). Gulf Coast subsequently quoted a total of around $2,300 for an AK-451 with GPS interface. I elected to send the unit back to Gulf Coast for a full refund, having wasted several hours on this bit of false advertising.

Ameri-King's Kieth Van stated the correct unit to order is the "ELT w GPS" unit (he pronounced it "ELT With GPS"). I pointed out to him that in American English, "ELT with GPS" means an ELT with on on-board GPS receiver, and that if he wished to advertise an ELT with a GPS interface, he should advertise "ELT w GPS Interface". I hung up with the impression he wasn't planning on correcting his advertising any time soon.

Moral: The AK-451 does not include the necessary GPS interface. The AK-451 w GPS doesn't include an on-board GPS. Caviat Emptor.

Does anybody know when the ACK unit will be available?

On a similar note, can one fly from the US into Canada with a personal 406 or would I have to buy and install one? I thought I read that AOPA was trying to get that through?

I believe it can be personal. When you file a flight plan with Canadian flight service they ask you if your ELT is fixed or portable, so this is what I base that answer on...I haven't got any knowledge of an actual regulation or anything.

Transport Canada has not ammended the stance as of the first week of January: (from AOPA web site)

"Canada has said that it will require all aircraft flying in Canadian airspace to carry an installed ELT that can transmit on both 121.5 MHz and 406 MHz beginning Feb. 1, 2009."

ELT in Canada
 

Last I heard, Mexico was allowing portable 406 MHz ELTs but Canada was not. Canada was still requiring fixed units but AOPA was working on them...

According to Jose yesterday at ACK Technologies, the ACK 406 Mhz ELT should pass certification testing during March, and may be available in limited quantities during April. Price is still $599, which includes the GPS interface required for the ELT to communicate with a GPS so as to be able to transmit lat/long.

As quoted on AvWeb today:

"As for Canada and Mexico: Canada has not yet required that aircraft flying in its airspace be equipped with 406 MHz ELTs. The country is planning a two-year conversion period and has yet to set rules for the transition, according to AOPA. Flying to the Bahamas will not require 406 MHz equipment, but that may change after January of 2011. Mexico will allow U.S. aircraft using 121.5 MHz ELTs to fly within the country until the end of June 2009, unless they reach a mandatory ELT battery replacement date first. The Cospas-Sarsat System has been and will continue monitoring signals transmitted on 406 MHz."

406 ELT's for Canada not Required yet