A boater activated his EPIRB beacon after having problems at sea, but because the unit was an obsolete 121.5 MHz beacon it is no longer detected by the satellite systems.  While the distress signal went undetected he was discovered when a vessel happened to pass by.

121.5 MHz distress beacons were phased out in 2009, to be replaced by modern 406 MHz designs.

The older style beacons are no longer automatically detected by satellites but can be detected by nearby aircraft if they happen to be tuned into the frequency.

Search and Rescue Ops Manager Al Lloyd said relying on obsolete beacon technology is a bad idea.

“If people are in grave or imminent danger 121.5 beacons are unlikely to result in a search and rescue operation,” Mr Lloyd said.

“In this case AMSA and other authorities had no idea that this man was in distress and it’s extremely fortunate a passing boat that lead to a rescue.

“There could have been a very different outcome.”

More information available here.