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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  St.,  SW  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov 
 DA  01-  2662 
 Released:  November  15,  2001 


 WIRELESS  TELECOMMUNICATIONS  BUREAU  SEEKS  COMMENT  ON  REQUEST 
 FOR  WAIVER  BY  BRIAR  TEK  INCORPORATED  FOR  TYPE  CERTIFICATION  OF 
 PERSONAL  121.5  MHz  EMERGENCY  POSITION  INDICATING  RADIO  BEACON 
 (EPIRB) 


 Comment  Date:  November  26,  2001  Reply  Date:  December  3,  2001 
 On  October  31,  2001,  Briar  Tek  Incorporated  (Briar  Tek)  filed  a  request  for  waiver  of  Section 
 80.1055(  a)(  3)  of  the  Commission's  Rules  1  to  permit  the  type  certification  for  a  new  121.5  MHz  Personal 
 EPIRB.  2  Section  80.1055  of  the  Commission's  Rules  requires  that  121.5  MHz  EPIRBs  must  meet  certain 
 technical  and  performance  standards. 


 EPIRBs  are  battery-  powered  transmitters  generally  used  to  send  a  distress  signal  when  a  ship  is  in 
 danger.  The  distress  signal  is  used  both  as  an  alarm  to  alert  others  that  a  ship  is  in  distress  and  as  a  beacon 
 to  aid  in  its  location  by  search  and  rescue  personnel.  Because  safety  of  life  is  involved  and  ships  travel 
 world-  wide,  the  Commission's  Rules  specify  minimum  operational  performance  standards.  See  47  C.  F.  R. 
   80.1055.  The  technical  and  performance  requirements  that  must  be  met  include,  but  are  not  limited  to, 
 (1)  use  of  A3X  emission  on  a  mandatory  basis  and  A3E  and  N0N  emissions  on  an  optional  basis;  (2) 
 transmission  of  A3E  or  NON  emission  must  not  exceed  90  seconds  and  must  be  followed  by  a  transmission 
 of  at  least  three  minutes  of  A3X  emission;  each  transmission  of  a  synthesized  and/  or  pre-  recorded  voice 
 message  must  be  preceded  by  the  words  this  is  a  recording;  (3)  effective  radiated  power  must  not  be  less 
 than  75  milliwatts  after  48  hours  of  continuous  operation  and  without  replacement  or  recharge  of  batteries; 
 (4)  mandatory  A3X  emission  must  be  amplitude  modulated  with  an  audio  signal  swept  downward  between 
 1600  and  300  Hz;  and  (5)  the  device  must  be  powered  by  a  battery  contained  within  the  transmitter  case  or 
 in  a  battery  holder  that  is  rigidly  attached  to  the  transmitter  case.  The  battery  connector  must  be  corrosion-resistant 
 and  positive  in  action  and  must  not  rely  for  contact  upon  spring  force  alone.  The  useful  life  of  the 
 battery  is  the  length  of  time  that  the  battery  can  be  stored  under  marine  environmental  conditions  without 
 the  EPIRB  transmitter  peak  effective  radiated  power  falling  below  75  milliwatts  prior  to  48  hours  of 
 continuous  operation.  The  month  and  year  of  the  battery's  manufacture  must  be  permanently  marked  on 
 the  battery  and  the  month  and  year  upon  which  50  percent  of  its  useful  life  will  have  expired  must  be 
 permanently  marked  on  both  the  battery  and  the  outside  of  the  transmitter.  The  batteries  must  be  replaced 
 if  50  percent  of  their  useful  life  has  expired  or  if  the  transmitter  has  been  used  in  an  emergency  situation. 


 Briar  Tek  's  description  of  its  121.5  MHz  Personal  EPIRB  generally  meets  that  of  a  Class  B 
 1  47  C.  F.  R.    80.1055(  a)(  3). 
 2  Letter  to  Ms.  Dwana  R.  Terry,  Chief,  Public  Safety  and  Private  Wireless  Division,  Federal  Communications 
 Commission  from  Wayne  V.  Black,  counsel  for  Briar  Tek,  dated  October  24,  2001. 
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 EPIRB  station.  However,  Briar  Teks  121.5  MHz  Personal  EPIRB  is  designed  to  be  small,  lightweight  and 
 be  worn  on  one's  person  as  a  personal  EPIRB  for  use  when  all  other  means  of  self-  rescue  are  exhausted. 
 Absent  a  waiver  of  the  standards  set  forth  above,  Briar  Teks  121.5  MHz  Personal  EPIRB  could  not  be 
 certified  for  operation  under  Part  80  of  the  Commission's  Rules.  3 


 Interested  parties  may  file  comment  on  the  waiver  request  on  or  before  November  26,  2001. 
 Parties  interested  in  submitting  reply  comments  must  do  so  on  or  before  December  3,  2001.  All 
 comments  should  reference  the  subject  Waiver  Request  including  the  DA  number  of  this  Public  Notice,  and  should  be  filed  with  the  Office  of  the  Secretary,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  445  Twelfth  Street, 


 SW,  TW-  325,  Washington,  D.  C.  20554.  A  copy  of  each  filing  should  be  sent  to  1)  Qualex  International,  Portals  II,  445  12th  Street,  S.  W.,  Room  CY-  B402,  Washington,  DC,  20554,  telephone  202-  863-  2893;  2) 
 Jim  Shaffer,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau,  Public  Safety  and  Private  Wireless  Division,  445  Twelfth  Street,  S.  W.,  Room  4-  C342,  Washington,  D.  C.  20554;  and  3) 
 Maria  Ringold,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  Consumer  Information  Bureau,  Reference  Information  Center,  445  Twelfth  Street,  S.  W.,  Room  CY-  B529,  Washington,  D.  C.  20554.  4 


 The  full  text  of  the  Waiver  Request,  comments  and  reply  comments  will  be  available  for  public  inspection  and  copying  during  regular  business  hours  at  the  FCC  Reference  Information  Center,  Portals  II, 
 445  12th  Street,  SW,  Room  CY-  A257,  Washington,  DC,  20554.  This  document  may  also  be  purchased  from  the  Commission's  duplicating  contractor,  Qualex  International,  Portals  II,  445  12th  Street,  SW,  Room 
 CY-  B402,  Washington,  DC,  20554,  telephone  202-  863-  2893,  facsimile  202-  863-  2898,  or  via  e-  mail  qualexint@  aol.  com.  For  further  information  regarding  the  public  reference  file  for  these  waiver  requests 
 contact  Maria  Ringold,  Chief,  Wireless  Branch,  RIC,  (202)  418-  1355. 
 Unless  otherwise  provided,  requests  for  waiver  of  the  Commissions  Rules  are  subject  to  treatment  by  the  Commission  as  restricted  proceedings  for  ex  parte  purposes  under  Section  1.1208  of  the 
 Commissions  Rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.1208.  Because  of  the  policy  implications  and  potential  impact  of  this  proceeding  on  persons  not  parties  to  the  waiver  request,  we  believe  it  would  be  in  the  public  interest  to  treat 
 this  case  as  a  permit-  but-  disclose  proceeding  under  the  ex  parte  rules.  See  Sections  1.1200(  a),  1.1206  of  the  Commissions  Rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.1200(  a),  1.1206.  Therefore,  subsequent  to  the  release  of  this 
 Public  Notice,  ex  parte  presentations  that  are  made  with  respect  to  the  issues  involved  in  the  subject  waiver 
 requests  will  be  allowed  but  must  be  disclosed  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  Section  1.  1206(  b)  of  the  Commissions  Rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.1206(  b). 


 For  further  information,  contact  Mr.  Jim  Shaffer  of  the  Public  Safety  and  Private  Wireless  Division  of  the  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau  at  (202)  418-  0687,  TTY  (202)  418-  7233  or  via 
 email  to  jshaffer@  fcc.  gov. 
 By  the  Chief,  Public  Safety  and  Private  Wireless  Division,  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau. 
 -  FCC  - 


 3  Briar  Teks  seeks  waiver  of  emission  and  power  standards,  and  battery  requirements  (see  47  C.  F.  R.   
 80.1053(  a)(  4)    (7),  80.1053(  a)(  14)(  e))  to  allow  for  certification  of  a  personal  EPRIB  for  personnel  that  have  fallen 
 overboard  from  a  vessel.  The  device  is  water-  activated  and  signals  a  receiver  installed  on  the  vessels  bridge  to 
 allow  local  search  and  rescue  to  be  initiated. 


 4  The  address  for  FCC  locations  should  be  used  only  for  documents  filed  by  United  States  Postal  Service. 
 Documents  delivered  by  Federal  Express  or  any  other  express  mail  service  should  be  addressed  to  the  relevant 
 person  or  office  at  the  Federal  Communications  Commission,  445  Twelfth  Street,  S.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C.  20024. 
 Hand-  delivered  or  messenger-  delivered  documents  are  accepted  only  at  our  Capitol  Heights  facility  located  at  9300 
 East  Hampton  Drive,  Capitol  Heights,  MD  20743.  See  Clarification  On  FCCs  Announce  Changes  in  Filing 
 Procedures,  Public  Notice,  DA  01-  2451  (rel.  Oct.  18,  2001);  FCC  Announces  Change  in  Filing  Location  for  Paper 
 Documents,  Public  Notice,  DA  01-  2436  (rel.  Oct.  17,  2001). 
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