Your life may depend on it. Always tune 121.5 MHz on your comm before shutting down. Call Flight Service Station and report the false alarm immediately. When you replace your ELT, spend the extra money and upgrade to a 406 MHz. Go to your local avionics shop for an ELT test.
Low batteries can give erroneous readings or trigger a false alarm.
It's important to have a good, working ELT when flying, but it is also important to always file a flight plan and, when it is available, always use flight following. That way, Search and Rescue will know where you are and can get to you quickly in an emergency. Alisa Christenson, Santa Fe Avionics. Click here to return to the beginning of this article. The material in this publication is for advisory information only and should not be relied upon for navigation, maintenance or flight techniques.