Hi Jab, and Oz,
Just to take this a little further.....with all due respect.....
Re -"and a suitable coverage from ASA would help."
NO ATS Unit has the capability to monitor 121.5 or any other 'distress freq'.
(Unless things have changed since F.S.......
O.K. - I'll leave that sentence there....
[SIZE="2"]Imagine the VHF range of an aircraft on the ground, or in close proximity to the ground, at a 'reasonable' distance of say 30nm.
Nil signal to the ATS ground based antenna.
Sometimes we could be lucky and have a Mt Canobolas near Orange NSW, or similar nearby, but not many of those around OZ.
As an FSO, the ONLY time I ever had the facility to monitor 121.5, was during an exercise out of Derby when we were given a 'Bayside' portable VHF for the duration of the exercise, and would you believe it...yes - I actually used it to contact a 'high-flier' on ATC freqs to relay to an 'overdue' low level aircraft. Magic.
EPIRB is the answer I would say.
Unless.....
Cheers
