This is True – Last Gasp
From Randy Cassingham, K0RCC
The Isle of Jersey’s Coastguard scrambled a search plane and a lifeboat when it received an emergency distress beacon from somewhere south of the island. The Coastguard knew it had to be an old beacon since it didn’t have a GPS component to give its location, and one of the crew had an idea: they contacted a ham radio group to see what they could tell about the signal. They quickly located it — at a recycling center in St. Helier, where there was a “pile of discarded electronics” which, an employee there confirmed, had just been “disturbed.” That apparently activated the device. The Coastguard plane flew over the center and confirmed that’s where the signal was coming from, and the search was called off. (RC/Jersey Evening Post) …Who was smarter: the ham operators, or the Coastguardsman who thought to ask them?
Copyright ©2023 by Randy Cassingham, K0RCC, reprinted with permission
