LAS VEGAS, March 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- EMS Technologies (Nasdaq:ELMG) introduced today at the Aircraft Electronics Association's 47th Annual Convention and Tradeshow, the new 406-1 Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). EMS's advanced life-saving technology is now accessible to a wide range of aircraft operators, most notably, small aircraft owners. EMS's innovation brings the ELT to the aviation market at a more affordable price and in a smaller package than previously was available.
EMS's 406-1 ELT operates at 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz, and has been COSPAS - SARSAT certified. The transmitter weighs just 2.10 lbs, and has a six-year battery life cycle and an optional internal GPS interface. Included with the ELT are a remote switch, a whip antenna and an integrated buzzer to alert crews of accidental activation.
406 MHz beacons have been designed specifically for satellite detection and Doppler location, and provide: improved location accuracy and ambiguity resolution, increased system capacity, global coverage, and the unique identification of each beacon. The addition of a digitally encoded message enhances the ELT operation by providing the country of registration, ID of the aircraft, and position data from onboard NAV equipment.
EMS has provided ground equipment and management systems for use with the COSPAS - SARSAT satellite system since its launch in 1981. The system has been credited with saving more than 14,000 lives by using spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate signals from distress beacons.
"Given our success with the COSPAS - SARSAT system, we are very pleased to extend our technologies into the ELT market. General aviation has been demanding a low-cost ELT, and EMS has once again responded. Our low-cost ELT will enable more operators, especially those with smaller aircraft, to acquire this potentially life-saving technology," says Mark van Berkel, director of Sales with EMS Technologies' SATCOM Aeronautical Group.
About EMS Technologies
EMS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of technology solutions to wireless and satellite markets. The Company focuses on mobile information users, and increasingly on broadband applications. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, employs approximately 1,700 people worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Montreal, Ottawa and Brazil.
The SATCOM Division of EMS Technologies, based in Ottawa, Canada, specializes in the design and development of satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical, land-mobile and maritime markets, and is a leader in the development and supply of high-speed data communications equipment for the supply of e-mail and Internet capability to the aircraft cabin.
For more information, visit the Company on the World Wide Web at http://www.ems-t.com
Editor's Note: Visit EMS Technologies at AEA 2004 in Booth No. 709 or at the Online Press Room: www.emssatcom.com/AEA2004.
For more information, please contact:
Halina Sejdak-Rydel, Public Relations EMS Technologies SATCOM Division Office: 613.727.6277 ext. 1290 Cell: 613.863.1144 rydel.h@emstechnologies.ca Anne Wainscott-Sargent, Public Relations EMS Technologies 770-263-9200, ext. 4326 pr@ems-t.com