Dan
Contributor
@Dizzi Lizzi, if you are referring to PLB1, it already has 10" long antennae. All it needs is to shoot the 5 watt transmission power signal straight up to the sky. No need to put it on top of your stiff SMB. 5' higher location is negligible compare to 528 miles that the signal will travel to the Low-Earth Orbitting Search And Resue (LEOSAR) satellites that make a complete orbit around the world once every 100 minutes, in addition to The Geostationary Orbiting Search And Rescue (GEOSAR) satellites that will always be up there like for the GPS.
It is not looking for a boat on the earth surface like the VHF radio. It's sending 406 MHz beacons straight up to the satellite. So, if you miss the LEOSAR satellites when you send out the distress signal (by pulling out the antennae, pushing the red button & hold it for 1 second), then wait for a 100 minutes for the next LEOSAR satellite orbit to receive your signal.
Same thing with when you are lost in the woods. You don't need to climb up a tree to get a better signal. Just make sure you are in the open sky above you.
NOAA - Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking - Satellites
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