ENOS stands for "Elektronisches Notruf- und Ortungssystem" – "Electronic Rescue and Location System" - a system developed in Germany for use by divers at sea. ENOS allows people in distress to signal their location when drifting on the ocean's surface so they can be quickly located and rescued. Although the system was especially developed for

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

it can also be used for other water sports like

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

jet skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

and

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

Assembly and operation

Each ENOS unit consists of two parts. The ENOS-Receiver which is kept on board the dive boat; and the ENOS-Transmitter(s) carried by the diver(s). ENOS is designed for emergencies associated with a diver(s) surfacing too far from the boat to swim back. For example, when divers have been swept away from their vessel by a current or when they can't see the boat because of poor weather. To send an emergency signal, the diver switches on the transmitter. This will send the signal and the diver's GPS position back to the boat's receiver. When the receiver picks up the diver's alert, it automatically determines the boat's GPS position and calculates the vessel's distance and bearing to the diver's position. The results are clearly plotted on screen for the skipper to follow during the rescue.

Technology and receiving range

Every ENOS is a self-contained rescue system that functions in a local area. Its range is determined by the height of the receiving

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

mounted on the

dive boat A dive boat is a boat that recreational divers or professional scuba divers use to reach a dive site which they could not conveniently reach by swimming from the shore. Dive boats may be propelled by wind or muscle power, but are usually pow ...

, the prevailing surface conditions and the distance of the direct line-of-sight. Receiving ranges of up to three nautical miles are standard. A range of up to six

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

is possible in optimal conditions. The system uses radio frequencies that do not require licenses or fees; and are determined by the national laws of radio frequencies where the system is operating. It does not use the

international distress frequency An international distress frequency is a radio frequency that is designated for emergency communication by international agreement. History For much of the 20th century, 500 kHz was the primary international distress frequency. Its use has bee ...

. ENOS is the only rescue system for water sports which relays the GPS position of the diver in distress directly to a local receiving unit. The alert is not relayed to

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

s or other marine

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

organisations. The receiver is alerted immediately which enables the nearby boat to quickly and independently initiate the diver rescue and bear the costs. A single ENOS-Receiver can receive alerts from all the ENOS-Transmitters operating on the same frequency within the same receiving range.

Other rescue systems

The ENOS-System is not intended to replace existing distress radio beacons or rescue systems (e.g.

EPIRB An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of i ...

s, ELTs,

PLB An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of i ...

s, Inmarsat etc.), which operate on international emergency frequencies and over large distances.

Circulation

The ENOS-System was developed in

Rösrath Rösrath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The earliest known documents mentioning the settlement ''Rösrath'' can be found in documents dated to 1356. There have been findings of Paleo ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2004. It can be used anywhere in the world and is currently operating on dive boats in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

/ Galápagos,

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

References

External links