Ack! My ACK!

Am wondering if there's a design flaw in the ACK E-01 ELT or just an anomaly?
Our unit went off by itself today because the battery in the remote panel mount
indicator died, triggering the ELT, and I'd like to know if anyone else has had
this happen?

If a dying battery in the remote ***always*** sets off the ELT, then this is a
design flaw. Everyone's ACK will eventually false alarm if the remote battery
isn't replaced on time. (And you know how we are with smoke detectors...)
Hmmm... maybe this explains all the false alarms CAP complains about?
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I got a call from the airport today. They said the ELT from our plane in the
hangar was transmitting as of this morning.

That's strange. We last flew a few days ago. No ELT then. (The landings
haven't been THAT hard.) What could've happened?

In disbelief, I drove to the hangar, expecting this to be a false report. (Not
even sure how they could receive a signal, since the hangar makes a pretty good
shield. Turns out the CAP hangar is nearby, and they picked it up as they
taxied by.)

I unlocked the plane, and checked the panel indicator for the ELT. No flashing
LED showing activation. I punched the "Reset" button anyway. And then I
punched the "On" button. Hmmm... no flashing LED.

So I pulled out the handheld, and tuned 121.5. Sure enough, there was an ELT
signal, loud and clear. I hit the hard switch on our ACK, and that stopped it.

I pulled the remote, and sure enough, the 6v Lithium battery is down to 2v.

I'd like to know if anyone else had this same problem, where a dying battery in
the panel remote triggers the ELT? It could simply be an anomaly. But if a
sizeable number of you have had this happen, then it's a design flaw.

But you might not know it happened if someone doesn't alert you that your ELT
has triggered. If the CAP wasn't nearby, I suspect our ELT would have drained
itself down to zero, and I would have blissfully flown around for the next year
(time to annual) thinking the ELT was functional. (It's not like there's a
"Checklist" item, to test the ELT before every flight. But in light of this I
think I'll make a monthly item on my Palm Pilot.)

So if you have an ACK ELT, you may wish to check it from the panel mounted
remote to make sure everything is working.

FYI, I installed the Lithium battery in August 1999, and expected it to last
until 2004. (I don't know if there's any current drain on it when the ELT is
in standby.) But it quit almost 4 years to the month, in 2003. My new
replacement cycle will be every 3 years now.

Hope this helps,

Mike Palmer
Excellence in Ergonomics