Emergency marine locator system

A fail safe marine locator system for vessels equipped with a marine radio having a microphone proved with a transmit button and a dial arrangement for acquiring an emergency channel frequency for transmitting a verbal distress call through an antennae to a communications satellite relay to a receiver at a Coast Guard facility wherein the locator system comprises:

• an interface unit including a microprocessor having means for piggybacking a digital data signal onto the verbal distress call signal wherein the digital data signal corresponds to the location of the stricken vessel during the time that the distress call is being made and said microprocessor has a microprocessor circuit board which is responsive both to the position of the dial arrangement on the marine radio and the position of the transmit button on the marine radio microphone;
• and wherein the transmittal of the verbal distress call and the piggybacked digital data signal requires that the dial arrangement is on a designated emergency broadcast frequency and the transmit button on the marine radio microphone is depressed.