practice ELT testing/certification requirements?

[MikeD]

Does anyone know what the testing/certification requirements for a practice ELT are?  The cadets in my squadron are getting too good at trying to guess where we hide it, and the big orange box is pretty noticeable.  I'm thinking about making a "stealth" one in a much smaller box, to give them an extra challenge.   This also opens up some other evil possibilities like hiding it near the orange one (which'd be off).   

(Granted, some of this is based on some poor hiding skills, but the cadets are seeing them a good ways off.  And even before they get close I can hear them starting to talk about where they'd hide it and trying to outsmart us.  And there aren't all that many good hiding spots out in the desert).

[arajca]

Like any other transmitter, it requires an FCC cert.

Have you remoted the antenna? It uses a standard BNC connector. Put the antenna somewhere and the beacon 100' or more away.

[SarDragon]

Putting it in a different case isn't practical, but covering it with a dark fabric cover is. Also, you can attach an external antenna (like a Yagi), and orient it to make the signal less easily detectable. Use ground features, too, like gullies, etc.

[Jerry Jacobs]

You could  bury it.
http://www.cap-es.net/ES%20Projects/Practice%20Beacon%20Box.htm
also hiding tricks: http://www.cap-es.net/ES%20Electric%20Technology/Evil%20ELT%20Hiding.htm

[KC0IEA]

After attaching the yagi, set it on a rotating base, so that the signal changes strength as the yagi rotates.
http://home.att.net/~wb8wfk/lasthunt.html

[davedove]

An easy camouflage is to just put it inside a regular old cardboard box.  The color of the box should blend in with the desert better.

[Eclipse]

Or a garbage can, car truck, light up more than one, put it up in a tree, etc.

[arajca]

Put a really weak battery in it so it fades out before they get there. Forces a shift from df to visual search.