The distress beacon is a tracking device included within all standard eighth-generation main controller units. At a configurable interval, it sends a message to the unit's owner(s) while the unit is running on auxiliary power. If auxiliary power is set to support the GPS subsystem, then the unit's location will be included in this message. It is also possible to manually fire the beacon while the unit is under normal power.

To configure the distress beacon, see the manage > EPS menu. Alternatively, see the beacon command.