life before the battery starts to diminish to the point where the output signal will be below te minimums required. >> reporter: but it's also possible that the signal could run out before the 30 days. david soucie cites that malaysia stored the pingers in a hotter location than recommended and could have already zapped this battery's power. but malaysia airlines said, quote, we are unaware of any issue with the underwater locator beacon or its batteries. wolf? >> brian, thank you. richard quest is still with us. we're also joined by former navy oceanography van gurley. this towed pinger locator that will get there on thursday , thy don't have any wreckage yet, is this, for all practical purposes, a waste of time? >> no. because the moment they do have a debris or debris field, which could happen at any time, as