: I have found that in southern cal. that I have not been able to receive a
: response to a radio check in the last 5 times that I have brought a VHF
: radio.

I am in southern England, and don't bother with VHF any more. Since the advent of GMDSS and the direct dialling facility few people seem to keep a listening watch on channel 16 any more, and as ships don't contact via ch 16, I don't know what big stuff is around, only small craft.

: In July when the 406 Mhz satellite EPRBS go on sale I will buy one. This way
: if I get in trouble I know that someone is on the way within 3 minutes!!!.

Again, here it's not all it's cracked up to be. Due to the very high number of false triggers our Coastguard don't neccessarily scramble when a signal is received - it can be up to 12 hours unless they believe it is a false trigger when they ignore it.
Some small EPIRBS may have difficulty contacting the satellite. There was a case of a small 'EPIRB' marketed for kayaking and dinghy sailing over here that turned out to be a low range man-overboard locator, similar to an avalanch transponder, for use with a DF handset on the yacht. It would never reach a satellite.
I suggest you have a good chat to your local Coastguard Control Centre to make sure that reality is up to your expectations, and get the manufacturer's full specifications, not the shop's sales pitch.