Product Support Manual EPIRB Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon RLB-36 Y1-03-0233 Rev. T2 ACR Electronics, Inc. 5757 Ravenswood Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 Tel : +1(954) 981-3333 Fax: +1 (954) 983-5087 www.acrelectronics.com Email: info@acrelectronics.
* * * WARNING * * * THIS TRANSMITTER IS AUTHORIZED FOR USE ONLY DURING SITUATIONS OF GRAVE AND IMMINENT DANGER DELIBERATE MISUSE MAY INCUR A SEVERE PENALTY Magnet Safe Distance 1m (3.3 ft) Stereo Speaker Safe Distance 1m (3.3 ft) Keep this beacon a safe distance away from all magnetic sources Keep this beacon a safe distance away from all stereo speakers IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH YOUR NEW 406 BEACON, DO NOT RETURN IT TO THE STORE! CALL ACR ELECTRONICS AT +1 (800) 432-0227.
Table of Contents SECTION 1 – FOREWORD AND PRODUCT FEATURES SECTION 2 – REGISTRATION OF 406 MHz BEACONS 4 5 SECTION 3 – FALSE ALARMS 7 SECTION 4 – INSTALLATION 8 SECTION 5 – ACTIVATION AND DEPLOYMENT 9 2.1 Registration importance 2.2 Where to register 2.3 Registration in the United States 2.4 Leisure vessels in the United States 2.5 Commercial vessels in the United States 2.6 Do I need a radio station license? 2.7 Commercial vessels world wide 2.8 Registration outside the United States 2.
SECTION 1 – FOREWORD AND PRODUCT FEATURES Thank you for purchasing from ACR Electronics, Inc. We design, manufacture and distribute quality products knowing they are used to save lives. Many of our products are required to be tested and approved by regulatory bodies worldwide. We believe in going beyond those specifications to insure our products work when needed in real world conditions. With proper care and maintenance your ACR product will last for years.
SECTION 2 – REGISTRATION OF 406 MHz BEACONS 2.1 Registration importance It is mandatory that the owner of this 406 MHz beacon register it with the national authority.* All 406 MHz beacons transmit a Unique Identifier Number (UIN) when activated. This UIN is programmed in the beacon based on the country in which the beacon was purchased. Registration provides the Search and Rescue (SAR) forces with up to date emergency contact information, which will speed up the launch of a rescue operation.
2.4 Leisure vessels in the United States In the United States, leisure vessels are sometimes required to have a radio station license. Leisure vessels that are required to have a radio station license are required to modify that license when an EPIRB is added to the vessel. For information on whether you need a radio station license, see section 2.6 (below). 2.
owner. The new owner of the beacon is required to provide the national authority with all of the information requested on the registration form. This obligation transfers to all subsequent owners. Registration forms for the United States are available from NOAA by calling 1 (888) 212-7283 or by visiting the ACR website at www.acrelectronics.com. 2.10 Lost or stolen EPIRBs Inform NOAA immediately at 1-888-212-SAVE (7283), or your national authority, if your EPIRB has been lost or stolen.
SECTION 4 – INSTALLATION 4.1 Mounting location The location selected must be sufficiently rigid to support the weight of the total installation and at the same time consider vibration, exposure to the elements, exposure to surrounding hazards, such as equipment movement, doors being opened, accidental covering, personnel traffic, etc., and yet be readily accessible at all times in the event of an emergency.
Date of Installation Example: Date of installation of New HRU or First Installation of EPIRB including new HRU: August 1, 2007. This unit will need to be replaced in August of 2009. Scratch off “AUG 8” and “2006” on the HRU date calendar Date of Manufacture Example: On the bottom of the HRU a date of manufacture is pin stamped: 0806. This unit will need to be replaced in 0809.
5.2 Category I & 2 bracket dimensions 66.6 2.621 7.1 .280 240.8 9.480 76.2 3 143.2 5.639 Category I Bracket NOT TO SCALE Figure 3 10 355.6 14.
122.2 4.81 154 6.06 105.5 4.15 Category II Bracket Dimension Drawing NOT TO SCALE Figure 4 5.3 Configuration overview Category I beacons are designed to be automatically deployed and activated. The beacon may also be hand held on the deck of vessels, or floated in water and attached to a raft or life vest with the lanyard provided. Category II beacons are designed to be manually deployed from the bracket. The beacon is designed to operate best while floating in water.
The beacon is designed to allow the user to perform periodic testing while the beacon is in the release bracket. Category I: Place the beacon into the release bracket with the spooled lanyard inward. The beacon should now be firmly held in the Category I bracket and ready for automatic deployment. Do not attach lanyard to bracket. Category II: Place the beacon into the bracket with the spooled lanyard inward. The beacon should now be firmly held in the Category II bracket and ready for manual deployment.
Note: Some countries may fine vessel owners for causing false alarms. The permanent breakage of the Activation Indicator Plastic Pin is a positive indication of a manual activation. 5.6 Manual activation without deployment The beacon can be activated while still in its bracket by placing the thumb switch in the ON position. Activation by this method overrides all sensors and turns the beacon “ON.” The caution note above still applies. 5.
6.2 GPS acquisition with the external GPS The RLB-36 is fitted with an optical interface to connect with an external Global Positioning System receiver that will determine the latitude and longitude of its position to be transmitted to the emergency system. When RLB-36 is coupled to a working external GPS receiver, it immediately begins downloading data. Once valid position data has been obtained, the beacon will attempt to update the positional data every 20 minutes.
is present. The operator can force the acquisition of new GPS position data, by executing a Self-Test with the beacon connected to a GPS with a valid position fix. This bypasses the normal, programmed, waiting time of 20 minutes for the automatic update of GPS position data. If the new GPS position is acquired, the coordinates will be displayed, after the beacon has completed the Self-Test. A new beacon is programmed with the GPS position data set to “default.
6.8 LED indication of GPS fix When the RLB-36 is in On mode, the red LED, Light Emitting Diode, flashes every 1 second for the first hour then 3 seconds after to indicate the RLB-36 is turned on and operating. As soon as the GPS receiver acquires good navigational data the red LED stops blinking and the green LED flashes once every two seconds to indicate that the internal GPS receiver has acquired good navigational data.
Always refer all long life battery replacement and other beacon service to a factory authorized service center. Battery replacement includes servicing the beacon by replacing all o-rings, testing the water seal and the electrical properties. NOTE: There are no user serviceable items inside the beacon. DO NOT OPEN THE BEACON UNLESS TO DISABLE IN CASE OF FAULTY ACTIVATION. For the nearest location of a Battery Replacement Center, visit our website at www.acrelectronics.
Figure 10 - GEOSAR Satellite Orbits system that utilizes Russian Federation and United States’ low altitude, near-polar orbiting satellites (LEOSAR). These satellites assist in detecting and locating activated 406 MHz satellite beacons. COSPAS and SARSAT satellites receive distress signals from EPIRBs transmitting on the frequency of 406 MHz. The COSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz beacon signal consists of a transmission of non-modulated carriers followed by a digital message format that provides identification data.
The GlobalFix™ stores this data into its distress transmission allowing search and rescue forces to narrow the search into a very small area and thus minimize the resources required and dramatically increase the effectiveness of the overall operation. SECTION 9 – TECHNICAL INFORMATION 9.
406 MHz TRANSMITTER Frequency 406 MHz Power output 5W Digital message format Standard location protocol (for the USA; Beacon can be reprogrammed at a service center to other coded formats, and to national location protocol) Duration 520 ms Frequency stability +/- 2 bp/100 ms Rate 400 bps Modulation +/- 1.1 radians Encoding Biphase L 121.5 MHz TRANSMITTER Frequency 121.
9.3 Support ISSUE CONTACT Possible damage to beacon TELEPHONE or WEBSITE ACR Electronics, Inc. US: 1-800- 432- 0227, extension 2155 Outside the US: +1-954-981-3333, extension 2155 Resetting beacon to allow downloading new GPS coordinates ACR Electronics, Inc. +1-954-981-3333 General trouble with new beacon ACR Electronics, Inc. 1-800- 432- 0227 9.4 Beacon Images Beacon standing upright Beacon floating in water Beacon held in hand 21 Y1-03-0233 Rev.
