ACR Electronics RLB-33 2776 Product Support Manual

Contents

Y1-03-0148-2 Rev. L 13For both modelsAlways refer battery replacement and any other beacon service to a factory authorized Service Center. Batteryreplacement includes servicing the beacon by replacing all o-rings, testing the water seal and the electrical propertiesand doing a full functional test on the unit.NOTE: There are no user serviceable items inside the beacon. DO NOT OPEN THE BEACON EXCEPT TO DISABLEIN CASE OF FAULTY ACTIVATION. Otherwise, always have beacon serviced by an authorized Battery ReplacementCenter. For the nearest location of a Battery Replacement Center, visit our website at http://www.acrelectronics.comNOTE: THE BEACON MAY OR MAY NOT REQUIRE SPECIAL SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS DUE TO THE LITHIUMBATTERIES AND CHANGES IN SHIPPING REGULATIONS. PLEASE REFER TO ACR’S WEBSITEhttp://www.acrelectronics.com FOR PROPER SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS.6.3 Shore Based Maintenance (SBM) for SOLAS Vessels, IMO MSC/Circ. 1039The Maritime Safety Committee approved guidelines for shore-based maintenance of satellite beacons, for thepurpose of establishing standardized procedures and minimum levels of service for the testing and maintenance ofsatellite beacons. First Shore Based Maintenance on all ACR EPIRBs is due at the date of the first batteryreplacement.6.4 Annual Testing for SOLAS Vessels, IMO MSC/Circ. 1040SOLAS regulation IV/15.9 dictates annual testing of 406 MHz satellite EPIRBs. Testing should be carried out usingsuitable test equipment capable of performing the relevant measurements. All checks of electrical parameters shouldbe performed in the self-test mode, if possible.SECTION 7 – THE SEARCH AND RESCUE SYSTEM7.1 General OverviewBeacons provide distress alerts via radio transmission on 406 MHz to the LEOSAR satellites of the COSPAS-SARSATnetwork. The RapidFix™ can also transmit a distress alert (acquired by the internal or external GPS) to the GEOSARnetwork that includes GPS latitude and longitude coordinates.The message transmitted is unique for each beacon, which provides identification of the transmitter through computeraccess of registration files maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or other nationalauthority*. Remember, SAR forces will know who you are, what type of vessel you have, your homeport, and who tocontact that might know of your current situation ONLY if your beacon has been properly registered. This will helpexpedite the launch of a rescue operation. 406 MHz beacons are required to have their registration updated every twoyears.*The national authority is the governmental body responsible for EPIRB registration database administration for thecountry for which the EPIRB is programmed.Once the 406 MHz signal is relayed through the LEOSAR and/or GEOSAR network, SAR forces determine who isclosest, and then proceed to the beacon using the 121.5 MHz homing frequency.7.2 Satellite DetectionEPIRBs transmit to the satellite portion of the COSPAS-SARSAT system. COSPAS-SARSAT is an internationalsystem that utilizes Russian Federation and United States’ low altitude, near-polar orbiting satellites (LEOSAR). Thesesatellites 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. TheCOSPAS-SARSAT 406 MHz beacon signal consists of a transmission of non-modulated carriers followed by a digitalmessage format that provides identification data. The 406 MHz system uses Satellite-borne equipment to measure andstore the Doppler-shifted frequency along with the beacon’s digital data message and time of measurement. Thisinformation is transmitted in real time to an earth station called the Local User Terminal (LUT), which may be within theview of the satellite, as well as being stored for later transmission to other LUTs.