ACR Electronics RLB-38 manual

OWNER VESSEL RAD IO CALL SIGN UIN #[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 1 NOTE re: A pplicable prod ucts This manual supports all configurations of Satellite 3 4 06™ / RLB-38 beacons . In addition to th e part num bers listed on the cov er page, o ther configurations of these products are available, thus you may have purchased a prod uct configuration with a somewhat diff erent part n umber. As [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 2 Ta ble of Contents STEP ONE - REGISTER ING YOUR BE ACON ____________________________ 3 STEP TWO - HOW TH E BEACON W ORKS _____________________________ 6 ST EP THREE - IN STALLING THE BE ACON _____________________________ 15 STEP FOUR - MAIN TAINING THE BEACON ___________________________ 20 APPENDIX A - USING AND TESTIN G THE[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 3 STEP ONE - REGISTERING YOUR BEAC ON 1. Why is registration imp ortant? As the owner of this 406 MHz beacon, i t is mandat ory that you register it with the EPIRB national authority of your co untry: It is the law . Please note th at all 406 MH z beacons are required to have their reg istration updated ever y two years b y th[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 4 2. What country should I register in? Register you r beacon with the EPIRB national au thority of the countr y for which the beacon was pro gramm ed, t y pically the country where purchased , regardless of w here y ou do your boatin g. The beacon mus t be reprogramm ed if you, as the owner, m ove or the vessel sa ils under t[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 5 Registration outside of the United States In countries other t han the United States, 406 MHz b eacons are reg istered with that cou ntry’s national aut hority at the t ime of purchase. The s ales agent shou ld have assisted you in filling out the f orms and sending them to the c ountry’s national auth ority. Altern ativ[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 6 STEP TWO - HOW THE BEACON WORKS 1. How your beacon brings help 406 MHz beacons are a type of portable emergenc y e quipment that transmits a distress signal to search and rescue (SA R) organizations . T he purpose of these beacons is to aid S AR teams in tracking and locating ships or individuals in jeopar dy as rapidly as p[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 7 2. Anatomy of your b eacon NOTE : W hen unpacking your beaco n, it is recommended that you save the original pac kaging for re -use when s hipping the beacon f or battery replacement in the f uture. // A ctivation switch w ith Witness Tab The activation s witch embodies a special, paten ted method of activati ng a beacon . R[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 8 Top View Switch Positions Strobes Optional GPS Interface Antenna Green LED Red LED Activation/ Test Switch OFF/READY Position TEST Position ON/TRANSM ITTING Position[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 9 GPS Interface Stowage Port Category 2 – Qui ckDraw™ Brack et Category 1 – Se aShelter ™ 3 Bracket Spring Release Knob HydroFix™ Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) Ejector Spring Antenna Hook Front cover hook (detent) Optional GPS Interface Cable Antenna Hook Water Sensor Deactivation M agnet Release Latch[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 10 3. Activating your bea con Overview Category I be acons are designed to be autom atically deployed and activated in the e vent of a s inking vessel . The beacon m ay also be hand held on t he deck of vessels, or f loated in water and a ttached to a raft or lif e vest with the lan y ard provid ed. Category II beacons are des[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 11 Category I beacons -Automatic deplo y ment and ac tivation If the vessel sinks, the H y droFix™ HRU frees the beacon from the brack et, allowing it to float to the surface. Built-in sensors detect that the beacon is no longer in its brack et and when continu ity is created b y water between two of the top cap scr ews, an [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 12 Category I and II Be acons-Manual deplo y ment an d activation Both Ca tegory I and II beacons can be m anually deployed by r emoving the beacon from the brack et. Once rem oved, the beaco n can be activated b y placing it in water OR by lifting the Activati on Switch to a vertical position, sliding it t oward the antenna a[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 13 TIPS FOR OPT I MUM DEPLOYMENT OF AN ACTIV ATED BEACON: When activating and deploying your beacon in an emergency, DO NOT: // Hold or clutch the be acon or antenna // Operate the beacon while hand held, if at all possib le // Turn the beacon off for any reason, including to s ave p ower // Activate the beacon if you have any[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 14 5. False alarms To prevent false alarm s, it is important to be aware of how your beacon can be ac tivated . An ACR 406 MH z EPIRB can be ac tivated b y two diff erent methods. W hether y ou have a Category I or Categor y II, these methods are the same. // W hen the beaco n is out of its brack et and wet, the unit will star[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 15 STEP THREE - INST A LLING THE BEACON 1. Marking batt ery and Hydrostatic Release Unit expiration dates NOTE : It is the beacon owner’s responsi bility to record the expiration dates for both th e be acon batter y and the H ydroFix™ h ydrostatic re lease unit. This inform ation must appe ar on the product itself. The lef[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 16 Visually inspect the area surrounding the mounting bracket installation site for hidden hazards or obstacles th at ma y have been overlooked d uring the location selection. If there is any doubt as to the ready accessibilit y to t he beacon at all times or if any con dition m ay appear to be questionab le, conduct a complet[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 17 3. Category I bracket The SeaShelter 3 ™ Category I bracket has f ive pre -drill ed screw holes to use for securing the bracket to a flat surfac e. Rem ove the SeaShelter 3 ™ lid by turning the spring loaded knob on the lid 1/4 turn counter clockwise and pull. The lid will lift a way from the top of the b ase and diseng[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 18 4. Category II bracket Category II brackets are des ign ed to hold the beacon s ecurely in place. The beacon m ust be m anually deplo y ed. T he brack et can be m ounted on a vertical flat surface with beacon antenna up or on a horizontal flat surf ace facing skyward. This location must be easily access ibl e in order to ma[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 19 5. Installing the Option al optical GPS inte rface cable The beacon is fitted with an optical interfac e to connec t with an external Global Positioning System (GPS) r eceiver that will determine the latitu de and longitude of its position . The black lead wire with white stripes should b e con nected to the output of the e[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 20 STEP FOUR - MAINTA INING THE BE A CON 1. Safety DOs and DON’T s On a routine basis abo ard ship, DO NOT : // Hold or carr y the beacon by its antenna // Mount the be acon in its brac ket close to l arge structur es or magnetic areas // Tie the lan y ard to the EPIR B bracket or an y other structure // Obscure the beaco n [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 21 Always ref er battery repl acement and an y other beac on service t o a factor y authorized Service Center. Find a Center near you at http://www.acrelectron ics.com/brc.htm . Battery replacement includes servicing t he beacon b y re placing all o -rings, testing the water s eal and the electrical properties an d doing a ful[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 22 6. Changing ow nership or contact information As the owner of the beacon, i t is your respons ibility to advise the nation al authority of any cha nge in the inform ation on the registration f orm. If you are transferring the b eacon t o a new o wner, you are required to inform the national a uthority . You can do this b y [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 23 To remove th e expired HRU W hen opening the SeaShelter 3 ™ lid, no te that th e be acon i s installed with the lanyard f ace in. Pull t he beacon with stead y press ure from the brack et. Do not get beac on wet while out of brac ket. T he HRU has a k eying feat ure that locks it to the brack et. If you view the HRU rod a[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 24 CAUTION: Do not f orce the lid closed. If the lid does not close easily, check to see that the be acon is prop erly i nstalle d in the brack et and the HydroFix™ is proper ly seated. 9. Servicing the Q uickDraw ™ To re move a b eacon from the Cate gory II bracket, pre ss the “PUSH” lever to release the beacon f rom [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 25 A PPENDIX A - USING A ND TESTING THE GPS SYSTEMS 1. How the external GP S interface works The beacon is f itted with an optical in terface to connect with an exter nal Global Pos itioning S y stem ( GPS) receiver that will determine the latitude and longitude of its position. This data is transmitted to the em ergency syste[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 26 bypasses the n ormal, pro grammed, waiting tim e of 20 minutes for the automatic update of GPS position data. If no valid G PS position data is a vailable, t he b eacon will keep the previously s tored GP S position data for up to 4 hours . In this case, cal l ACR Customer Service at + 1 (9 54) 981-3333 for instructions on [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 27 A PPENDIX B - THE COSPA S-S A RSAT SYSTEM 1. General ove rview EPIRBs transmit to the satellite portion of the Cospas-Sarsat system. Cospas-Sarast satellites are an international system that utilizes Russian Federation and United States’ low altitude, near-polar o rbiting sate llites (LEO SAR). These satellites a ssist in[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 28 A PPENDIX C - TECHNICA L SPECIFICATIONS GENERAL / ENVIRONMENTAL Beacon size (without antenna ) 17.7 H X 10 .67 W X 9.09 D cm (6.97 X 4.2 X 3.58 in) Beacon we ight 581 g (20 .49 oz) Beacon mate rial High impact UV resistan t polymer Color ACR- Treuse™ (high visibility yellow) Waterproof Tested to 10 min @10 m (33 ft), exce[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 29 A PPENDIX D - WARRA NTY, USEFUL LIFE POLICY, NOTICES 1. Limited Warranty This pro duct is warranted against factory defects in ma teria l and workmanship for a period of 1 (o ne) year* from date of purchase or rec eipt as a gift. During the warranty period ACR Electronics, Inc. will repair or, at its option, re pl ace the u[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0250 Rev. B 30 EC D E C LA RA T I O N O F C O N F O R M I T Y AC R Ele ct r o n i c s he r e b y de c la r e s th a t th e fo l lo w in g pr o d u c t i s in co n f o r mit y w i t h Co u n c i l D ir e c tiv e 9 6 /9 8 / EC of 20 D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 6 o n Ma r i n e Eq u ip men t (M E D ) la s t a m e n d e d by Co m mi ss io n D i r e[...]