ACR Electronics PLB-350B manual

Y1 - 03 - 0241A i[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 1 CAUTION: Before proceeding to insta ll, test or use your ne w ACR Electronics’ product, please read this Product S upport M anual in its entiret y. If y ou have questions regarding th e contents of the manual or something not c overed in t he manual , p lease contact our Technical Service Departm ent at AC R Electronics, Inc., T[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 2 Table of Contents STEP ONE - REGISTERING YOUR BEACON _____________________ 3 STEP TWO - HOW THE BEACON WORKS ______________________ 5 STEP THREE - MAINTAINING YOUR PLB ______________________ 13 APPENDIX A - ACCESSORIES _______________________________ 16 APPENDIX B - THE COSPAS-SARSAT SYSTEM ___________________ 18 APPENDIX C - TECH[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 3 STEP ONE - REGISTERING YOUR BEAC ON Why is registration imp ortant? As the ow ner of this 406 M Hz beacon, i t is mandatory that you reg ister it w ith t he PLB national authority of you r cou ntry: It is the l aw. Please note that all 406 MHz beacons are required t o have their registration updated ever y two years by the owner. [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 4 What country should I register in? Register your beacon with the PLB nat ional au thority of the c ountr y for which t he beacon was program med, t ypi call y the country w here purchased, regard less of where you live or d o your adventurin g. The beacon m ust be reprogramm ed if you, as the owner, m ove out of the countr y where[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 5 Registration in Canad a The national authority in C anada is the NSS (Nationa l Search & Rescue Secretariat). Canadian residents can register online at http://beacons.nss.gc.c a/ . For m ore information pl ease contact the NSS at +1 (613) 966 -1504 or +1 ( 877 ) 406-7671. Canadian Beacon Regist ry CFB Trenton, PO Box 1 000 Stn[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 6 The 406 MHz signal is detected b y m ultiple s atel lites and f rom that inform ation the location of the beacon can be calculat ed . T his d ata alone is s ufficient for SAR to find p ersons or s hips in distress i n a reasonable t imefr ame . However, as a further en hancement, som e beacons ha ve a GP S engin e onboard . This f[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 7 3. Anatomy of your b eacon NOTE: The appearance of your beacon m ay vary from this picture. Figure 1 Antenna Latch FRONT B ACK GPS antenna location Antenna: Wrapped around beacon. UIN Label: Applied at the factory, the 15 character hex adecimal number is unique to each beacon. Activation button cover Battery expira tion label with[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 8 4. Distinguishing PL B Features The distinguishin g featur es available on y our PLB v ary with the particular model that you selected. The following table summ arizes the similarities and diff erences in models. PLB -350B Product names AquaLink™ 40 6 GPS PLB SARLink™ 40 6 GPS PLB ACR Product Number 2882 2883 Unique features L[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 9 NO TE: The appearance of your k ey pad ma y vary from this picture. Figure 2 - Ke y Pad Functions NOTE: If y ou notice t he PL B is flashing the r ed or green LED a nd “beeping” perio dically on i ts own, this likely m eans it has accidentall y been activated and needs to be shut off and reported as a false alert (see page 12 [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 10 6. Activation (406 M Hz and 121.5 M Hz) To activate your beacon i n a distress situation, follo w these steps (see Figure 3 below). 1) Unfasten the an tenna from the case. 2) Move it into the upright position 3) Depress the ON /OFF ( ) button for 1 full s econd. You will hear a “beep” and your beacon is now activated. W hile [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 11 Figure 4 – GPS R eceiver Location will stop blink ing and t he r ed LED will f lash o nce ever y 2 s econds until new GPS data is obta ined. 9. GPS receiver or ientation W hen activated, it is critica l that you do no t cover th e beacon with an y body part, water, clothin g, etc. T he GPS recei ver is located under the bottom [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 12 11. Preventing false alerts A f alse alert is any activation of the beac on, inten tional or other wise, that does not result f rom a situation of grave a nd imm inent danger. Be sure to do the f ollowing to help m inimize false alert s: Register your beacon. This does not reduce fals e al ert r ates ; however, when the beacon is[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 13 To report false ale rt s o utside o f the USA , cont act the national authority where your beacon is registered. STEP THREE - MAINTAINING YOUR PLB 1. Routine M aintenance Carefully ins pect the beacon cas e for any visible cr acks. Cr acks ma y admit moisture, which co uld falsel y activate the be acon or otherwise cause a m alfu[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 14 A Self-test is initiated by holding the Self-test button ( or ) for at least 1 sec ond and less th an 5 seconds . Your beacon will so und an initial “ beep ” and f lash the green LED t o signif y th e test has begun. T he green LED will f lash a second tim e to indicate th at the self tes t was successful. NOTE: T he “ beep[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 15 5. GPS acquisition te st This test is NOT required as 100% of a ll GPS r eceivers that leave ACR have been tested t o e nsure they perf orm correctly. Ho wever, if you woul d like to ensure your GP S receiver is working, please follo w these instructions ver y closely. CAUTION: T he f ollowing test shou ld n ot be perf ormed more[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 16 Figure 5 - Belt Clip letter, fax or telephone and informing the authorit y of the name and address of the new owner. The new owner of the beacon is requi red to provide the national authority with a ll of the inf orm ation r equested on the registration f orm . This obligation transfers to all subseque nt owners. See s tep 1 , p [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 17 Figure 6 – Attachment Clip 2. Attachm ent Clip The AquaLink™ comes standard with an attachment c lip. To install t he clip, s imply align the bottom tabs on the clip with t he insert h oles located on the bo ttom of the beacon. S nap the clip in p lace b y pressing th e top of the clip so that the t wo top tabs engage in the [...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 18 A PPENDIX B - THE COSPAS-SARSAT SYSTEM 1. General overview Beacons transmit to the sa tellite portion of the Cospas-Sarsat s ystem. Cospas- Sarast satellites are a n international system that utilizes Russian F ederation and United Sta tes’ l ow altitude, n ear -polar orbiting satellites (LEOSAR). T hese satellites assist in de[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 19 A PPENDIX C - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 406 MHz Transmitt er Frequency 406 MHz Output Pow er greater than 5 w atts (typical: 6.3 w atts) Frequency Stab ility ±2 parts per billio n/100ms Digital Message: Format Long message Serialized 1* Message proto col Standard Loca tion Duration 520 ms Rate 400 bps Encoding Biphase L Modulatio[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 20 A PPENDIX D - WARRA NTY, USEFUL LIFE POLI CY, NOTICES Limited Warrant y This product is warranted against facto ry defects in mate rial and workmanship for a period of 1 (one) year* from date of purchase or receipt as a gift. During the warranty period ACR Electronics, Inc. will repair or, at its option, replace the un it at no c[...]

Y1 - 03 - 0241A 21 EC D EC LA RA TI ON O F CO NF OR MI T Y AC R E le ct r o ni cs , In c. h er eb y de cl ar e s th a t th e fol lo w i n g pr o d u ct s ar e in con fo r m it y w i th Di re ct i v e 1 99 9/ 5 / EC of th e Eu ro p e a n Pa rl ia me n t an d o f th e Co u n c il o f 9 Ma rc h 19 9 9 on Ra di o Eq u i p me nt an d Te le co mm u n ic [...]