ACR Electronics GlobalFix RLB-36 manual

OWNER VESSEL RA DIO C A LL SIGN UIN #[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 1 NOT E re: Applicable prod ucts This m anual supports all conf igurations of Global Fix™ iPRO/ RL B - 36 beacons . In addition to th e part numbers listed on the cover pa ge, o ther configurations of these products are availabl e, thus you ma y have purchased a product conf iguration with a somewhat diff erent part number. [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 2 Ta ble of Contents STEP ONE - R EGISTERING Y OUR BEACO N ________________________________ ___ 2 STEP TWO - H OW THE BE ACON WORKS ________________________________ ____ 6 STEP THREE - I NSTALLING T HE BEACO N ___________________________________ 16 STEP FOUR - MAINTAINING T HE BEACON __________________________________ 21 APPEN[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 3 STE P ONE - REGISTE RING YOUR BEA CON 1. Why is registration i mport ant? As the ow ner of this 406 M Hz b eacon, it is mand atory that y ou r egister it with the EPIRB national authority of your coun try : It is the law . Please note that a ll 406 MHz beacons are re quired to ha ve t heir reg istration upd ated every two ye[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 4 2. What country should I register in? Register y our beac on with the EPIRB national authorit y of the country for which the beacon was program m ed, t y pically the countr y where purc hased, regardless of where you do your boating. The beacon must be reprogramm ed i f you , as the owner, m ove or the vessel sails under the[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 5 Registration outs ide of the United States In countr ies other than the United S tates, 4 06 MHz beacons are registered with that countr y’ s national authorit y at the tim e of purchase. T he sales agent should ha ve assisted you in f illing out the form s and sending them to the country’s nationa l authorit y. Altern a[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 6 STEP TWO - HOW THE BE A CON WORKS 1. How your beacon bring s help 406 MHz beacons are a t ype of port able em ergenc y equipm ent that tr ansm its a distress s ignal to s earc h and resc ue (SAR) organizatio ns . The p urpose of these beacons is to aid SAR team s in tracking and loc ating ships or individuals in jeopard y as[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 7 2. A natom y of your beacon NOT E : W hen unpack ing your beacon, it is recom mended t hat you save the original pack aging for re -use when shipp ing the beacon for ba tter y replacement in th e future. // Activation switch w ith Witness T ab The activation s witch em bodies a special, patented m ethod of activating a beaco[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 8 GPS Interface Internal GPS Receiver Activation/Tes t Switch Red LED Digital Display Screen OFF/READY Position TEST Position ON/TRANSM ITTING Position Top View Switch Positions Strobes Antenna Green LED[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 9 Spring Release knob Hydro Fix™ Hydro static Release Unit (HRU) GPS Interface Cable Front cove r hook (detent) Release Latch Antenna hoo k W ater Sen sor Deactivation Magne t GPS Interface Stowage Port Category 2 – Low Pro ™ 3 Bracket Category 1 – SeaShelter ™ 3 Bracket Front Cover Release Tab s GPS Interface Stowag[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 10 3. Digital Displa y The digital displa y in t he beacon is used as a secondary visual aid, supporting t he green/red L ED a nd t he aud io tone, whi ch indicate the status of the beacon dur ing te sti ng and during em ergency operation . The m essages on the digital displa y typically appear as one or two words at a time, u[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 11 4. Activating your bea con Overview Category I beacons are de signed to be automatical ly deployed and activated in the e vent of a sinking vessel . T he beacon m ay a lso be hand h eld on the deck of vessels, or f loated in water and att ached to a raft or life vest with the lanyard pro vided. Category II beacons are des i[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 12 Category I beac ons-Au tomatic deplo y m ent and activat ion If the vessel sink s, the H ydroFix™ H RU f rees the be acon f rom the brack et, allowing it to f loat to the surf ace. Built -in sensors detect that the beacon is no longer in its bracket and when contin uity is created by water between two of the top cap sc re[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 13 Category I and II Beacons -Manual de ployment an d ac tivation Both Cat egor y I and II be acons can be m anuall y deplo yed b y rem ovi ng the beacon from the brack et. Once rem oved, the beacon can be ac tivated b y plac ing it in water OR b y lifting the Acti vation S witch to a vertical p osition, s liding it to ward th[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 14 TIPS FOR OPT IMUM DEPLOYM ENT OF A N ACTIVATED BE ACON: When activatin g and depl oying your beacon in an emergenc y, DO NOT : // Hold or clutch th e beacon or antenna // Operate the beaco n while hand held, if at all pos sible // Turn the beac on off f or any reason, includ ing to save po wer // Activate the beac on if you[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 15 Precautions to pre vent fals e alarm s // Do not mount or transport the beacon within 4.6ft/1 .4 m o f a m agnetic source. // Do not store the b eacon outs ide of its brack et if it can get wet. // Do not m ount the EPIRB back wards in its brac ket (lan yard roll m us t face in). // Do n ot cl ean the b eacon with a water h[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 16 STEP THREE - INST ALLING THE BEA CON 1. M arking battery and Hydr ostatic Release Unit expiration dates NOT E : It is the beacon owner’s responsi bility to r ecord the expiration dates for both the beacon batter y and the H ydroFix™ h ydrostatic r elease u nit. T his inform ation must appe ar on the product itself. The [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 17 Visually inspect the area su rrounding th e m ounting bra ck et installa tion s ite for hidden hazar ds or obstacles that ma y have been overlooked during the location selection. If there is any doubt as to the read y accessibilit y to the beacon at all tim es or if an y condition m a y appear to be questionable, conduct a [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 18 3. Category I bracket The SeaShe lter 3 ™ C ategor y I brack et has five pre -drill ed screw holes to use for securing the brack et to a f lat surface. Re move the SeaSh elter 3 ™ lid by turning th e sp ring lo aded knob on the lid 1/4 turn counter clock wise a nd p ull. The lid will lift away from the top of the base a[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 19 4. Category II brack et Category I I brack ets are design ed to hold the beacon securel y i n p lace. The beacon must be manuall y deployed. T he bracket can be mounted on a vertical flat s urface with beacon a ntenna u p or on a horizontal f lat surf ace facing sk y ward. This locati on m ust be easily access ible in order[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 20 5. Installing the optic al interface to an external GP S receiver The beacon is fitt ed with an optical interf ace to connect with an extern al Glob al Positi oning System (GPS) rece iver that will determine the latitu de and longitude of its posi tion. The black lead wire with white stripes should b e connected to the outp[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 21 STEP FOUR - MA INT A I NING THE BE ACON 1. Sa fet y DOs and DON’T s On a routine basis aboard ship, DO NO T: // Hold or carr y the beacon by its antenna // Mount the b eacon in its brack et c lose to large s tructures or m agne tic areas // Tie the lan yard to the EPIR B brack et or an y other structure // Obscure the bea[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 22 Always ref er batter y replacem ent and an y other beacon service to a factor y authorized Service Center. Find a Center near you a t http://www.acr electronics.com /brc .htm . Battery repl acem ent incl udes servicing t he b eacon by re placing all o -r ings, testing the water sea l and the electrical propert ies and doing[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 23 6. Changing ow nership or co ntact information As the o wner of the b eacon, i t is y our responsibilit y to ad vise the na tional authorit y of any chang e in the inf ormation o n the r egistration form . If you are transferring the beacon to a new owner, you are required to inform the national a uthorit y . You c an do th[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 24 To remov e the expired HRU W hen opening the SeaShel ter 3 ™ lid, note th at the beac on is installed with t he lanyard f ace in. Pull the beacon with steady press ure f rom the brack et. Do not get beaco n wet whi le out of brac k et. T he HRU ha s a k eying f eature that locks it to the bracket. If y ou vie w the HRU ro[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 25 9. Servicing the Low Pro 3 ™ To remove a beacon from the C ategor y II brack et, lift the latch an d re lease the pressure fr om the beacon. The beacon will now be able to slide u pwards out of the brack et. It is not an ticipated th at the LowPro 3 ™ will requ ire s ervicing other than cleaning or, rare ly, replacem en[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 26 11. Extended GPS t est The beacon m a y be tested for GPS f u nctiona lity, ho wever, this m ay only be done once in the five- year lifetim e of the battery due to the significan t drai n on th e batter y . T his test is not n ecessar y at any tim e in the life of the beaco n, but is m ade available i n the event that the b[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 27 A P PENDIX A - USING AND TESTING THE GPS SYSTEMS 1. How t he external GPS int erface w orks The beacon is f itted with an o ptical interface to connect with an external Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that will det erm ine the latitude and longitude of its pos ition. This da ta is tran sm itted to the em ergenc y s[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 28 If the new GPS pos ition is acquired, t he co ordinates will b e d isplayed after the beacon has com pleted the S elf -T est. I f no v alid GPS pos ition da ta is available, t he beacon will k eep the prev iously st ored G PS position dat a f or up to 4 h ours. In this case, call ACR Customer Service at +1 (954) 9 81-3 333 [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 29 7. Compatible GPS receiver s External GPS interf ace r equirem ents: In order to b e c om patible w i th the GlobalFix™ iPRO, a n external GPS recei ver must provide l ocation inform ation according to the f ollowing requirem ents: // NMEA 01 83, Version 1. 5 or higher // Baud rate: 4800 // Talk er device identif ier: GP [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 30 A P PENDIX C - USER INTERFACE: DIGITAL DISPLAY DURING OPERATION The following chart describes the a udio-vis ual fe edback the b eacon provides during activation. The mess ages on the digital display typically a ppear as on e o r t wo words a t a time, until the en tire message has been dis played. GlobalFix ™ iPRO Displa[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 31 The system reports th at the 121.5 MHz homing signal is on . Sea r ch and Resc ue (SAR) personn el use this frequen c y when arriving close to the scene . If thi s mes sage is a cc ompan i ed b y a green L ED flash, the GPS coo r dinate s have been sent. If accompan ied by a red LED flash, the GP S coordina tes have not be [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 32 The system remind s yo u that leaving th e beacon o n c ontinu ously giv es t he best assuran ce of being r escued. SAR groups need the ongoing transmissions from the beacon to most effectively find y ou. If thi s mes sage is a cc ompan i ed b y a green L ED flash, the GPS coordina tes ha ve be e n sent. If accompan ied by [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 33 A P PENDIX D - USER INTERFACE: DIGITAL DISPLAY DURING SELF-TEST The following chart describes the displa y and audi o - visual f eedback the beaco n provides during Se lf-T est. T he m ess ages on th e digital displa y typically appear as one or two words at a ti m e, until the entire m essage has been disp layed. GlobalFix[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 34 The fourth test checks f or 406 MHz signal strength/RF power . If po wer is adequate the syste m passes. The fourth tes t checks for 406 MHz signal strength/RF power. If power is not ad equate t he system fails. The fifth te s t checks GPS engine readiness. If the GPS i s ready the beacon passes. The fifth te s t checks GPS[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 35 This message appears if Self-Test has passed. The display indicates t hat the ex ternal GPS did not update it s coordinates during Self -Test . NOTE: If exter nal GPS data c anno t be acquired, typically due to the external GPS not having achieved a goo d fix, it does not af fect the pass status of Self -Test. S elf-Test re[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 36 A P PENDIX E - USER INTERFACE: DIGITAL DISPLAY D URING EXTENDED GPS TEST The following c hart descri bes the displa y and audi o -visual fee dback the be acon provides during extended GPS T est. The m essages on the digital display typicall y appear as one or two wor ds at a time, until the e ntire m essage has been displa [...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 37 A P PENDIX F - USER INTERF A CE: LANGUA G E TRANSLATIONS The RLB-36 user interf ace is available i n five languages : English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. The fol lowing table provides the digital display phrases tha t appear on the screen. Please note that all l anguage transl ations utili ze simple terms and abbr[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 38 A P PENDIX G - THE COSP A S-S A RS AT SYSTEM 1. General ov ervi ew EPIRBs transmit to the satellite portion of the Cospas-Sarsat s ystem. Cospas-Sarast satellites are an international syst em that utilizes Russian Federa tion and United States’ low altitude , near-polar orbiting sate llites (LEOSA R). These sate llites as[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 39 A P PE NDIX H - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS GENERA L/ ENVIRONMENTAL Beacon size (without an t enna) 17.7 H X 1 0.67 W X 9.09 D cm (6 .97 X 4.2 X 3.58 in) Display size 2.54 cm (1.0 in) diag onal Beacon weight 581 g (20.49 oz) Beacon material High impa c t UV resistant polymer Color ACR- Treuse ™ (high visibility yello w) W at[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 40 A P PENDIX I - W A RR A NTY, USEFUL LIFE POLICY, NOTICES 1. Limited Warranty This product is warranted against factory defects in m aterial and workmanship for a period of 1 (one) year* from date of purchase or receipt a s a gift. During the warranty period ACR Electronics, Inc. will repair or, a t its option, replace the u[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 41 EC DECLARA TION OF CONFORMITY ACR Electronics h ereby declar es that t he following product is in c onformit y with Council Directive 96 /98/EC of 2 0 December 19 96 on Marin e Equipment ( MED) last am ended by Comm ission Dir ective 2008/67 /EC of 30 J une 2008, and h as been type examined as described i n this Declar atio[...]

Y1 - 03 -023 3 Rev. D 42 I N TE RN A T IO NA L MA R IT IM E O R GA N I ZA TI ON S H OR E BA S ED MA INT E NA N CE T he M ar i ti me Sa fe ty C o m m i tt ee a p pr o ve d gu i de li n es fo r sh o re -b a se d ma in te n an c e ( SB M ) o f s a te l l it e E P IR B s, fo r th e pu r po s e o f e s ta bl i sh i ng s ta nd a rd i ze d pr o ce d ur e [...]