PRODUCT SUPPORT MANUAL Y1-03-0169 Rev. B 406 PLB Product No. 2792 GyPSI™ 406 PLB (with GPS Interface) Product No. 2793 Model PLB-100 Personal Locator Beacon ACR Electronics, Inc. 5757 Ravenswood Road Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33312 +1(954) 981-3333 • Fax +1 (954) 983-5087 www.acrelectronics.com Email: PLBInfo@acrelectronics.
* * * WARNING * * * THIS TRANSMITTER IS AUTHORIZED FOR USE ONLY DURING SITUATIONS OF GRAVE AND IMMINENT DANGER DELIBERATE MISUSE MAY RESULT IN A SEVERE PENALTY Advice to owners of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) Registration of 406 MHz satellite PLB with the PLB Registration Section of the national authority* is mandatory because of the global alerting nature of the system.
TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 - THE SYSTEM 1.1 General .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Purpose.................................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Satellite Detection ................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Authorizations ......................
SECTION 1 - THE SYSTEM 1.1 GENERAL 1.1.1 This manual provides operation and maintenance instructions for the 406 Personal Locator Beacon, Product No. 2792 and the GyPSI™ 406 Personal Locator Beacon, Product No. 2793 hereinafter referred to as the PLB. This section describes the characteristics and details of the 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB Systems. 1.2 PURPOSE 1.2.1 The PLB provides distress alerting via radio transmission on 406 MHz to satellites of the COSPAS-SARSAT network.
1.3 SATELLITE DETECTION 1.3.1 The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB transmit an encoded phase modulated radio signal to the satellite portion of the COSPAS-SARSAT System. The system was developed and implemented by the COSPAS-SARSAT Partners (Russian Federation, Canada, France and the United States). 1.3.
GEOSAR SATELLITE COVERAGE FIGURE 1 SAR SATELLITE ORBITS FIGURE 2 1.3.6 Because most of the search and rescue forces presently are not equipped to home on the 406 MHz Satellite signal, homing must be accomplished at 121.5 MHz. 1.3.7 The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB are Class 1, Personal Locator Beacons. 3 Y1-03-0169 Rev.
1.4 AUTHORIZATIONS 1.4.1 The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ PLB meets the requirements of FCC Part 95 Subpart K. The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB meets the requirements of and Canadian Specifications, NSS PLB 01-01 & RSS 187 and Cospas/Sarsat T.001 & T.007. 1.5 CHARACTERISTICS 1.5.1 The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB are buoyant, battery operated Personal Locator Beacons. The beacon case, with its external antenna, is waterproof.
121.5 MHz Transmitter Frequency Frequency Tolerance Output Power Morse Code "P" ID 121.5 MHz ±50 ppm 25 mW PEP every 50 seconds (approximately) Modulation Type Sweep Range Sweep Rate Duty Cycle Morse P AM (3K20A3N) 400 to 1200 Hz 3 Hz 37.5% AM (2K00A2A) Antenna Frequency Polarization VSWR 406 & 121.500 MHz Vertical Less than 1.5/1 General/Environmental Battery Life Operating Replacement Interval 24 hours minimum @ -40°C 5 years or after use in an emergency Size PLB less Antenna 6.65 x 3.
KNOWN COMPATIBLE GPS RECEIVERS (for the GyPSI™ PLB Model only) Manufacturer Model Notes Y2K and EOW Compliant B&G Network LCD Plotter / DGPS * Yes B&G Network LCD Plotter / GPS * Yes B&G Network GPS and DGPS * Yes B&G Network GPS * Yes Data Marine Chartlink D7000 XT * Yes Data Marine Chartlink D7000 XTC * Yes Data Marine Chartlink II D8000 * Yes Data Marine Link D3500 * Yes Data Marine Link D3500 LD * Yes Furuno GP1810F * Yes Furuno GP1810 * Yes Furuno GP1610
Manufacturer Model Notes Y2K and EOW Compliant Garmin 85 * Yes Garmin 89 * Yes Garmin 90 * Yes Garmin 92 * Yes Garmin 95 * Yes Garmin 120 * Yes Garmin 126 * Yes Garmin 128 * Yes Garmin 130 * Yes Garmin 135 * Yes Garmin 175 * Yes Garmin 180 * Yes Garmin 185 * Yes Garmin 190 * Yes Garmin 195 * Yes Garmin 210 * Yes Garmin GPSMAP 215 * Yes Garmin 220 * Yes Garmin GPSMAP 225 * Yes Garmin GPSMAP 230 * Yes Garmin GPSMAP 235 SOUNDE
Manufacturer Model Notes Y2K and EOW Compliant Magellan GPS 2000 XL * Yes Magellan GPS 3000 * Yes Magellan GPS 3000 XL * Yes Magellan GPS 4000 * Yes Magellan GPS 4000XL * Yes Magellan Meridian XL * Yes Magellan Trailblazer * Yes Magellan Trailblazer XL * Yes Magellan White Meridian * Yes NorthStar 941X * Yes NorthStar 951X * Yes NorthStar 961X * Yes Raytheon Autohelm ST50 Plus GPS * Yes Raytheon GPS-11 * Yes Raytheon HSB Chart Plotter Yes Raythe
Manufacturer Model Notes Y2K and EOW Compliant Si-Tex Si-Tex Si-Tex Si-Tex Si-Tex Si-Tex Trimble GPS-9 GPS-99P GPS-9D HG-7 SBR-90 SBR-91 4000DSi * * * * * * * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Firmware must be upgraded to V7.19 to comply Trimble 4000RSi * Users of Firmware V7.15 V7.18 must upgrade to V7.19. Users of V7.28 must upgrade to V7.29. Users of V7.
SECTION 2 - OPERATION 2.1 GENERAL 2.1.1 The 406 PLB and GyPSI™ 406 PLB Beacon Models are designed to be manually deployed and activated. 2.1.2 The GyPSI™ 406 PLB Beacon can accept NMEA 0183 GPS Data (format GGA 1.5 and above) through it's I/R interface. Data is updated every 20 minutes once an initial position is acquired. 2.1.3 The GyPSI™ 406 PLB is also designed to allow the user to perform periodic testing and confirmation of GPS connection and downloaded coordinates. 2.1.
Upon lifting the switch, a very short yellow flash will indicate self test has been initiated. Sequence of Tests 1. Check Data I/O ....................................... Beep & flash amber LED if pass ................................................................. Stop if failed 2. Check 406 MHz Synthesizer ................................................................. Beep & flash amber LED if pass ................................................................. Stop if failed 3.
OPERATING POSITION FIGURE 6 SECTION 3 - GYPSI™ 406 PLB EXTERNAL GPS I/R ADAPTER 3.1 GENERAL The GyPSI™ 406 PLB comes with a GPS cable Plug Adapter that can be interfaced to your GPS receiver to input actual GPS data into your beacon. This extra data can help improve reaction time to your position in the event of an emergency. This data is particularly helpful when the GEOSAR Satellite system picks up the Distress Alert. 3.2 GPS ADAPTER 3.2.
The External GPS adapter supplied with your GyPSI™ 406 PLB has two wires that are polarized. The wire with the stripe on it is the + Data lead and should be connected to the + Data lead of your GPS Data/Power connector. The other lead with no stripe is the - Data lead and should be connected to the - Data lead of your GPS Data/Power Cable. GPS ADAPER ILLUSTRATION FIGURE 7 3.2.2 Setup: The Data format your PLB will be accepting is the NMEA 0183, (GGA sentence). This is a common standard for GPS receivers.
EXTERNAL GPS I/R CABLE FIGURE 8 3.2.4 Position data set to default: GPS data will be set back to default once the beacon is turned OFF. During the self test burst, default GPS data is transmitted even if GPS data is in memory. 4.0 MAINTENANCE 4.1 Carefully inspect the PLB case for any visible cracks. Cracks may admit moisture which could falsely activate the beacon or otherwise cause a malfunction.
GPS interface cable using the wiring diagram information supplied by ACR and the GPS unit manufacturer. Turn on your GPS unit and allow it to acquire the necessary satellites. Make sure the output is set to NMEA 0183 with the GGA sentence configured if necessary. Connect the NMEA 0183 interface cable to the GPS unit and the ACR beacon. The ACR beacon “wakes up” every few seconds. As soon as it detects the presence of a valid data source it will initiate a data down load. Q.
A. ACR Electronics recommends a maximum length of 400 feet using 24 AWG wire. Contact your GPS owner’s manual for more detailed information. Q. What happens if I plug the GPS into the beacon first, without waiting for it to acquire satellites? A. The beacon will function normally, but will not store GPS coordinates. The beacon will continue to look for satellites and as soon as the GPS has acquired satellites the data will be transferred to the beacon. Q.
7.2 Contact the appropriate national authority to report false alarms.
