FCC Approved ACR Electronics ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacon is Launched to U.S. Market
Fort Lauderdale, FL on February 8 2023– Safety and survival specialist ACR Electronics has announced that its new ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacon is fully approved and available to the U.S. market. The ground-breaking smartphone-connected device will be on show to U.S. boaters for the first time at this year’s Miami International Boat Show.
The ResQLink AIS PLB is the most comprehensive communication set on the market for a rapid response and rescue, offering significant benefits to a range of sailors and cruisers, racing, fishing, watersport and outdoor enthusiasts.
Following Cospas-Sarsat approval and equipment authorization from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), deliveries of the ACR ResQLink AIS PLB are now underway to ACR Electronics’ network of dealers and distributors.
The advanced ACR PLB with integrated AIS Man Overboard (MOB) alert features multiple levels of integrated signal technology in one compact package for the first time. It combines the global response of the 406 MHz Cospas-Sarsat satellite rescue services with the transmission of AIS signals for local assistance from nearby vessels.
Once activated, the ACR beacon delivers a complete communication link to emergency services, integrating GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning, 406 MHz, 121.5 MHz RDF signals and AIS transmission. The new Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) technology provides the user with confirmation that the international satellite system has received their distress message and location.
The PLB also transmits an AIS man overboard signal that will be picked up by any AIS equipped vessels within VHF radio range and plotted onto a connected chart plotter or ECDIS system.
ACR has also introduced Near Field Communications (NFC) into the ResQLink AIS PLB. Used with the ACR App, NFC unleashes a new way for beacon owners to monitor their beacons from their mobile phone, to review self-test results, view GNSS test locations, and monitor beacon performance and maintenance.
The ResQLink AIS is designed for installation in a compatible life jacket to semi-automatically activate upon inflation of the jacket, even if the survivor is incapacitated.
The ACR AIS personal locator beacon features more built-in local aids to location in the form of the 121 MHz homing signal, plus visible and infrared strobe lights, which will be operational to guide assistance directly to the location, particularly during night, or other low visibility rescues.
Visit ACR Electronics at Miami International Boat Show on Booth MB3014 to view the ResQLink AIS PLB.
For more information on ACR Electronics beacons and other safety equipment, go to www.acrartex.com.
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It is excellent news that ACR finally gets to sell its ResQLink AIS PLB, and especially timely with the Miami Show next week.
I got to see this AIS PLB closeup at METS — along with its twin Ocean Safety RescueMe PLB3 model — and will have a lot to say about them on Panbo soon. The short story: I think that you’re looking at a major breakthrough in marine safety.
ACR’s GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB with Return Link Service and NFC app is also just approved and will ship very soon:
https://www.acrartex.com/news/mobile-connected-globalfix-v5-ais-epirb/
This technological upgrade has entered the arena just in time for me, given that I just bought an older Bluewater boat which must be refitted-upgraded with modern electronics.
This multifunction PLB provides the kind of Swiss Army knife functionality that I will be looking for in all of my 2023 sailing electronics.
I suggest that the next upgrade cycle leverage the Starlink Constellation to add even more lifesaving functionality.
The Large flat Starlink Antenna is a technological deal breaker right now, but ACR can move the technology forward by Partnering with Starlink to innovate on this front.
Starlink would likely be amenable to working with your engineers to help Save Lives at sea. Perhaps Musk would supply you with his new battery tech to extend your EPIRB, and PLB run time out to 30 days.
Make it so!