In June 2022, I helped some friends deliver a high-performance sailboat from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Seattle. Our crew was experienced, so we opted to sail west of Vancouver Island. Those waters are frigid, and the shorelines are desolate, so I carried two personal locator beacons.

The first PLB, an Ocean Signal MOB1, was rigged inside my Spinlock Deckvest 6D life jacket, ready to self-activate and transmit my position via the automatic identification system if the jacket inflated. The second PLB, a McMurdo FastFind 220, resided in a case on my jacket. If manually activated, it would transmit 406-megahertz satellite signals to the international Cospas-Sarsat program, for routing to search-and-rescue authorities.

Back then, this two-PLB setup was the gold standard, but it used only GPS (not the entire global navigation satellite system) to determine position information, and it provided zero reassurance that the signals had been received.

Now there’s a better option. ACR’s ResQLink AIS PLB-450 and Ocean Signal’s PLB3 are multifrequency beacons that operate on AIS and 406 MHz frequencies. The two brands have the same parent company, and the PLBs are identical, aside from their styling. They both can leverage the full GNSS to fix their location, which they broadcast. They can be paired with life jackets, and they come with built-in Return Link Service, which illuminates an LED once Cospas-Sarsat has received the signals. Also, both beacons employ near-field communication, which lets them share a wealth of battery and test-result information via ACR’s companion app.

The PLB-450 and PLB3 are, as of this writing, the world’s most sophisticated PLBs, but the technology to build multifrequency beacons has existed for years. Two things changed that allowed these devices to go live.

First, Return Link Service came online in January 2020. It’s provided by the European Union’s Galileo satellite network, and it lets mariners receive a simple LED-based confirmation that their distress signals have been received. The importance of this technology cannot be overstated; documented cases exist of lives lost to information voids.

Second, in February 2023, the US Federal Communications Commission authorized a single PLB that can transmit both AIS and 406 MHz frequencies. This is one of the most important marine-specific changes that the FCC has made in decades. It created a regulatory opportunity for manufacturers to build multisignal PLBs.

Prototypes had existed for at least a year before that FCC change, so ACR and Ocean Signal soon began shipping the new beacons. I was excited to receive a PLB-450 to review.

My first move was to register the beacon with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This simple process involves inputting information, such as the PLB’s identification and serial numbers. Next, I downloaded ACR’s app, and I placed my iPhone next to the beacon. The devices connected, an iOS pop-up appeared, and I tapped it to launch the ACR app. I was presented with a wealth of PLB-specific data, including battery condition (high) and “total time on” (10 minutes).

ACR’s instructions make clear that it’s important to self-test the PLB, which also broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz frequency. Rescuing authorities sometimes use this frequency for final-mile recovery work. The catch is that commercial aircraft carry 121.5 MHz receivers, so it’s important to self-test any 121.5 MHz-enabled PLB only during the first five minutes of each hour.

I waited my turn, and then headed to the driveway, where I have a semiclear south-facing sky view. The first self-test, called a function test, involved pressing and holding a slider-protected key. The LED flashed blue once, indicating that the beacon had passed its exam. I confirmed this with the app.

Next came the GNSS Test. Here, I ran into some trouble, as the PLB flashes its results in red or green, and I suffer from red-green colorblindness. So, I reran the test with my wife standing next to me. She saw a single long red flash, followed by a number of shorter green flashes. Again, the beacon passed, and the app confirmed the results. It also showed me how many satellites were in view (three), how long it took to acquire its first fix (35 seconds), its fix type (2D fix) and its position accuracy (greater than 215 feet).

Like the MOB1, the PLB-450 (and PLB3) can be paired with a life jacket so that if the jacket inflates, the PLB activates. ACR and Ocean Signal achieve this via an activation slider, a safety cover and some ribbon that loops around the jacket’s air bladder. Should the jacket inflate, the ribbon pulls tight, the activation slider and safety cover pop off, and the beacon lights up. This autoinflation system is clever, but it must be carefully rigged (imagine packing a parachute). A seven-minute video on ACR’s website explains it.

I donned my life jacket in the driveway to see how it felt to wear the devices. There’s no escaping the fact that a PLB-450 is larger than a MOB1; however, I found this bulk was offset because I no longer had to carry the FastFind 220. Overall, a PLB-450 (or PLB3) is cost-competitive with a two-beacon setup, it weighs less, and it offers the same operational life of 24-plus hours.

There’s no question that I would have preferred to carry a PLB-450 or PLB3 on my delivery from Ketchikan to Seattle. The downsides are nonexistent, and it’s spectacular to be able to broadcast your emergency and position with great accuracy to both local traffic and rescuing authorities, and to receive Return Link Service confirmation.

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ACR’s ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacon is the first to leverage the automatic identification system (AIS), the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz frequencies. This multi-signal beacon gets position information from its GNSS receiver, and then bundles and transmits that information to a Cospas-Sarsat satellite via its 406 MHz transceiver. The beacon also shares its position information via AIS frequencies with nearby AIS-equipped vessels; it alternates its AIS bursts with 121.5 MHz transmissions that can be received by rescuing authorities.

“The real challenge of this product was trying to design an all-in-one product that meets our customers’ expectations,” says Mikele D’Arcangelo, ACR’s vice president of global marketing and product management. The solution, he says, involved miniaturizing circuit boards, bundling previously discrete componentry, and ensuring that the beacon satisfied AIS MOB and personal-locator-beacon regulatory requirements.

The ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacon measures 7.87 by 1.41 by 1.18 inches, weighs 0.42 pounds, has a 24-hour operational life, is waterproof down to 33 feet for up to one hour and comes with a five-year warranty.

How It Works

ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacons have near-field communications antennas. This tech lets ACR store all a beacon’s technical information in the antenna, which can be interrogated by a smartphone that’s running ACR’s Beacon App without draining the beacon’s internal battery. ResQLink AIS beacons are compatible with the Cospas-Sarsat Return Link Service, meaning an on-device LED illuminates when a beacon’s signal is received. The beacon also has infrared- and white-light strobes and can be fitted into a PFD to activate automatically if the PFD inflates.

Take the next step: acrartex.com

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ACR Electronics has launched its upgraded 406Linkonline beacon testing and messaging service, which lets users in North and South America receive satellite self-test confirmation of their 406 MHz epirbs and personal locator beacons.

The service sends a custom 406Link message to as many as five mobile and email contacts within a few seconds, according to ACR Electronics.

“406Link is a unique technology that can offer every beacon owner and their loved ones greater peace of mind by enabling them to self-test and verify their location before they head to sea or on an outdoor adventure,” Mikele D’Arcangelo, vice president of global marketing and product management, stated in a press release. “Beacon owners should remember that no subscriptions are required to notify search-and-rescue forces around the world of your emergency distress message. The authorities will respond when you press the activation button in an emergency, even if your 406Link subscription lapses.”

The 406Link service has a subscription price of $49 a year.

How does 406Link work? It sends an encoded test signal to the Cospas-Sarsat network of search-and-rescue satellites. That signal is received and then picked up by ACR ground stations. They send a confirmation message to the beacon owner and specified contacts via email and SMS text message. 

For more information, visit: acrartex.com

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ACR Electronics displayed nearly two dozen new products at the Miami International Boat Show.

The products included personal locator beacons, AIS and MOB systems, searchlights, safety kits and a crew overboard light.

“We were extremely busy in 2019, and we have launched over 20 products that are now available and shipping worldwide,” the company stated in a press release.

ACR’s ResQLink personal locator beacons included the ResQLink View, which has optical display technology, allowing the screen to display GPS coordinates, operating instructions, usage tips, transmission bursts and battery power.

New searchlights include the RCL-95, fitted with 10 ultra-bright Osram LEDs with reflector optics and 50,000-hour bulb life, for a peak beam intensity of more than 460,000 candelas. The light can cast an 8-degree beam over seven-tenths of a nautical mile, according to ACR.

Also new from ACR: The OLAS Guardian system, which can stop an engine within two seconds of a person or pet going overboard. It also triggers an 85-decibel alarm.

For more information, visit: acrartex.com

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