mcmurdo Simrad EG50 User manual

MANUAL
Simrad EG50 & EP50
Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons
E04961 Iss.1.0 August 06

EG50 & EP50
II
his manual is applicable to both the EP50 and the EG50
EPIRBs. he EG50 contains a GPS receiver for improved
positional accuracy; some parts of this manual are
applicable only to the EG50, and are marked accordingly.
APPLICATION
his EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacon) is designed for use in maritime emergencies,
and is approved for these contingencies.
It is not designed or recommended for use on land or in
the air.
Use the EPIRB only in situations of grave and imminent
danger. Intentional false alerts may result in penalties.
REGISTRATION
his EPIRB must be registered with the appropriate
national authority.
he function of the EPIRB is to send an alert to the
COSPAS-SARSA satellites, as described in the
Appendix. How soon an alert is received depends on the
positions of the satellites at the time, and can be
influenced by overhead obstructions aboard the vessel.
Rescue time following an alert depends on the overall
performance of the Search and Rescue organisations,
which is outside the control of Simrad.

Emergency
III
IN EMERGENCY
Remove the EPIRB completely rom
its bracket or enclosure
Hold the lanyard spool and throw
the EPIRB into the water where it
will sel -activate
OR
I time permits, pull the tear-o tab
up, then press the activation button
and slide the switch le t

EG50 & EP50
IV
© 2006 Simrad Ltd
The technical data, information and ill strations contained in this p blication
were to the best of o r knowledge correct at the time of going to print. We
reserve the right to change specifications, eq ipment, installation and
maintenance instr ctions witho t notice as part of o r policy of contin o s
development and improvement.
No part of this p blication may be reprod ced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form, electronic or otherwise, witho t prior permission frm
Simrad Ltd.
No liability can be accepted for any inacc racies or omissions in the
p blication, altho gh every care has been taken to make it as complete and
acc rate as possible.
E04961
Iss
.
1.0
A g
06 RH

Contents
V
CONTENTS
1 RECOMMENDATIONS AND SAFETY NOTICES............... 7
2 MANDATORY REGISTRATION ......................................... 9
2.1 Overview ....................................................................................9
2.2 How to register ...........................................................................10
2.3 Warranty form ............................................................................10
2.4 Radio licence ..............................................................................11
2.5 Sale or transfer............................................................................11
2.5.1 Mandatory information for Oceania.............................12
3 DESCRIPTION .................................................................... 13
3.1 B lkhead bracket........................................................................15
3.2 Float-free enclos re....................................................................16
4 CONTROLS......................................................................... 19
4.1 Activation switch........................................................................19
4.2 TEST b tton ...............................................................................19
4.3 Sea switch...................................................................................19
4.4 Indicator lamps ...........................................................................20
4.4.1 Strobe (white)...............................................................20
4.4.2 Red LED.......................................................................20
4.4.3 Green LED (fitted to EG50 only).................................20
4.4.4 Interpreting the LEDs...................................................20
4.5 B zzer.........................................................................................21
5 OPERATING PROCEDURE................................................ 23
5.1 Sinking........................................................................................23
5.2 Abandon ship..............................................................................24
5.3 GPS Operation (EG50 only).......................................................24
5.4 Getting the best from yo r EPIRB..............................................25
5.5 Releasing EPIRB from a b lkhead bracket ................................27
5.6 Releasing EPIRB from an enclos re ..........................................28
5.7 Man al activation .......................................................................28
5.8 Deactivation................................................................................29
5.9 Re-fitting EPIRB ........................................................................30
5.9.1 Refitting into b lkhead bracket....................................30
5.9.2 Re-fitting into enclos re...............................................31

EG50 & EP50
VI
6 FALSE ALERTS.................................................................. 33
6.1 Stand down resc e services........................................................33
6.2 T rn off the EPIRB ....................................................................33
6.3 Dealing with a transmitting EPIRB............................................34
7 FULLY DISABLING AN EPIRB .......................................... 35
8 BULKHEAD BRACKET INSTALLATION........................... 37
8.1 Siting ..........................................................................................37
8.2 Mo nting proced re ...................................................................37
8.2.1 Mo nting instr ction plate ...........................................38
9 ENCLOSURE INSTALLATION........................................... 39
9.1 Siting ..........................................................................................39
9.2 Mo nting proced re ...................................................................40
9.3 Mo nting instr ction plate..........................................................41
9.4 Marking Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) expiry ......................41
9.5 Marking vessel name..................................................................41
1 MAINTENANCE ................................................................ 43
10.1 Self Test & inspection ..............................................................43
10.1.1 Standard Self Test ......................................................43
10.1.2 Power cons mption warning......................................44
10.1.3 GPS operation test (EG50 only).................................44
10.2 Mechanical inspection ..............................................................45
10.3 HRU replacement .....................................................................47
10.4 Battery replacement..................................................................49
10.5 Servicing...................................................................................49
10.6 Transportation...........................................................................50
10.7 GMDSS inspections .................................................................50
10.8 Service & warranty...................................................................50
11 HOW DOES IT WORK? .................................................... 51
12 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ......................................... 53
13 DECLARATIONS OF CONFORMITY ............................... 55
14 APPENDIX – SATELLITE SYSTEMS............................... 59
NORTH AMERICA EPIRB REGISTRY SYSTEMS................ 63

Recommendations & Safety Notices
7
1 RECOMMENDATIONS AND SAFETY
NOTICES
This EPIRB is an emergency device for se only in grave and imminent
danger.
WARNING
False alerts endanger lives. Help to prevent them;
understand how to activate and de-activate your
equipment. Intentional false alerts may involve
penalties.
Read the complete man al before installing, testing or sing the
EPIRB.
Ens re yo test the EPIRB monthly – see section 10.1
Ens re the EPIRB is registered with yo r local a thorities (Flag State
nation) – see section 2 .
The EPIRB contains no ser serviceable parts. Do not open. Ret rn to
yo r dealer for battery replacement or other service.
This device contains Lithi m batteries; do not incinerate, p nct re,
deform or short-circ it. Take care if yo need to dispose of these
batteries or the complete EPIRB – refer to section 10.3
This device emits radio freq ency radiation when activated. This
radiation is not classed as harmf l; however, it is advisable not to
handle the antenna while the nit is activated.
It is advisable not to stare directly at the strobe LEDs.

Mandatory Registration
9
2 MANDATORY REGISTRATION
WARNING
You must register your EPI B with the appropriate
authorities.
Failure to register may slow the rescue and lead to
loss of life.
In the USA failure to register may result in a fine.
In the UK you are legally required to register your
EPI B.
2.1 Overview
Every EPIRB is pre-programmed with a niq e identity before it
reaches the c stomer. This is done by the man fact rer or, in some
cases, the distrib tor. The identity incl des a 3 digit co ntry code. This
is the co ntry that takes responsibility for storing that partic lar
EPIRB’s registration details. In most cases this is the co ntry to which
the vessel is flagged. The co ntry programmed into yo r EPIRB can be
fo nd from its rear identity label. Yo m st register with this co ntry.
MV BELLANA
EPIRB 1
1D14 63F81FE
FLAG 232 G BRITAIN
SERIALISED 000012
CATEGORY 1 – AUTO
Class 2 –20/+55 C (- /+131 F)
When yo activate yo r EPIRB in an emergency, the nearest maritime
search and resc e coordination centre (MRCC) will receive the
message and decode the co ntry code (eg 232). They will then access
the registration database for that co ntry and expect to find details of
yo r vessel, its radio eq ipment and who to contact. If they fail to find
this information, this may slow down any resc e.
Vessel
Unique
Identity
Number
(UIN)
Country
Fig. 2.1 – EPIRB Rear Label

EG50 & EP50
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2.2 How to register
Three registration forms are provided, two are for f t re se and one
m st be completed immediately. These forms are pre-printed with yo r
EPIRB’s identity; all yo have to do is complete details of yo r vessel
and provide contact n mbers. Wherever possible the forms are also pre-
printed with the correct mailing address and a faxback n mber. If yo r
form does not have a mailing address, contact yo r s pplier. When yo
have completed the form, yo can choose to fax it or mail it.
It is s al to receive confirmation when yo register. In the UK and
USA yo will also receive a “Decal” sticker which yo m st fit to the
EPIRB itself. The Decal is proof of registration. Not having a Decal is
an offence.
Usef l registration contacts are:
USA Sarsat Beacon Registration
E/SP3, RM3320, FB-
NOAA, 5200 Auth Road
Suitland MD 207 6- 30
Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]
UK EPIRB Registry
HM Coastguard (Southern)
Pendennis Point, Castle Drive
Falmouth TR11 WZ
Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]
Details of the North American on-line registration systems are given on
Page 63.
COSPAS-SARSAT provide registration details for many co ntries; se
the web address www.cospas-sarsat.org and follow the links to 406
MH Beacons and Registration; alternatively. there is direct access to
the database on www.406registration.com
2.3 Warranty orm
Please complete the warranty form s pplied and fax or mail it to
Simrad. Fail re to do this may delay any f t re warranty claim.

Mandatory Registration
11
2.4 Radio licence
An EPIRB is a radio transmitter and m st therefore be added to yo r
radio licence. If yo have been allocated a radio callsign, then yo
already have a radio licence for yo r VHF or MF radio set. Yo sho ld
pdate yo r licence to incl de yo r EPIRB. For f rther details see yo r
licence or se these contact n mbers:
USA FCC
Tel : [phone]
Website : www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form506/506.pdf
UK Ship Radio Licensing, Radio Licensing Centre,
The Post Office, PO Box 1495, Bristol BS99 3QS
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Minicom: 0117 921 9550
Website: www.radiolicencecentre.co.uk
In future the UK licence may be applied for online at
www.ofcom.org. k. This is planned for introduction in October 2006.
2.5 Sale or trans er
EPIRBs registered in the USA, Canada, UK and A stralia do not
necessarily need to be re-programmed when transferred to a new
vessel. Simply complete another registration form to inform the
a thorities of the transfer. Use one of the spare forms provided, or
contact the company where yo p rchased yo r EPIRB for a blank
form.
For most other co ntries, the EPIRB m st be re-programmed with
either the new vessel’s Maritime Mobile Station Identity (MMSI) or its
radio callsign, whichever is req ired by the co ntry controlling the new
vessel.
Since the EPIRB identity contains a co ntry code, it follows that
changing the flag state of the vessel also means the EPIRB m st be re-
programmed. Programming can be carried o t at Simrad or any of o r
designated agents. For details of yo r nearest agent, contact Simrad.
Note

EG50 & EP50
12
2.5.1 Mandatory in ormation or Oceania
The term Oceania is normally sed to designate all the islands of the
Central and the So th Pacific incl ding A stralia and New Zealand.
Advice to owners of Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons:
Registration of 406 MHz satellite Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacons (EPIRB) with the EPIRB Registration Section of the
appropriate Maritime Safety A thority (MSA – see below) is
mandatory beca se of the global alerting nat re of the system.
The information provided in the registration card is sed only for
resc e p rposes. Fill in the owner registration card immediately on
completion of the sales transaction. Mail the registration card
immediately.
If the beacon is to enter service immediately, complete the registration
card and fax the information to the MSA. The original card m st still be
mailed to the MSA for hard-copy reference and filing.
If the c rrent owner is transferring the beacon to a new owner, the
c rrent owner is req ired to inform the MSA by letter, fax or telephone
of the name and address of the new owner.
The s bseq ent owner of the beacon is req ired to provide the MSA
with the information shown on the owner registration card. This
obligation transfers to all s bseq ent owners.
*The MSA is the A stralian Maritime Safety A thority or the Maritime
Safety A thority of New Zealand, as appropriate.
The respective fax n mbers are 06 257 2036 (A stralia)
and 04 382 6482 (NZ).

Description
13
3 DESCRIPTION
The EPIRB is a powerf l self-contained distress transmitter. It is
powered by a Lithi m battery that has a replacement interval of 5 years.
An EPIRB is intended to be a one-shot device; once activated it will
operate for at least 48 ho rs. It operates best while floating in water, b t
it can also be operated while on board a vessel or in a liferaft.
The key components of yo r EPIRB are:
Antenna This is a flexible whip. It m st be near vertical
when operating.
If the antenna gets bent, gently straighten it o t.
Strobe light These are the bright white LEDs visible thro gh the
clear lens dome. When the EPIRB is activated they
will flash every few seconds.
Red LED Visible thro gh the clear lens dome at the rear of the
EPIRB.
This stays on or flashes to show which mode the
EPIRB is in.
Green LED Where fitted (beside the red LED), this flashes
when the GPS acq ires a position fix.
Sea switch The two st ds on the sides of the EPIRB are sea
switch contacts. S bmerge these in water to activate
the EPIRB a tomatically.
Keep these contacts clean – see section 10.2
Activation switch P ll the tear-off tab pwards to release the switch,
then p sh the switch in and move it f lly left.
Test b tton This b tton enables the ser to r n test seq ences to
verify the readiness of the EPIRB.
Lanyard P ll the lanyard spool down to free it. Use the cord
to tether the EPIRB to a s rvival craft.

EG50 & EP50
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Test
button
Strobe
Red LED
Green LED
Activation
switch
Lanyard
Sea switch
Antenna
Fig 3.1 – EPIRB Controls

Description
15
3.1 Bulkhead bracket
If yo p rchased the man ally activated EPIRB version, this is
normally s pplied with a b lkhead mo nting bracket (see section 1 ).
The EPIRB is released by p lling o t a R-clip.
The b lkhead bracket sho ld be sited in plain view near an emergency
exit.
To avoid accidental activation if the EPIRB is removed from its
mo nting, the bracket is in two sections. The removable collar section
contains the deactivating magnet for the EPIRB, so the demo nted
EPIRB with its attached CARRYSAFE collar cannot be activated by
moist re. This allows it to be removed easily and transported in, for
example, a wet grab bag.
Fig. 3.2 - EPIRB in CARRYSAFE
removable collar
Fig. 3.3 - Fixed bulkhead
mount
Press to release
CARRYSAFE collar

EG50 & EP50
16
WARNING
The EPI B will NOT be activated by moisture
while it is in the bracket or in the CA YSAFE
collar (but it may activate if placed in close
proximity to a magnet). The EPI B must be
removed from all parts of the bracket;
it will then activate if immersed or if switched on
manually.
3.2 Float- ree enclosure
If yo p rchased the a tomatically activated version, also known as the
“float-free” version, then yo r EPIRB is s pplied in a plastic enclos re
(see section 9). This is m ch more than j st a protective ho sing; it
contains a spring-loaded lever which a tomatically p shes the
enclos re lid off and releases the EPIRB if yo r vessel sinks. This
a tomatic ejection is controlled by a device called a Hydrostatic
Release Unit (HRU). If the enclos re is sinking then before it reaches 4
metres (13 feet) depth the HRU c ts a plastic rod that retains the lever;
this ejects the lid and releases the EPIRB which floats to the s rface
and switches on a tomatically, as shown opposite:
• As the vessel sinks, the enclos re fills with water. The HRU
contains a blade which is released d e to water press re acting
on a diaphragm. Before it reaches a depth of 4 metres, the HRU
will operate and c t the plastic rod, releasing the coil spring.
• The spring p shes the EPIRB and the enclos re lid o twards. As
the lid pivots off it disengages from the mo lding lip that helped
hold it in place. The lid is weighted so it rolls over and falls
away.
• As the EPIRB floats away, it moves o t of range of the magnet.
Once away from the magnet its sea switch becomes armed.
• The sea switch activates. The EPIRB then floats on the water
s rface with its strobe light flashing. After 50 seconds it makes
its first distress transmission.

Description
17
If yo need to activate yo r EPIRB man ally, it can be freed from the
enclos re after p lling o t the R-shaped retaining pin and removing the
lid.
Fig. 3.4 – EPIRB Automatic Release sequence

Controls
19
4 CONTROLS
4.1 Activation switch
This slide switch is protected against accidental activation by a red tear-
off seal which indicates if the EPIRB has been activated previo sly.
The EPIRB can be activated man ally by tearing the seal pwards,
depressing the locking b tton on the switch and sliding the switch to
the left.
When the EPIRB is activated the strobe will start to flash immediately,
b t the EPIRB will not make any distress transmissions for 50 seconds.
This gives yo a chance to t rn off if yo activated it accidentally.
D ring this time the red LED ill minates contin o sly. When the red
LED starts to flash, the 50 seconds delay has passed and distress
transmissions have started.
4.2 TEST button
This control allows vario s test seq ences to be r n on the EPIRB.
Details of these tests are given in Section 10.1
4.3 Sea switch
It is important to realise that the only time the EPIRB is completely off
is when it is fitted in its mo nting bracket or enclos re. As soon as yo
take it o t, a magnetic switch activates and p ts the EPIRB into its
“ready” state. It will not drain the battery in this state, b t it will t rn on
a tomatically if the sea switch contacts are immersed in water. The sea
contacts are the two st ds, one on each side of the EPIRB.
Altho gh yo can control the EPIRB man ally with the activation
switch, the sea switch overrides any man al settings. For the man al
switch to operate properly the EPIRB m st first be dry so that the sea
switch is de-activated.
To ens re the sea switch operates properly in ro gh seas, it has a
b ilt-in time delay. It has to be wet for at least 2 seconds before it will
activate and it has to be dry for at least 8 seconds before it will
de-activate.

EG50 & EP50
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4.4 Indicator lamps
4.4.1 Strobe (white)
The strobe is the vis al means of locating the EPIRB. When activated,
the strobe flashes (approximately) 21 times per min te, with a pa se
d ring the time when the EPIRB is transmitting on 406 MHz.
4.4.2 Red LED
The red LED is sed to indicate transmissions by the EPIRB. When
activated, it flashes alternately with the strobe to indicate a good
transmission on 121.5 MHz. Every 50 seconds it ill minates for 2
seconds to indicate a good transmission on 406 MHz; immediately
before the transmission the LED flashes rapidly as a warning to the
ser.
When the EPIRB is first activated the red LED is ill minated
contin o sly ntil the EPIRB begins to transmit, when it begins to
flash.
4.4.3 Green LED ( itted to EG50 only)
The green LED flashes alternately with the strobe to indicate that a
valid position has been obtained by the GPS receiver. Every 50 seconds
it ill minates for 2 seconds to indicate that the position is being
transmitted on 406 MHz.
Every 20 min tes the GPS receiver pdates its position information. If
a fix is not obtained, the green LED stops flashing, and ill minates only
every 50 seconds (when the previo s position information is
transmitted).
All LEDs also indicate the res lts of self-test – refer to section 10.1
4.4.4 Interpreting the LEDs
There are three principal indications to the ser:
• If the red LED is ON contin o sly, the EPIRB is active b t has
not yet made a transmission. There is time to t rn it off witho t
ca sing an alert.