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Product News: HydroFix™
By Mikele D'Archangelo
Senior Product Manager
Breaking
News!
ACR made a
significant advancement in the safety, reliability and
affordability of Category 1 EPIRBs with the introduction of the
new ACR HydroFix™ Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU). Each and every
HydroFix™ HRU is 100% factory tested prior to installation. The
unique design requires no cutting blades or pyrotechnics to
release an EPIRB from its bracket.
ACR
Electronics, Inc., the world leader in safety and survival
technologies, has received approvals in the USA, Europe and in
many nations world wide to begin shipping the HydroFix™ HRU, a
highly reliable, quick-change hydrostatic release mechanism used
to automatically deploy Category 1 Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) in an emergency.
The
ACR-manufactured HydroFix™ is standard on all ACR Category 1
EPIRBs including the GlobalFix™, RapidFix™ and SATELLITE2
406™ EPIRBs. Category 1 EPIRBs are those beacons designed to
deploy automatically and float free when a ship sinks.
The
HydroFix™ will be available as an affordable factory recommended
replacement part. It is backward compatible and will fit all ACR
Category 1 float-free mounting brackets, except the original
RLB-23.
“ACR felt it
could improve the product by designing and manufacturing a
system best suited to our unique specifications, rather than
using an off-the-shelf release,” said Chris Wahler, Director of
Marketing for ACR. “One unique new feature is the release
mechanism (patent pending) designed into the HydroFix™, which
does not cut or break a bolt resulting in a quick, seamless
release.”
In the event
of a vessel sinking, the HRU senses water pressure and releases
the EPIRB from its protective bracket at a depth of 1.5 to 4 m
(4.9 to 13.1 ft). All HRUs are recommended for replacement three
years from date of manufacture or two years from installation.
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