DAME Award-winning safety device goes on sale
Ocean Signal’s DAME Award-winning rescueME PLB3 personal locator beacon has been approved for sale and is available in the UK and Europe.
Leisure marine enthusiasts can now enhance their chances of rapid rescue in a Man Overboard (MOB) emergency by carrying the PLB3 – a device that combines multiple levels of integrated signal technology within a personal locator beacon for the first time.
Deliveries of the rescueME PLB3 are now underway to Ocean Signal’s network of dealers and distributors across Europe.
Ocean Signal’s PLB3 unites two different key systems to provide a survivor with the best chance of quickly alerting others to a distress situation. The beacon relies on the global response capabilities of the Cospas-Sarsat rescue services, while also using AIS technology to indicate an MOB position to nearby vessels for immediate aid.
Designed for installation within a lifejacket for semi-automatic activation upon inflation, the Ocean Signal PLB3 integrates GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning, 406 MHz, 121.5 MHz signals and AIS transmission, as well as the new Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) technology, to deliver a comprehensive and complete communication link to emergency services, even if the survivor is incapacitated.
Ocean Signal has also introduced Near Field Communications (NFC) into the rescueME PLB3, unleashing a new way for beacon owners to monitor their beacons, review self-test results, view GNSS test locations, and monitor beacon performance and maintenance.
The Ocean Signal 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 can guide assistance directly to the location, particularly during night, or in other low-visibility rescues.
The SSP (ex-VAT) of the new Ocean Signal rescueME PLB3 is £475.94.
The DAME Design Awards was launched in 1991 to promote design in all disciplines and to recognise the best-designed products at the METSTRADE show. A total of 48 products in seven categories were shortlisted for the DAME Award 2022 competition, from a field of 104 entries spanning 14 countries.
