The Flashing Beacon Controller – 3580 Remote Series is designed to control and manage a visual or auditory public warning system. Flashing beacons, barrier gates, message signs, or sirens are turned on by the Flashing Beacon Controller when an emergency event triggers the system. The Flashing Beacon Controller triggers the warning system by either monitoring sensors attached directly to the controller or a radio transmission from a separate monitoring system.
The Flashing Beacon Controller includes a Hydromet Data Logger/Controller – Model 3512-00, a Solar Panel Voltage Regulator – Model 5315, a Data Transceiver – Model 3701-00, and a Lightning Protection Device – Model 7200-00. The Flashing Beacon Controller allows you to assign up to three inputs to each of four output channels to control the public warning system. The Data Transceiver is a VHF radio which provides the Flashing Beacon Controller with outstanding resistance to signal interference caused by rain giving you more reliable performance during inclement weather events. The Solar Panel Voltage Regulator is a maximum power point tracking charger that allows the Flashing Beacon Controller to activate a load such as flashing beacons. The Flashing Beacon Controller is configured to measure and report beacon current, for confirmation that the public warning system beacons are flashing.
A typical application for the Flashing Beacon Controller is as an Advance Warning System to advise motorists of a flooded or impaired roadway. While the Flashing Beacon Controllers can be use independently, they are often part of an integrated system consisting of multiple warning sites, a base station, and control monitoring station. For example, with the flooded roadway a monitoring site with a water level sensor would be set up at the point where the road floods and two or more Flashing Beacon Controllers located at a point where vehicles could turn around or take an alternate route. Meanwhile the water level data and the information that the Flashing Beacon Controllers have triggered is sent to a base station monitored by an agency like the emergency management team or transportation department.
The Flashing Beacon Controller can send timed reports, event generated reports, and command generated status reports. The Flashing Beacon Controller reports can either pass through an optional repeater station or are received directly at the central site base station. Each Flashing Beacon Controller can be used as a repeater for important last-mile connectivity.