South Africa's Transnet Go For Tideland Racons

International specialist in aids to navigation Tideland, and its its South African agent, Marine Data Solutions (Pty) Ltd, has won the contract to supply five SeaBeacon 2 System 6 racons to the South Africa's National Ports Authority, part of Transnet SOC Ltd.

The racons will be deployed in various locations around the coast, including the country's six largest ports: Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London. They will join a large number of Tideland Signal radar beacons already installed in South Africa and other countries all along the African seaboard.

Tideland Signal has supplied over 1,000 System 6 racons to customers around the world, one of whom has calculated that cost-of-ownership is less than 5% of the initial investment. Tideland Signal racons have proven extremely economical and reliable in operation, particularly compared with competing models, having established an average trouble-free service life to date of over 14 years for the System 6 model.

One of the key features of the SeaBeacon 2 System 6 dual-band racon is its exceptional dynamic range, sensitivity of -50dBm for both X- and S- Band, making it visible from greater distances. Because of its reliability and extremely economical power consumption, it is highly suitable for remote, solar-powered installations as well as offshore and mains-powered installations.

SeaBeacon 2 System 6 can respond simultaneously and with a unique level of frequency accuracy to both X and S-band radars, even those with very narrow receiver bandwidths. The design gives operators an exceptionally clear indication of its identity and location and proportional scaling ensures that the racon trace remains clearly visible on radar displays regardless of the range scale selected.