Desert Star Systems' Acoustic Release is Reliable

Marina, CA, August 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- ARCADIS, an international environmental engineering and consulting firm, approached Desert Star Systems when interested in using acoustic releases for retrieving fish traps in shallow waters (30 to 50 meters). The traps would be deployed in close proximity to one another and in areas of heavy vessel traffic; therefore, buoys and lines at the surface presented potential entanglement issues.

In June 2009, ARCADIS deployed 26 traps. All 26 releases triggered successfully, and all of them were recovered, a 100% yield. “Desert Star’s ARC-1 was the key component in the success of the study,” says a representative of ARCADIS.

Desert Star’s patented instant fusible link mechanism (U.S. patent 7,138,603) is the key to its reliability. A fourteen kilowatt jolt of power vaporizes a nickel-chromium wire within a few milliseconds, setting free a simple lever arm -- the Only moving part. With so few potential points of failure, the ARC-1 is highly reliable. The ARC-1 is also designed for use in volume with up to 120 units used by a single customer so far. 4096 unique identification codes and surface control software, with GPS position recording and a data base entry for each acoustic release, simplifies the management of tens to hundreds of stations. Acoustic ranging provides the distance to a release prior to trigger, and status reporting indicates if a release has indeed fired. In addition to a deck box, Desert Star also offers an interrogator for ROV mounting, providing a unique means to locate a fouled station or trigger while observing underwater.

Desert Star has three different versions of the ARC-1: a short duration version for use up to four months, a long duration version for use just over a year, and an electrically controlled version. All of these are available at a low cost, which allows small agencies and research institutions the availability to use high-end technology on low-budget applications.

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