Kongsberg RCU501 Product Description

The RCU501 (part‑no:603439) is a marine‑grade high‑performance remote controller unit for Kongsberg K‑Chief 700 / K‑Safe automation and dynamic positioning system. Built on Power‑PC embedded processor architecture, it is DNV‑ABS type‑approved and certified for ATEX Ex Zone 2 hazardous area deployment on vessels and offshore installations. It undertakes real‑time local logic processing, multi‑protocol third‑party device interfacing and RBUS remote‑I/O communication, supporting hot‑standby redundant RCU‑pair configuration for high‑availability marine control systems. Unit is supplied without application software; project‑specific AIM‑basis firmware must be downloaded before commissioning.

Product Features

• Embedded Power‑PC real‑time processor, dual redundant Ethernet LAN and RedundancyNet interface for hot‑standby redundant operation
• Dual RBUS remote‑I/O fieldbus for connection to distributed marine I/O modules; 4DI /4DO onboard discrete channels
• Rich peripheral interfaces: up to 32 serial ports, 2×PROFIBUS‑DP, 2×CAN‑Bus; supports Modbus‑TCP/RTU, NMEA‑0183, PROFIsafe, DeviceNet protocols
• Marine environmental qualification: operating temperature‑15 °C ~ +70 °C, max power consumption 20 W, 24 VDC redundant power input, IP20 cabinet‑mount design
• Classification society certified (DNV, ABS, TÜV), ATEX Ex nA II T4 Zone 2 approval for hazardous zone installation on FPSO / drilling units
• Comprehensive self‑diagnostics, fault logging and status LED indicators for channel, bus and module health monitoring
• Must load K‑Chief 700 AIM‑basis application software; hardware cannot run without project firmware download; weight approx 1.35 kg, made in Norway
• Functional successor model: RCU502 / RCU502i; hardware is not direct drop‑in replacement, requires system configuration verification before substitution

Application Scenarios

• Ship‑board K‑Chief 700 integrated engine‑room automation, alarm‑monitoring and machinery control subsystems
• Offshore platforms, drilling vessels, FPSO dynamic positioning (K‑Pos) and safety‑system distributed control nodes
• Ballast‑control system, bilge‑water, generator‑sets and propulsion auxiliary‑equipment monitoring & local closed‑loop control
• Third‑party sensor‑gateway application: convert serial / fieldbus protocols for navigation sensors and external marine equipment into K‑Chief system bus
• Retrofit & spare‑part replacement for existing vessels and offshore assets running Kongsberg K‑Chief 700 platform
• Redundant controller‑pair configuration for high‑safety DP vessels where single‑controller failure must not cause system outage

Frequently Asked Questions