The NOVATECH AS-900A ARGOS Beacon contains an ARGOS system transmitter designed as a ruggedized incident-alerting system for oceanographic applications anywhere in the world.

It may be submerged for long periods in ocean depths to 7300 meters (24,000 feet). The activation of the AS-900A is completely automatic; when submerged below 10 meters, it is OFF, and at the surface it is ON.

At the surface the beacon transmits an ARGOS position data message for 30 days.