Avalanche Beacons and other electronic items

The website Pistehors.com is reporting that a study has been conducted after a fatality as to whether avalanche beacons are affected by cell phones. See Avalanche beacons and household appliances.

The study showed that first generation digital beacons could be affected by electromagnetic interference.

An article on the Outside Blog titled The Wonk: Avalanche Transceiver Advisory states that Ortovox has issued a press release that states beacons with mechanical switches are safer than one with magnetic switches.

The National Ski Patrol issued a warning about the PIEPS DSP beacon on its website in an article National Ski Patrol Warns of Beacon and Radio Use. Supposedly Motorola radios which are used almost exclusively at ski resorts can switch the beacon to search when it should be in transmit mode.

When you get the National Ski Patrol, a respected European blog and a manufacture posting various items about avalanche beacons it might seem to be a good day to stay indoors. But that sucks. Ortovox is an extremely well respected beacon manufacture; however the beacon wars of late could have their own show on late night cable television. That is not to discount the facts, just a statement that it is hard to discern facts from reality from manufactures of late.

Read the articles and do your research. Leave your cell phone at home, maybe your MP3 player also or anything else that might interfere with your beacon. Or at least leave them turned off when you are in avalanche country.

If you are a manager of a commercial operation, ski area, find out quickly what the real story is and keep your people safe. Call your radio manufacture and your beacon manufactures and get their opinion. More importantly do your own tests and find out yourself.