reason - 20 December 2011 06:04 PM
Caution ongoing incapatibilty issues with the Barryvox Pulse. It has been previously reported that any problems were user error and this is not the case. Tests done in a controlled environment over a four day day period revealed serious safety concerns. Beware of manufacturer claims of being the latest and greatest. Do your research. Test your beacon with other beacons and have other beacons test yours. Some beacons have cool features that don’t seem so cool when you’re buried in the snow.
It would be useful to understand what ‘incompatibility’ you are suggesting exists. Also, information on what controlled tests were carried out and what the results / findings were could aid constructive discussion. At a minimum, an explanation of the nature of the ‘safety concerns’ you found.
A claim that a mainstream, some could argue best-in-class, transceiver has serious flaws without provding some context is not very informative.
reason - 20 December 2011 07:25 PM
One beacon is neither better nor worse than another. My intent was to raise awareness for the need to practice, especially as newer and newer beacons are getting sold to a greater range of people. I understand if there is pressure to remove undesirable posts. I don’t believe that the original post was very specifically slagging Barryvox, and remove if you must. In this digital age, incompatibilty is ongoing. There are incredible ramifications to this. As new beacons become available there is little concern over making them compatible with older technology beyond matching the frequencies. No one was too troubled by the passing of the 8 track as it was surpassed by technology. We would be troubled if we were under the impression that the old technology was going to save our lives. What do we say to the poor guy’s family when we dig him up with a 4-5 year old beacon...’sorry but he wasn’t with the times’?
I cannot post test results in a public forum without making one brand stand out above or below the rest. My belief, however, is that manufacturers should take a greater responsibility towards compatibility. New beacons should be tested not from one computer to the next, but in the field of practice with multiple burials using different brands… simulating reality.
For around 20 years now the only real difference between transceivers when ‘transmitting’ is the rate at which they do so. Whether you use a 5 year old unit or a brand new one, the signal they transmit is exactly the same. The main difference with newer units is that they provide guidance to the user through some ‘processing’ of the signal. Some also have two or three antennae to enable a greater range and avoid erroneous signal interpretation in some conditions.
I am assuming the incompatibility issues you have experienced are to do with searching for other transceivers perhaps in complex multiple burial scenarios?