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Beacons, Mobile Phones and Two Way Radios
Posted: 12 November 2009 04:23 PM  
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Jonathan Shefftz posted this advisory on Telemark Talk… given we sclepp a lot of electronics into the backcountry (iPhones, iPods, iBeacons etc) what is the latest skiing on searching with avalanche beacons?

Pieps%20&%20Motorola%20Incompatibility.jpg

 
 
Posted: 12 November 2009 04:56 PM   [ # 1 ]  
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Hmmm that’s quite interesting, is it the radio broadcast or the speaker magnet that is causing the problem? I have an ARVA 9000 that uses a magnet and hall or reed switch to actuate the beacon. Obviously a stronger magnet, such as in a speaker, could cause problems. I think the DSP has a reed switch so it seems like the speaker magnet is causing the problem. I guess if you are buried this could be a factor as you have little control where your radio might end up. Something to think about.

Reed switches seem like a flakey design to me, but beacons must be waterproof and this is one way to do it, switch is actuated remotely through the case by a small magnet in the clip.

 
 
Posted: 12 November 2009 08:08 PM   [ # 2 ]  
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It’s extremely unlikely to be the magnet. Reed-switches are normally activated when the triggering magnet is within 1- 2 mm and since magnetic flux decays on a logarithmic scale, another magnet would have to be both very close ( ferrite speaker magnets are rather weak ) and well aligned along the axis of the poles to have an effect.