ORTOVOX informs: F1 and standards conformity/compatibility

ORTOVOX has never advised users of the ORTOVOX f1 plus that this avalanche transceiver is obsolete. All ORTOVOX avalanche transceivers conform to the avalanche transceiver standard and have been transmitting correctly since 1981 with the frequency required these days of 457 kHz +-80Hz transmitter tolerance. Your ORTOVOX avalanche transceiver can therefore be picked up by all receivers working properly worldwide!

Question: You have been using your ORTOVOX f1, f1 plus, f1 plus with ski mouse receiver or f1 focus for a while and are happy with it. Are you unsure, however, whether your avalanche transceiver is transmitting correctly and can be picked up by other transceivers?

Answer: All ORTOVOX avalanche transceivers conform to the avalanche transceiver standard and have been transmitting correctly since 1981 with the frequency required these days of 457 kHz +-80Hz transmitter tolerance. Your ORTOVOX avalanche transceiver can therefore be picked up by all receivers working properly worldwide!

Inspection service/ repair
We now carry out an inspection service or repair for all ORTOVOX f1, f1 plus or f1 focus avalanche transceivers and you receive a 1-year guarantee for any repairs carried out. Exception: The ORTOVOX f1 plus with ski mouse function is now about 17 years old. The function of the “ski mouse” can no longer be repaired; the device without the ski mouse function continue to be repairable.

You will find the date for the next recommended inspection service for your device on the test sticker in the battery compartment of your ORTOVOX avalanche transceiver.

Avalanche transceivers standard
The standard’s intrinsic feature is that every transceiver manufactured to date, can be picked up by all avalanche transceivers produced worldwide!

Transmission frequency of ORTOVOX transceivers
Every ORTOVOX avalanche transceiver is produced with the ultimate care, the most up-to-date production technology and strictly according to the requirements of the current avalanche transceiver standard EN 300 718-1, EN 300 718-2 and EN 300 718-3. Irrespective of the model, all ORTOVOX avalanche transceivers since 1981, without exception, have been transmitting correctly with the frequency required these days of 457 kHz +-80Hz transmitter tolerance. The high functionality of ORTOVOX products became the benchmark for creating the first avalanche transceiver standard.

Reception frequency
The tolerance for the reception frequency is set out in the avalanche transceiver standard. Receivers meeting the standard must possess a reception frequency, which can pick up all transmitters on the market that comply with the standard. All ORTOVOX receivers made since 1981 are generously designed to 457 kHz +- 200 Hz reception tolerance.

Daily check and new specialized features
The avalanche transceiver is a life-saving device, on whose perfect function lives can depend. Checking the transmission and reception function every day, regardless of manufacturer, is particularly important to ensure compatibility with the latest generation of devices. The new generation of transceivers features signal analysis and signal separation and only those devices that meet the avalanche transceiver standard can be detected.

Posted by snowfox on Monday, 18 February, 2008 at 02:28 PM

This is a scan of the letter currently being sent to French users of the Ortovox F1 Plus (sorry about the poor quality of the scan).

To translate the important points:

Over the last few years avalanche beacons have undergone a number of developments.

Related to the F1 Plus

* Your F1 Plus allows you to find all victims no matter what beacon they are using. The search strip width is 20 meters max.

* Bearing in mind the new standards. It is important to understand that digital beacons in search mode may have compatibility problems with old models such as the F1 Plus

* As a result someone wearing an F1 Plus may possibly not be detected. However F1 Plus can be detected by all analogue avalanche beacons working on the 457kHz standard

*Spare parts for this beacon are no longer available

We therefore advise you to replace your F1 Plus with a new Ortovox avalanche beacon

Ortovox, Taufkirchen

It seems clear that Ortovox[1] is concerned about compatibility issues with analogue and digital beacons, which was the main point of our article:

http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0805-time-to-retire-the-ortovox-f1/

As you will see from the article we suggest just that digital beacon users be aware of the issues outlined in the letter above. Far from spreading misinformation this seems like an important safety advice.

[1]I’m assuming this letter is an official Ortovox communication and has not somehow slipped into the After Sales service chain by error. In any event it seemed to correspond to information published in English on the Ortovox website which suggests that the F1 Plus is no longer serviceable. It doesn’t seem unreasonable that beacons manufactured in the early half of the 1990s are now obsolete, you wouldn’t keep an IPod that long. This seems more like a case of solid and loyal service rather than an attack on the quality of Ortovox products and we thought this letter was useful information from your company which was obviously taking safety issues seriously. For the record I use an Ortovox beacon.

I’ve updated the original article to remove the term “obsolete” from the original article bearing in mind the new information you have posted here. Many thanks for the update.

Posted by davidof on Tuesday, 19 February, 2008 at 09:52 AM