Peips DPS, picking up dual feq transcievers

[rossibandit]

The other night, I friend and I where conducting beacon practices. At one point we had a old dual feq ortovox F2 transmitting (practice beacon) and a Pieps DSP searching. The pieps DSP was showing 2 buried beacons and only one beacon was on (the F2). I was wondering if the Pieps was able to pick up the other older feq? Anyone have any input?

[AltaPowderDaze]

The other night, I friend and I where conducting beacon practices. At one point we had a old dual feq ortovox F2 transmitting (practice beacon) and a Pieps DSP searching. The pieps DSP was showing 2 buried beacons and only one beacon was on (the F2). I was wondering if the Pieps was able to pick up the other older feq? Anyone have any input?

contact pieps in liberty, ut about a firmware upgrade to fix the issue. i assume that's what's going on. t-tips has a few threads about the pieps ghosting and how to get the upgrade.

[ak_telemike]

our patrol had that problem - sending in DSP's for upgrade - will report back
http://www.libertymountain.com/pieps_upgrade.html

check telemarktips - there is a thread about updated DSP's over there
http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=14263

at this point, though, maybe we shouldn't be using f2's, even for practice - not only do they transmit at half the power on each freq, they are more likely to have had some frequency drift over the years due to being bounced around a lot and the older technology

Dale Atkins has a paper out there about this somewhere - I'll hunt it up.

[Core Shot]

An official statement on the issue is available at: http://www.avalanche.org/~aaap/press%20release.HTML
"It is the opinion of the American Avalanche Association that dual-frequency avalanche rescue transceivers be retired. The technology of modern, single, high frequency (457 kHz) transceivers is far superior to that of the old dual-frequency (457 and 2.275 kHz) and low frequency (2.275 kHz) transceivers. In the trained hands of the victim's companions high frequency transceivers offer the best chance for live rescue. Dual frequency avalanche rescue transceivers suffer from old age and inferior electronics that may lead to reliability problems. The American Avalanche Association strongly urges users of these old units to replace them with modern, high frequency transceivers"

A technical explanation of the shorter ranges is available at: http://www.mountain-guiding.com/faqs/faqmanager.cgi?file=avalanche-dated&toc=avalanche#q1
"Dual-frequency units have a lower range partly due to the fact that part of their power goes into transmitting at the lower less efficient frequency and partly because the antenna coil can not be designed to be ideal for both frequencies at once."

An interesting anecdote is available here: http://www.csac.org/snowman/climbing/trips/2001-blanketglacier/summary-safety.html
"We had two people with older dual-frequency beacons, which are generally considered obsolete now. There were two different reasons and attitudes behind this. In one case the person does not ski avalanche terrain very often and was ready to purchase a new beacon but hadn't done so yet. They borrowed a new digital beacon from me for much of the week. The other person was one of those people who just resists change and will probably have the same dual frequency beacon several years from now. At the start of one tour we did a beacon check and I was unable to pick them up when standing more than about 6 ft away. We pointed out to the person that we would be unable to find them if they were to get buried and they didn't seem to appreciate the significance of this fact. If you're going to insist on carrying such an obsolete beacon you should realize that you are only giving yourself a false sense of security. And if you are a partner with such a person in more significant avalanche terrain you should consider the potential ramifications for yourself should you get caught and buried."

[rossibandit]

Thanks for the info guys. Its interesting that the DPS showed two transmitting beacons when there was only one transmitting. I would never use the F2 in the BC or even lend it to my worst enemy, but I find its pretty good practice beacon, especially for multiple burials when its hard to round up extra beacons to bury. But now I like using the beacon basin at the hill, as it is a lot more interesting and realistic.

Note: The Pieps DPS is a friends beacon, while my beacon that I use is the Ortovox F1, which I find pretty easy to use with some practice.

[Conundrum]

I had the upgrade done from Liberty Mtn on my DSP and the ghosting issue seems to be resolved. I've only practiced with it once since getting it back though.