New Transceiver = Ortovox 3+

[Meadow Skipper]

[idle thought] I wonder if the dim light is an energy-saving feature because the unit runs off of just one battery? [/idle idiocy]

[Hacksaw]

This morning Marcus Peterson of Ortovox USA called me. He had taken a 3+ and left it outside overnight. It did not have the blinking hash marks (they indicate that the transceiver is transmitting) on the display screen. He called the Ortovox engineers in Germany. They said that the 3+ will stop displaying the blinking hash marks when it gets cold enough that it wants to conserve power. But, Marcus's battery icon was still displayed. Turns out, if the battery icon is displayed there really is no problem with the unit. The engineers will do a software up-date later on that will allow the unit to display the hash marks even in the cold. But, the main thing here is that the 3+ will save power by not displaying the hash marks. But as long as the battery icon is displayed, there is no problem with the unit.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Thanks for the update ^^^^^^. At least good to know that the battery icon = transmitting. Also good to know it is an intentional software reasoning - mainly, so that if you switch to search, the search icons are there

I would rather have to replace the single battery before going out to the tour so I have the peace of mind in seeing a flashing indicator, IMO. Sounds like they will do a software update to allow this.

[nesta]

curious as to why the 3+ is powered by only 1 AA?
I go through about 10% a day battery power, which means I change a battery every few days... 3 or 4? Will usually change it at 70%. I used to go weeks with 2 AA's in my F1

[Meadow Skipper]

curious as to why the 3+ is powered by only 1 AA?
I go through about 10% a day battery power, which means I change a battery every few days... 3 or 4? Will usually change it at 70%. I used to go weeks with 2 AA's in my F1

Weight? It's supposed to meet the standard of 200+ hours in xmit mode + whatever is search mode.

[::: :::]

i'm in the market for a new beeper
where are we with this unit?
are mags recommending the 3+?
or steer clear for now?

[DasBlunt]

i'm in the market for a new beeper
where are we with this unit?
are mags recommending the 3+?
or steer clear for now?

Steer clear. The Avalanche beacon review. com guy has removed any rating until the issues can be resolved.

Apart from these problems, I personally think the unit is designed poorly.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

^^^^ Personal preference I guess, but I like the design a lot and think it is intuitive and easy to use. And I have not run into and variances in search mode in practice. Will be taking Level 2 this weekend, so will have a lot of opportunity to play around with it some more.

My only issue was the transmitting indicators as noted above, and it sounds like it is a software issue.

Ultimately, it is personal preference I guess.

[DasBlunt]

^^^^ Personal preference I guess, but I like the design a lot and think it is intuitive and easy to use. And I have not run into and variances in search mode in practice. Will be taking Level 2 this weekend, so will have a lot of opportunity to play around with it some more.

My only issue was the transmitting indicators as noted above, and it sounds like it is a software issue.

Ultimately, it is personal preference I guess.

Let us know how it goes! And a full report on the 3+.

I was just put off by the battery compartment/on off Multi-combo switch. Then we heard about all these other things....

[theetruscan]

I was just put off by the battery compartment/on off Multi-combo switch.

For me at least, that's a non-issue. Turning the 3+ off, I can over-rotate the switch if I crank on it, but it's (a) not something I expect to do often, (b) completely separate from the transmit or search function, and (c) actually rather difficult to do. I read about it before buying, but I just don't see a way this could actually ever be problematic in use. Even if you need to power-cycle the unit frantically, over-rotating doesn't cause the battery to shoot out, it just allows you to pull the cap off if you want.

[::: :::]

in my past practice of finding buried transceivers, i turn off the units i find to clarify how i proceed in a search from there. from this perspective, intuitive on/off is something i like to see in any unit. ease of use is a good thing for all involved

[::: :::]

Let us know how it goes! And a full report on the 3+.

I was just put off by the battery compartment/on off Multi-combo switch. Then we heard about all these other things....

+1
i'll be listening to see if you're still liking it
this unit seems to have a lot of positives

[XXX-er]

My buddy is an old fuck who has poor eye-site which is normal for an old fuck

A year or 2 ago he bought one of the other fancy new digital beacons (don't remember which one )the 1st time he uses it in the BC he is wearing the contacts he normaly skis in instead of the glasses he wore in the shop to buy the unit ... he couldnt read the screen

this year I asked him why doesnt he give that piece of shit with the gamboy screen to his kid for x-mas and buy another beacon he can read ?

today he had the 3+ AND he can read the screen ... a good design feature IMO

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Well, here is a *preliminary* report on the 3+ after the Level 2 course this weekend/week, given that I was able to practice some single and multiple burial settings. Was also able to practice with other users of other 3 antenna and 2 antenna beacons, so there was some comparison.

As a preliminary caveat, I would note that the below only summarizes the results from 3 search scenarios, so it is in no way comprehensive. I want to try and get to the BCA beacon park at Sugarbowl in the next week or so to really put the 3+ through the parameters. That can offer many single and mutiple scenarios (including (i) close multiples and (ii) deep burials) - so when I get to that I will follow-up.

I have broken this down by search (not in order conducted, but in order of complexity - these were over the course of a couple of days):

1. Search 1 - Single Burial -

A. Burial Specifics - Transmitting S1 was buried probably 1.5M down in a back in a flat zone. The area was a backcountry area in North Lake Tahoe, so no electronic interference to my knowledge. I was upslope (approx 33 degree slope) by approximately 75M.

B. Search Specifics -

- Upon yelling "avalanche", I was able to get the 3+ out of my jacket pretty quickly and out of the harness. The red "tab" attached to the zipper is somewhat oversized, and was easy to pull on with Black Diamond Guide Gloves (which are not dexterious). Also, going to "Search" was wasy with the gloves - I did not feel restricted in pulling the tabs on the top due to thick gloves.

- I was a solo searcher and zig/zaged the slope and discussed runout-parameters, saying around 10M from the edges. I *think* I picked up an intial signal around 33-35M. The initial signal was just numbers, NO arrows.

- I continued moving down slope as the numbers went down, then got arrows. The arrows moved me quickly along an obvious flux line. I had to go around the trees, but the arrows continued to shift towards the flux line.

- At 10M, I slowed down and moved in. I did not have any erratic numbers/arrows around 5-8M. It was smooth and I moved in quickly.

- In the pinpoint phase, the beacon worked VERY well. Coming from an old Tracker, I really liked the intuitiveness of the concentric circles, lowering numbers and increasing audio. I think I moved a little too fast in the pinpoint (but did hold the beacon low and maintained the same angle and did not rotate).

C. Total Search Time to Probe Hit - Approx. 4 minutes.

D. Personal Conclusions - Super easy to use. No electronic interference. In pinpoint mode, take your time. It has a lot to process, so was easier to follow the numbers going up and down when I moved slower actually. No erratic readings.

2. Search 2 - 2 Burials -

A. Burial Specifics - We were in a backcountry area around North Lake Tahoe (a different area than Search 1) in moderately treed areas. The 2 beacons were buried about 15M from each other, with BEACON 1 about 5M upslope and 10M accross from BEACON 2. BEACON 1 was a transmitting S-1 buried about 1M down, and BEACON 2 was Pieps DSP about 1.5M down. There were some trees between the 2 burials. We were upslope by about 60M.

2. Search Specifics -

- I had a partner in this search. My partner had an Pieps DSP beacon. Upon yelling avalanche, we both went to search mode and agreed to divide the avy path. I was on skiers right, and she was on skiers left. Skiers Right was *closer* to BEACON 1 than Skiers Left.

- The Pieps DSP picked up a signal first (probably around 45M away from BEACON 1). My 3+ picked up a signal just after (probably around 45+ as well, actually). At around another 5M, I picked up BEACON 2 and it was clear that there were 2 beacons given the icons on the screen. I cannot speak as to whether my partner also had 2 at this point (but she did at the pinpoint).

- I was able to move in quicker to BEACON 1, following a noticeable flux line. The arrows were easy to follow, and I moved pretty quickly to 10M. At that point, it was clear I was closer, so I told my partner to get out her probe. I moved into pinpoint, and identify a likely target very quickly.

- My partner had an old style screw top probe that was taking a while to fix. So I stuck in my pole to mark the spot and then went back to my bag to get my probe out. I was able to get my probe out quicker and come back (around 2M) and probe myself. I got a hit on the first probe. Partner still didn't have her probe assembled (it was frozen - note screw tops suck IMO).

- I then told her I had an hit and we both proceeded to "mask"/"flag" BEACON 1. It was easy.

- Immediately after masking, I noticed that I still had 2 beacons showing (although I was sure I masked the first as it was still shown, but marked dark in color). I turned and asked my partner if she accidentially hit transmit, and she had slightly hit the Pieps bar knocking it down, partially into transmit mode. She confirmed, and fixed it. Therefore, I was back only to one other beacon.

- I had a strong signal and started following the arrow (which was a straight line). I noticed the numbers going up after 2-3M of walking, and realized I was going in the wrong direction. Although I was pointed that way by the arrows, I realized I must be at the end of a flux line that would eventually curve me back.

- So I turned 180 and got another direct arrow, but this time going down. I was able to go through the trees and get to pinpoint quickly. I pinpointed and my partner probed and got a hit.

C. Total Search Time to 2 Probe Hits on BEACON 1 and 2 (e.g., total time to pinpoint 2 beacons) - Approx. 8 minutes.

D. Conclusions - Our time would have been shorter had (i) my partners probe not been frozen (requring me to go back and assemble mine and (ii) my partner not hit her beacon to transmitting, causing a minor delay. Common sense on point (ii) was easy to fix (e.g., I asked myself, why is there now an additional beacon and immediately asked my partner to check).

- It was interesting that after masking BEACON 1 and putting my partner's beacon back to search, I got a strong signal but in the opposite direction of BEACON 2. I attribute this to the flux line and orientation. As I started, the numbers clearly went up, so I just turned around. Had I stayed on that course, it likely would have taken me on a big loop. So the lesson there is use common sense. Once again, using common sense saved some time. When I turned 180, I had a strong singal and moved in quick. Pinpoint was easy moving slowly.

I was VERY impressed with the multiple scenario of the 3+. Having used a Tracker in the past, I can say I would not have been able to do this as quickly (essentially on my own as my partner was having some issues). Also, my partner inadvertently hitting hers onto transmit was a good test in retrospect. With a Tracker, I would not have been able to identify that in all liklihood, and it would have caused a major issue as I would have been receiving her transmit. The 3+ easily idenitified the additional beacon, and I was able to almost instantly check her beacon to ensure it was in search.

- Pieps did have a longer range in primary search.

CONTINUED BELOW

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

3. Search 3 - 2 Burials; and 1 Mistakingly Transmitting Extra Beacon -

A. Burial Specifics - Same backcountry area as Search 1 above. BEACON 1 was a transmitting 3+. I had a search partner as well, who had an S1. We were up on the same slope as Search 1, but the 3+ was buried about 100M away. It was "outside" of what I thought to be the avy path, and way off to the right of our primary search target. This was a complexity I did not realize going in, and led to later confusion.

- This was supposed to be a single burial test, but another group our skiers right was also conducting a test. And their burial (unknown beacon) - called BEACON 2 was about 30M to the right at the bottom of our path, but only about 20M above (and 5M to the right) of BEACON 1. So when we got to the bottom, we were able to pick up both beacons.

- In addition, another member of the group was digging a full profile, and had left his Pieps DSP in transmit on accident (BEACON 3).

- To to summarize, there were 3 transmitting beacons, but going in we were only looking for one. From the top of the avy path, BEACON 3 was the closest, then BEACON 2 then BEACON 1.

B. Search Specifics -

- My partner and I began zig zagging what we though was the avy slope down to the burial. At around 45M from BEACON 3, my partner picked up a signal with his S1. I picked up a signal with my 3+ around 40M.

- We proceeded in, and then got a reading for another beacon (BEACON 2). Due to the flux line, I ended up closer to Beacon 2 then Beacon 3. I was too far away to mask it. My partner was in the same scenario. We quickly yelled and both noted that we were both receiving the other group's burial, and just said IGNORE it and try to grid search.

- We started in the wrong direction (we were actually then getting 3 beacons, but I just didn't notice as first). And turned around. It became clear that perhaps there was an third beacon in play, and I finally noticed the 3 beacons on my 3+.

- I moved into a strong signal and found BEACON 3 sitting on top of the pack. We asked the person digging if their beacon was on, they said they didn't think so, but we went in the pack, saw it was on and then flagged it. This beacon was not supposed to be in the exercise.

- I then got the group's signal from above (BEACON 2) and did not go up to merely mask it (I was still too far away). I could have saved a ton of time my masking it, but just tried to grid search instead.

- After moving right and down 2M, I picked up BEACON 1 as the closest signal and moved in quickly. I was able to pinpoint and find it quickly (it was not burried deeply).

- I masked it and then was left with BEACON 2 uphill by the other group.

C. Total Search Time to 2 Probe Hits on BEACONS 1 and 2 (and noting BEACON 3 above as the final transmitting beacon) - 11 minutes.

D. Conclusions -

This search was a mess because we were told we were looking for 1 beacon, but in turn had 3. BEACON 1 (our target) was also the furthest away. I was impressed that we worked through it and could identify all 3 beacons in 11 minutes.

However, the biggest time suck was when I got closer to BEACON 2 as noted above and realized it was the other group's beacon, rather than just IGNORING it, I could have gone over 5M and masked it. That would have left 2 beacons in essentially down hill order. I estimate that decision to just ignore and gride added 5-8 minutes on the search.

Still, I was impressed that we worked through the mess to find 3 beacons in 11 minutes when we intentionally ignored one (which added complexity).

TOTAL CONCLUSIONS - I like the 3+ and did not run into the variable numbers/arrows that Jonathan S idenitified above. Likely b/c I was in the BC. The user interface was easy and pinpointing was very easy. As with any beacon, my take way was (i) practice and (ii) common sense will make searches very quick with this.

As a comparison to my old Tracker, the mutiples with that would have been a nightmare (especially search 3). Also, the fact my 3+ identified that my partner had inadvertently switched to transmit in Search 2 saved a TON of time as well.

The only complaint I have to date is what I had noted in prior posts - the transmitting "flashes" disappear (but the battery icon is still there). Orthovox has identified this as intentional to save battery, and appear that they will change this with a software upgrade (which I will be happy with). There is just something reassuring about seeing the flashes (although the battery logo is there). FWIW - when in search, everything is there and easy to see. When wearing polarized glasses, I can even make out the stuff on the LCD screen (although obviously there is some visual impairment).

I am happy with the purchase (and don't have any of the construction/quality control issues Hones ran into with his batch).

[Sinecure]

Wow, great review Caveman. Thanks.

[Jonathan S.]

Those are some very valuable observations about the kinds of issues that can arise in an entire search (as opposed to just 3+ comments and even beacon searching in general).
However, regarding this:

I like the 3+ and did not run into the variable numbers/arrows that Jonathan S idenitified above.

Exactly how many searches are you describing in your review? I see a reference to three different search configurations, but how many trials of each configuration?

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Jonathan - I am describing 3 searches, one "trial" each. These searches were conducted as part of a Level 2 avy course, and not intended to be a beacon test. Sorry if it came accross that way.

My statement that I did not run into the variable numbers/arrows that you had indentified was just to mention in passing. Namely, I was always in backcountry areas and I did not encounter those issues you had indentified.

But obviously my "sample" is small. Once again, just some observations on practical usage in time sensitive search scenarios during a Level 2 course.

I guess I should have noted that more clearly.

EDIT: As noted in posts above, a couple of folks asked me to follow-up after my Level 2 b/c I knew we would spend some time on beacon searches. So I agreed and in coming back, I though the above format would provide the most useful info as I just described exactly what we did and what my thoughts were on each search scenario, start to finish.

Similarly, I am going to go to the beacon park soon to do more practice, and I will likely post up similar thoughts.

[Meadow Skipper]

Nice review.

Still waiting to get mine delivered.

[Tortuga Run]

Any other issues/reports regarding the 3+? Taking an Avy 1 class this weekend and will report any thing relevant that comes up.

[stradissimo]

I have a 3+ and used it at the Silverton Avy 1 school 3 weeks ago. It worked great for one and two beacon searches, though mine seemed to have a range of 41m and Pieps DSPs were picking up the same beacons out to about 48m.

I had an issue at the beacon park with searching for 4 beacons. It lead me correctly to the first one, which I marked. Then it sent me along a second flux line. The distance would go down to 13m and start going back up. So, I would turn around 180 degrees and get the same thing, down to 13m and back up. I felt like I was stuck on a line in a Voronoi Diagram. At that point our time was up, so I didn't resolve the issue. I haven't had an opportunity to try to re-create the situation.

I think the right thing to do would be to follow the arrow to 13m (or whatever the smallest distance is), then turn 90 degrees and see if the distance falls, with a 180 if the distance climbs.

[turboLT]

I can't believe I missed this thread searching but I wrote a review too. Here's my summary (deleted the old thread)

1. The overall physical design is good. I like the button placement and harness. You can't safely store this beacon in your pocket (attached to belt or whatever) without permanently damaging the harness.

2. The range is 40m but now i'm curious as to whether one beacon reading "48" and this beacon reading "40" really equates to 48 and 40m away.

3. Bracketing is very precise

4. multiple burials aren't as clear as I'd like but still very good.

[Jonathan S.]

1. [...] You can't safely store this beacon in your pocket (attached to belt or whatever) without permanently damaging the harness.

2. The range is 40m but now i'm curious as to whether one beacon reading "48" and this beacon reading "40" really equates to 48 and 40m away.

1. You can just un-girthhitch the beacon from the harness. I generally don't advise using a beacon without its harness, but if you really wanted to do so, then you could just girth hitch some other cord etc to the little part on the 3+ housing that is designed for this purpose.

2. Because of the way flux lines work, the distance readout as a function of signal strength is always a compromise somewhere in between optimal and worst-case coupling. Therefore, just looking at the maximum # that ever shows up on the beacon display is not a measure of its maximum receive range.

[flipsRscary]

Am I the only one who is not satisfied with the erratic behavior being dismissed as being EMI induced?

Yes, sure, the vast majority of the backcountry is EMI free, but around Tahoe at least, I do pass under high voltage lines and near microwave relays, so there will be some EMI in some spots. I'd also like the thing to work if I ever had to use it in search mode within a resort.

I suppose I haven't seen any clear statements on the level of proximity to the EMI source that is required to cause a problem, if it's a couple feet I'd be less worried than say 100m.

For the moment at least this means I'm passing on what otherwise looks like exactly the feature set I'm looking for. I can live with the indicator and like the form factor and price-point.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

FWIW - when using in the Tahoe BC I have yet to run in an issue. Then again, I am not standing right under signal peak or anything