New batteries in the beacon, please

[TBS]

Bumpity Bump for a new season. Replace with new lithiums for best cold weather performance. No rechargables. And be safe out there

[Tri-Ungulate]

I was under the impression that lithiums were not kosher for avy beacons (except in the case of certain newer ones that explicitly state it's OK), since the power curve dropoff can be rather dramatic once they get close to EOL.

[bean]

Bumpity Bump for a new season. Replace with new lithiums for best cold weather performance. No rechargables. And be safe out there

A million times NO. Alkalines only.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Bumpity Bump for a new season. Replace with new lithiums for best cold weather performance. No rechargables. And be safe out there

That's horrible advice unless you have a newer Mammut Pulse. Alkaline only and if you have a Pulse you need to let it know you're using lithiums.

[TBS]

I am not talking about rechargable lithium ion batteries, but disposable lithiums. Way better performance than Alkalines that die at about 35F

[sar13]

No telebobski, you are mistaken. Lithium batteries ( the disposable kind) will show almost 100% remaining charge until, BOOM, they are dead. Do not use Lithiums in your transceivers!
Unless, as noted above, you have the new firmware update in your Pulse which estimates the remaining life of your battery based on time instead of charge.

Also, get the firmware update for the Mammut or Ortovox beacons.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I am not talking about rechargable lithium ion batteries, but disposable lithiums. Way better performance than Alkalines that die at about 35F

With the exception of the newer Pulse the circuitry in beacons is designed to measure and run off of alkaline batteries, not disposable lithiums. Alkaline batteries function within their specs to around -4F.

Disposable lithium batteries have different discharge rates and that will confuse the circuitry in your beacon.

If you can find an exception besides the Mammut Pulse 3.2x? let us know.

[TBS]

OK, Just talked to Ortovox. They don't recommend disposable lithiums because the power degradation is less predictable than alkalines.

My bad. Live and learn

[Z]

Keep an eye on battery % if you are running a tracker 1 with a few years of use. Have been seeing increasing numbers get slow and wonky the past few years...

[Rodneyyee]

I am not talking about rechargable lithium ion batteries, but disposable lithiums. Way better performance than Alkalines that die at about 35F

you need to stick to the grooomerzzz son.

[Hugh Conway]

Keep an eye on battery % if you are running a tracker 1 with a few years of use. Have been seeing increasing numbers get slow and wonky the past few years...

If the beacon's slow and wonky with low battery's (i.e .likely degrading from age somehow) maybe it's time to replace the beacon?

[XXX-er]

I got a 20pak of alkaline AAA for < 20$ which is pretty fucking cheap, so for the next 5 years I got batteries for the remote the beacon the headlamp ...

[zartagen]

My buddy once put lithium batteries in his tracker 1 and it rendered search mode useless. Alkaline only.

[SB]

Batteries in your bacon?

[Peruvian]

I was shocked that my new Pieps came with batteries installed. I don't store my beacon with batteries in it, so I wonder how long they had been in there. They read 110% but I swapped them out for new and will use the originals in a headlamp.

[snoqpass]

And don't use gypo off brand alkaline batteries either,

[MagnificentUnicorn]

And don't use gypo off brand alkaline batteries either,

Unless you're buying the premium variety of Energizer, Duracel etc. the generic alkaline batteries perform the same as the lower end name brands.

[old goat]

Just rain here. Anyone want to trade a PFD for a beacon?

[WestCoastPDR]

Would it be the one that u won last night at GC?

[Z]

If the beacon's slow and wonky with low battery's (i.e .likely degrading from age somehow) maybe it's time to replace the beacon?

Of course!

[Lurch]

Unless you're buying the premium variety of Energizer, Duracel etc. the generic alkaline batteries perform the same as the lower end name brands.

There was an issue years ago with generic batteries being made to the small end of the AAA spec. It caused them to bounce lose in beacons and they would stop transmitting in the middle of the day unbeknownst to the wearer.

The moral is, don't fuck about with your beacon. Use Duracell Alkalines.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

There was an issue years ago with generic batteries being made to the small end of the AAA spec. It caused them to bounce lose in beacons and they would stop transmitting in the middle of the day unbeknownst to the wearer.

The moral is, don't fuck about with your beacon. Use Duracell Alkalines.

Are they better than Energizers?

[XXX-er]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAAA_battery

there IS another standard the AAAA which are bundled to make up some models of alkaline 9V ... I wonder people were misteaking them for AAA's ?

[Lurch]

Are they better than Energizers?

From what I remember BCA said that Duracell were the most consistently true to size and what they tested the trackers with.

[summit]

No rechargables.
No Lithium (unless your beacon explicitly allows it and you enable Lithium mode in your beacon settings)
Use 1.5V alkalines. No special premium photo wacky 1.6V chemistry crap.

Any alkaline will work. All of this gnashing of teeth over some particular brand is BS. You sound like a bunch of pimply middleschooler nerds from the early 1990s insisting on Energizers because some verboten book said they had higher voltage.

ALSO:
Replace your batteries before they get too low (50%, 70%, whatever, depends on what you are doing and where you are going).
Remove batteries at the end of the season.
Replace with new batteries at the start of the season.
Range test at the start of the season and if you have a drop.
Trailhead test. Every time. No exceptions.
New partners=Round robin test.
On at the car, off at the bar.
No turning it off between laps to "save battery."