Review Part 1: Pieps Pro IPS Avalanche Transceiver

The Pieps ISP Pro with the antennae 1/2 way deployed. With the antennas fully extended, the transceiver shifts to search mode. Photo: Ro Coppolillo

The Pieps Pro IPS avalanche transceiver doesn’t so much as enter the market as a full-stop disruptor, but, it does make advances regarding electro magnetic interference (we carry a lot of digital/electronic gear on us these days) and high performance in the field. Here’s part 1 of the THR review. You can read part 2 here.

Intro

“Woh, it seems like it’s actually working,” I said, surprised. A colleague and I stood several meters away from the new Pieps “Pro IPS” avalanche transceiver.  

Call me a skeptic or a curmudgeon, but I usually look askance when a company promises a “game-changing” innovation. 

Not that the engineers over at Pieps have described their new beacon as a game-changer, but they do say the IPS function—that is, “Interference Protection System”—is a significant innovation in the world of avalanche transceivers. So, when I heard that, I thought, “Really? We shall see!”

And we just had—the new unit seems to help manage electromagnetic interference. Read on.

New Design and … the Recall

When testing and showing the Pro IPS to others, the two most frequent questions I heard were, “What is that thing?” and “Did they fix the search-send switch?”

The Pro IPS does look different, more on that. As for the search-send switch … well, in case you missed it, Pieps/Black Diamond had a recall on previous models of their transceivers, related to the on-off/search-send button. It was a bit of a debacle, if memory serves. But, I digress. 

It appears as though Pieps/BD have resolved any dramas with this new unit. Physically, the most distinctive feature of the new Pieps transceiver is its deployable antenna. While in send-mode, it nests against the long side of the beacon, covering both the on-off and the “function” buttons. To switch to search, one folds out the antenna and it extends several centimeters above the unit, making it look like a radio. There’s no button to depress, slide, or engage.

When I first acquired the transceiver (Pieps/Black Diamond provided it free of charge), I remarked that it seemed quite robust and even heavy. The weight of the Pro is in line with other models. I think my perception had to do more with the solid feel and fiberglass-reinforced case material than it did the actual weight (202g with three lithium-ion AAA batteries, within a gram of the Barryvox S equipped with the same batteries, fyi).

Having something on a hinge that requires folding out to enter search, though, did give me pause at first inspection. The antenna deploys smoothly, no problem, and trying to “stress test” it I didn’t get it to fail. I basically tried to break the antenna by levering it in a weird angle when deploying it or twisting it in its extended position. I can’t say I put anywhere near full-force into it (I mean, come on people, I’m frickin’ yoked), but I did twist it pretty hard back and forth, then dropped it intentionally with the antenna deployed. No damage, cosmetic or otherwise.

So, yes, the switch issue seems to be resolved and the overall build of the IPS Pro gives me confidence. (Now, however, I’m torn—I like this transceiver and would love to continue using it, but I’ve abused it a bit! Maybe I’ll send it back to Pieps for testing?) 

Transceiver instruction time with Rob Coppolillo (center). Photo: Dmitry Kulakovsky

Georgian hill country—prime habit to test/review the new Pieps ISP Pro transceiver. Photo: Rob Coppolillo

In the Field and Testing

The modern, three-antennae beacons have all become pretty darn good from my experience, so the last couple years you’re selecting between user interfaces and features, more than functionality. Which beacon vibes with your particular style of learning and interacting with digital stuff? 

The Pieps Pro IPS, though, promises a true innovation: namely the ability to detect electromagnetic interference (EMI) and mitigate it, both in send and search modes. If I’m understanding the Austrian engineers (filtered through a webinar hosted by BD’s Mike Hattrup), the Pro’s electronics allow it to do two significant things. 

Namely and first: in send mode, the transceiver can detect when something metallic or electronic is negatively impacting its signal strength and boost it. Second, while in search mode, the Pro identifies when it’s experiencing interference, again from something metallic or electronic (think: GPS watch, smartphone, VHF radio, foil-wrapped chocolate bar, etc.) and tells the user (via the front LCD display) to narrow his search-width strip from 80m to 60m to 40m to 20m, depending upon the level of interference. 

The go-to Barryvox S (left) and the new Pieps ISP Pro (right): comparing size/dimensions.

The go-to Barryvox S (left) and the new Pieps ISP Pro (right): comparing size/dimensions. Photo: Rob Coppolillo

Searching 

Should something nearby diminish the search capability of the IPS, it tells the user to reduce her search-width strip. With normal functioning, the unit suggests a width of 80m (much wider than most educators and guides recommend at present). Differing levels of interference provoke the beacon to reduce that width down to 60m, 40m, or even 20m. 

While Mammut’s Barryvox S detects interference, my personal experience (maybe 150 days with the Barryvox and maybe 40, plus testing, with the Pro IPS) shows that the Pro IPS does it more quickly, more consistently, and also determines the level of interference, suggesting different search-width strips based on those levels. I could get the Pro IPS to reduce its recommended width reliably and reproducibly (by introducing metallic/electronic objects around it while searching), while the Barryvox was less likely to respond to the same interference between my improvised tests.

Sending

The Pro IPS also mitigates interference when sending. Again, through some mysterious sophistry (I believe engineers call this “physics”), the beacon detects when something electric and/or metallic diminishes the beacon’s signal strength and then ups its transmission power. In Pieps’s own tests (and my amateur-hour versions), I reliably reproduced this phenomenon. 

A buddy and I (thanks Jeff, owe you a burrito!) spent an hour in the park verifying this feature of the IPS. First we put the IPS on the ground and a searching beacon exactly three meters away. Then we’d put a shovel blade (and/or a VHF radio, a smartphone, etc.) over the IPS and watch the numbers on the searching beacon—predictably, the displayed range would jump to 3.2 or 3.3 m, meaning the searching beacon was detecting a weaker signal and its processor/algorithm calculated the beacon as farther away (signal strength is how all beacons guesstimate distance). After a few seconds, though, the number would come back down, even dropping to 2.8 or 2.9m. The IPS had upped its transmitting power/signal strength to compensate for the interfering electronics, so the transceiver’s processor guesstimated the distance as now slightly closer. 

When we performed the same test on non-IPS beacons, the searching beacon tended to add approximately 10 percent to the calculated distance (garage science significance: the signal appeared approximately 10 percent weaker to the searching beacon) at three meters, not a huge amount. However, as we moved the sending beacon out to 30m and then 50m, those numbers grew, but at 50 and beyond, the signal often dropped entirely—except with the IPS. Impressive. One more time, if the IPS detects EMI in send mode, the signal boosts accordingly. This function allows the search transceiver to get a more accurate reading of the send transceiver/victim’s location.

In the moment, I said, “Woh, it seems like it’s actually working.” 

One last and important note on the IPS system—it does not replace proper “electronics hygiene” when ski-touring. Pieps still advises 20cm between all electronics and metallic objects when in send, and 50cm while in search. 

Stats according to Pieps