A mid-summer dream this is not. Now is the time to check your transceiver and ensure it is ready for winter.
Almost August—the dilly-dallying must end regarding avalanche transceiver upkeep.
We hope that if you’re not still eeking out turns on a north-facing slope, your transceiver is stored away with the batteries removed. If not, step away from the computer or phone for a moment and do the deed—remove the batteries.
The next step is to begin thinking about the life expectancy of your transceiver. Truth be told, your modern three-antenna transceiver’s functionality will likely extend beyond the life of the manufacturer’s warranty. Those warranties, if you registered your product with the manufacturer, probably extend to five years from the original date of purchase. However, as a tool that could potentially save you or your partner, we don’t advise milking extra life from these electronics. Replacing your transceiver at the end of its warranty isn’t a bad idea if you eventually need repair service.
That noted, if you are a procrastinator, send your transceiver back for its software update or routine check now if your model doesn’t allow for at-home updates via Bluetooth, beacon-to-beacon, or a hard connection to the Interwebs. It’s best to expect delays in receiving your transceiver back from the manufacturer once it is updated. Soon enough, it’s going to be November. Nudge nudge—send it in.
The new BCA Tracker S. Photo: BCA
The new BCA Tracker S. Photo: BCA
Back to transceiver replacement. Avalanche transceiver technology and feature sets change with time. That rate of change is somewhat slow. If you have a four-year-old unit that works fine and can be updated/checked, it’s unlikely any new features have been onboarded to make you feel safety-tool-FOMO. The same might be said of a five or six-year-old unit, too. Ultimately, you want a tool that functions properly and is easy and effective to use in an emergency. And, if it malfunctions or needs repair, it falls under warranty.
I’m at the end of a five-year transceiver cycle. My Barryvox S is close to its past-due date if I use a valid warranty as my replace-do-not-replace metric. When it comes to brand loyalty and transceivers, I’m all over the map. I’ve used Pieps, Ortovox, and Barryvox products through the years.
This fall, we’ll see a few new transceivers in the marketplace. ARVA will introduce their EVO BT (BT standing for Bluetooth), Pieps will release the PRO IPS, Barryvox will introduce new iterations in the S2.0 and Barryvox 2 (the Barryvox 2 being the simpler of the two models), and BCA will introduce the Tracker™ S Avalanche Beacon 2025 (a unit marketed towards non-professionals). Not to leave Ortovox out of the mix, their Diract and Diract Voice were released a few years back.
The New Baryvox S2. Photo:wearefluid.com
The New Baryvox S2. Photo:wearefluid.com
You may not be in the market for a new transceiver. Either way, check to ensure your software is current and do some rescue dry runs to ensure single acquisition, transmission range, and multiple burial functions are good to go. Check for proper button and display functionality—a cracked screen is no good. Check with your transceiver manufacturer to determine if they provide a discount to those replacing a unit due to a cracked screen.
You can read part one of our PRO IPS review here (we miss you, Rob). Otherwise, we’ll have our hands on the new Barryvox models in mid to late September. Until then, it’s time to check your transceiver.
Thanks for the reminder, it might be getting time for replacement of our beacons. I look forward to seeing reviews of new models coming out this season, in addition to the recently released models.