Where do you wear your transceiver?

Right pants pocket. Far and away the most comfortable for me. Phone in left chest pocket >24" from beacon.

For all of the reasons above: pants stay on, jackets come off or get unzipped. I'm much faster with this system. One zipper; beacon is at normal hand height for removal and goes right to waist height for search. This last point isn't a big deal, but it is, in practice, very natural.

I back it up to my belt (static climbing webbing) but I like the idea of another backup. Will investigate that this season.

And +1 to batteries are cheap. I now travel with a spare set and remove the batteries at the end of every day to check for corrosion/leakage.

I attach my beacon to my penis, because Im really proficient at whipping it out and my hands naturally want to rest there. Besides, if Im in a slide where I lose my penis, I question whether I really want to survive anyway.

Different strokes and all that.

lulz

Inside or outside the cup?

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

Inside or outside the cup?

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New invention: Integrated transceiver/cup! You could make MILLIONS!!!

You are far more likely to suffer abdominal trauma from a beacon next to your ribs than have your pants pulled off (not down, but OFF) in an avalanche. The former also applies to a regular fall when skiing, which is also way more likely than getting caught in a slide.

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Originally Posted by GoldMember

New invention: Integrated transceiver/cup! You could make MILLIONS!!!

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I don't know if I want to encourage probing around my groin area.

That's the reason for the cup.

Phone in airplane: you should be PRACTICING with your equipment the way you tour. Hit the beacon park with your other electronic goodies. Try it without. See a problem? Is there
a difference? That is how you tell if your particular phone interferes with your particular beacon and in what mode and at what proximity. Far more definitive than internet prognostications.

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Originally Posted by goldenboy

Of course. It was warm. Seems to me that beacons are outside all layers the majority of the time while ascending. It's one of many reasons I've converted to beacon in the pocket.

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Same here

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Originally Posted by TahoeJ

You are far more likely to suffer abdominal trauma from a beacon next to your ribs than have your pants pulled off (not down, but OFF) in an avalanche. The former also applies to a regular fall when skiing, which is also way more likely than getting caught in a slide.

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Agreed

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Originally Posted by GoldMember

Any source of transient frequency is a source of potential interference:

"Your cell, particularly if it’s a smartphone, gives off a significant amount of competing noise when it’s on and the screen is illuminated. If you think that setting your phone to airplane mode is enough to cut noise, think again. Airplane mode does not significantly alter the amount of electronic noise the phone gives off. Hold a phone set to airplane mode too close to a searching beacon, and your numbers will be affected as much as if the phone were fully “on.”

https://backcountryaccess.com/electr...your-beacon-2/

So, phone in airplane mode is still a potential source of interference and not a good idea.

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I get that anything with electric current in it could be a source of EMI, but a lit LED screen really produces very little. And if my phone is in my pocket, the screen's gonna be off. There's actually ambient light sensors on your phone to help keep the screen off and not pocket dial people. Or at least there should be. I know there's a setting for it on Samsungs. I haven't pocket dialed anyone in years, but my name starts with A, so I get them a lot.
Remember, your phone is running off some pretty low DC power. I really don't see how if your phone isn't searching for service that it could be giving off much noise. Maybe someone with a better physics or engineering background can fill me in.
8" seems easy enough though. I don't think I've ever had my phone anywhere near as close as that.

Edit to add: I'm also well aware that a phone in Airplane Mode can still use it's WiFi antennae. Especially on airplanes nowadays.

^^ Hence separating them a couple of feet away from each other and should be good to go. Transceiver in a harness, phone in pants cargo pocket or vice versa and should be okay. Although, as someone pointed out above, practice in the same mode as you ski and experiment a bit to see if there's impact or what proximity produces impact, then you'll know for sure.

I tried a strap on harness for a little while, but it was too bulky, thus the Prince Albert! Nipple ring attachment was too painful

I prefer to cook my bacon in the oven. It’s more crisp and less mess

Just picked up a new Barryvox beacon to replace my 11 year old Tracker 2. I like that it's a bit smaller than the Tracker, but I'm not confident in the buttons to toggle between off/send/search: it seems like it would be really easy to inadvertently switch modes while wearing it in the harness or a pocket. I also find how delicate/fragile it feels in hand to not be confidence inspiring. The Tracker 2 felt like you could bludgeon someone to death with it, wipe it off, then use it to search for buried victims, the Barryvox feels like it would break if it got dropped off a coffee table.

The proof is in the functionality of it I suppose, but given how much they tout the fact that it's made in Switzerland, I am unimpressed with the fit, finish and perceived durability of the unit.

My cell phone (iPhone 6) also messed with the signal in search mode, even when the phone and beacon are 6 feet apart. At least a little cellphone icon pops up on the beacon screen to let you know there's interference, but with the preponderance of electronics people carry in the backcountry these days, I have concerns about the efficacy of a beacon search in a group setting.

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Originally Posted by glademaster

Just picked up a new Barryvox beacon to replace my 11 year old Tracker 2. I like that it's a bit smaller than the Tracker, but I'm not confident in the buttons to toggle between off/send/search: it seems like it would be really easy to inadvertently switch modes while wearing it in the harness or a pocket. I also find how delicate/fragile it feels in hand to not be confidence inspiring. The Tracker 2 felt like you could bludgeon someone to death with it, wipe it off, then use it to search for buried victims, the Barryvox feels like it would break if it got dropped off a coffee table.

The proof is in the functionality of it I suppose, but given how much they tout the fact that it's made in Switzerland, I am unimpressed with the fit, finish and perceived durability of the unit.

My cell phone (iPhone 6) also messed with the signal in search mode, even when the phone and beacon are 6 feet apart. At least a little cellphone icon pops up on the beacon screen to let you know there's interference, but with the preponderance of electronics people carry in the backcountry these days, I have concerns about the efficacy of a beacon search in a group setting.

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I’d be more worried about the people too stupid to turn their phones off because you might have to save a life

Cannot understand why you find the the Barryvox fragile or possible to accidentally switch modes. Not my impression nor my experience.

Barryvox actually examines the noise floor and limits your search strip width. It is a unique and good feature because people are not aware of the problem their other electronics are causing.

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Originally Posted by Summit

Cannot understand why you find the the Barryvox fragile or possible to accidentally switch modes. Not my impression nor my experience.

Barryvox actually examines the noise floor and limits your search strip width. It is a unique and good feature because people are not aware of the problem their other electronics are causing.

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100% agree with Summit on all of this.

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Originally Posted by snoqpass

I’d be more worried about the people too stupid to turn their phones off because you might have to save a life

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This is what beacon checks are really for these days. Easy to forget with a sleep deprived alpine start. My beacon works fine with phone in airplane mode.

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

100% agree with Summit on all of this.

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Same here. Barryvox and Pieps are just better. Have been for a long time. BCA seems to have convinced some folks that their beacons are easier to use. They aren't. They're just worse. And Ortovox has had issues with unstable software on multiple models. Fuck that. Barryvox or Pieps. Maybe Arva is ok. Never even seen one.

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Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

My beacon works fine with phone in airplane mode.

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So does mine, but if you admit that you keep your phone in airplane mode you aren't able to properly moralize on the internet :rolleyes:

Fun finding at recent training, my neato GPS watch causes slight interference with my beacon in search mode if I hold it on the same side I wear the watch on. But not if I hold it in my right hand (which is the usual case). The interference slight: audibly detectable in analog mode, enough that if you tried to use the ultra-long-range pro mode on the S, it would probably be limiting. I'll try more later. Forerunner 945.

^^^ Dang. Thanks for posting this.

Perhaps I should go back and edit my "first impressions" post, but I thought I would serve myself a bit of humble pie and post an update now that I've had the chance to actually try out the Barryvox.

It is a solid, easy to use, seemingly quite accurate beacon. The faster processor and greater range are apparent when compared to the Tracker 2. The directional arrows and audible guidance are both easy to understand and really precise. I still don't love the search/send switch, and feel it is kind of the weak link with this beacon, but the ease of use seems to compensate for that.

Also, I should add that I managed to break my Tracker 2 by, I shit you not, dropping it about 2.5 feet as I was removing it from a nightstand drawer. So yeah, I'll eat some crow on the durability crack I made.

I'm impressed with the Barryvox, as it seems like it would be a straightforward beacon to become very proficient with. I decided I didn't need or want the features of the S, as I don't intend to be using my beacon for things other than search practice, beacon checks at the beginning of the day, and finding someone/being found.

I am bummed that my Mammut pants don't have a beacon pocket, so it looks like I'll be going chest harness, although I prefer to wear it in my pants.

I've gotten accustomed to keeping my beacon in the dedicated slot (with clip) in the rt. front pocket of my OR pants. Since I am a skinny assed guy, I have trouble keeping the pants from wanting to go south when the pockets are loaded. Just picked up a pair of suspenders from Duluth Trading of all places, that hook nicely into the suspender loops on the pants. The OR brand suspenders are built for Shaq and do not work for me without major modifications. This should keep pants and beacon in place. I like the pocket location for the beacon for the above posted reasons.