Tracker vs Barryvox in a (limited) real-life setting

[Dr. Crash]

So, today I was doing a field trip with the guys from my ski mountaineering course, and we did a buried beacon search. In my group of 4, two had a Tracker, two had a Barryvox (the instructor had a brand spanking new Pieps digital).

In the 3 searches we did, the Tracker would always pick up a signal about 10-15 yards sooner than the Barryvox. My Barryvox would still have the little squiggly arrow indicating it's searching for a signal, and even switched to analog (volume A8) didn't make a big difference, though I think I gained a few yards like that. I'm not really worried about 10-15 yards in real life on a real-size slide, but still...

The buried beacon was an old dual-frequency. The Pieps wouldn't even get it (scary!).

Anybody has seen similar results in the field?

drC

[summit]

Wow! That's crazy. Perhaps the frequency being output on that old dual freq beacon was off? Just a guess.

[G]

Did you record the distances in the tests?

I'd like to know how far you were from the f2 before you got signal.

[CantDog]

I'm going out to practice with my Mammut today, will be using it with an SOS, M2, BCA, and several mammuts. I'll let you guys know the results tonight.

[truth]

We did a few drills in La Grave and I was quicker and more accurate with my Barryvox (first day using it) than roo and Brownmonkey were with thier trackers, but not by much. I was very pleased with the mammut unit in all aspects of usuing and wearing it.

The barryvox was much better when getting under 3 meters to pinpoint the dig...I mean spot on to within a foot. It might have tken a bit longer to lock on but it did not make me slower in getting to the burried beacon.

[AT-TC]

Interesting - I noticed the same thing yesterday doing beacon checks before heading out. 2 Mammuts and 2 Trackers. The Trackers had at least 10-15ft advantage over the Mammut. As long as you know this, seems it wouldn't be a problem. FWIW.

[Dr. Crash]

Yeah, the thing that we should *really* have done would have been to time the total search. I agree that the Barryvox was better at pinpointing in the end. I think we were about 20-30 yards away from the buried beacon when I started getting directional arrows.

drC

[Hugh Jardon]

Call each beacon manufacturer and find out what their bandwidth is. What is being described here is searching for an old beacon that doesn't transmit exactly at 457khz. Some beacons search better for these, others don't work at all. Sounds like the Pieps is the latter.

[Spats]

AFAIK, any beacon old enough to be dual-frequency should not be used. Sounds like it's drifted way off of 459.

Here are the results of testing done by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. They show the Barryvox and Tracker being equal in digital range, and the Barryvox having about double the range in acoustic mode:

http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/Common...on_Testing.pdf

Here is a translation of another article, which notes that Ortovox beacons are frequently out of frequency spec FROM THE FACTORY:

http://telemarktips.com/forums/Avy_S...osts/1698.html

It also notes that the Tracker was best at finding beacons that have drifted out of spec. This explains the results Dr. C saw.

CantDog: any word?

[The Reverend Floater]

Like I've posted before:

Being an instructor in a huge L1-type class, I see beacon wars all of the time, and have participated in many a search with other instructors. The DTS Tracker wins, hands-down.

I have a Tracker and usually beat the other instructors with their M2's, F1's, Berries, etc. Better yet, the students who find the victims first ALWAYS have a Trackers due to their ease of use.

Just my two tacos.

[Spats]

^ for good beacon data.

[CantDog]

Well, this happened awhile ago, but the Mammut was best in the group for beginners, and also pinpointed the buried beacon the best. The others required a bit more digging around the area to find the beacon. Probably wouldnt be a problem since they were all close, but you never know, especially if the person is buried standing up for some reason. I dont remember if Mammuts picked up the signal faster or if there was any discernible difference between the models when someone with experience was conducting the search. The instructor I spoke to swore by the mammuts. He is a teacher at the mountain warfare school. Word from him was that the army uses SOS beacons, but would have chosen the mammuts had they been able to get them less expensively. The military would rather spend money on other things it appears.


Overall, this past year my experience with my beacon has been very positive. Havent had to use it in an emergency situation, but practicing with single and multiple burials, it has performed well. Definately a good choice for someone beacon shopping.

[ulty_guy]

beware w/ the mammut....there's an identifier in it's signal that will make it appear stronger to other mammut beacons even though a different brand of beacon may actually be closer to the searcher.

[bad_roo]

Really? That sounds like a conspiracy theory but if its true it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

Truth - I was using an Ortovox M1. Mulletizer was having a few probs with his due to Ortovox not repairing it properly. Brownmonkey, Mrs Roo and I were doing drills in St Anton and there wasn't a great deal in the recovery times. If I was skiing with somebody who wasn't that familiar with beacons I'd give 'em a Tracker every day of the week.

The M1 picks up signal from way further out than the Tracker and is great to get you started in on the victim but the TRacker is just so quick and easy. Great unit.

[splat]

I'll defer to the Couloir article on performances and comparisons for another source to consider.

[Potsy]

I have the Barry and have practiced with the Tracker. Distance was the same. And although Tracker inspires confidence, my times are the same. And when I took took L1 my instructors dissed the Barry, but I was as fast as them and faster than the class. Moral of that story is practice makes all the difference, IMO.

All that being said, I would recomend the Tracker. It's seems more intuitive to me, which inspires confidence, and experts say that is important in a rescue scenario. I like the smaller Barry and the harness is better than the Tracker, but those are lesser issues than funtionality.

[Shredhead]

I was having a slight sticking problem with my search button on my first generation, 8 year old tracker. BCA replaced with a brand new model. BCA stands behind there stuff!

[Max Gosey]

And a beacon is something you should throw down full price for because of reliability issues, correct? Not that I'll need one any time soon (need avy classes first), but just for future reference. AKA, I'll need one eventually, and I'd buy one now if I had the dough.

So the M1, DTS, and Barry are the 3 most popular, but Barry is dissed in many cases? I'm just trying to get my beacon info stragiht...

[Dr. Crash]

Originally posted by Max Gosey
So the M1, DTS, and Barry are the 3 most popular, but Barry is dissed in many cases? I'm just trying to get my beacon info stragiht...

I'd say M2, not M1. And if the Barry's dissed, it's injustly; it's a great beacon with unique features which made me get it (analog and digital modes). And in a realistic test (not the one reported above) I found victims very easily. Oh, and after doing a level 1 class, I'd seriously consider something like the Pieps DSP because it's hell when you've got two signals and your beacon is just swapping between them without locking on a given one. Hopefully Pieps will get rid of the ghost problem in a firmware upgrade.

drC

[Spats]

The thing I like most about the Barryvox is that it's small enough to live in the inside chest pocket of my fleece.

This way, I never have to wonder "Should I strap this huge thing onto myself and carry it around all day?" I always have it.

Trackers are gigantic and heavy and you'll need to wear the harness, and lots of times you won't bother. Remember: a beacon will only save you if you actually bother to wear it *and* turn it on.