 Poster: A snowHead
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Pieps 457 Opti4
I am looking at transceivers and found a Pieps 457 Opti4 for a fairly reasonable price, I was wondering if anyone has any views or comments on this particular device? Do you recommend it? Thank you.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I am not an expert.
That's a bit of an old model isn't it?
I think the general feeling about these old technology beacons is that if you are very experienced and skilful and practice frequently they can get great results at great distances, but the modern digital and analogue/digital ones are much better for most skiers/boarders?.
I certainly would not buy it unless it had been serviced/tested/checked for frequency drift.
correction: I wouldn't buy it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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kevindonkleywood,  well as long as it was on the right frequency it would work... for you to find them...
diogo, if you are paying more than 40 quid for this you are being screwed. You can get the cheapest (but not best) current Pieps model for about £110.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Just get a Avalung dude, you'll be fine. Ignore all those people on TGR, they're just angry at Black Diamond.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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diogo, Funnily enough I had a practice with one in the week. I found it fairly difficult compared to my DTS Tracker, especially the final stages of the search. My friend who's had a bit more practice was doing 'OK' with it but their search times were much longer.
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| parlor wrote: |
| Just get a Avalung dude, you'll be fine. Ignore all those people on TGR, they're just angry at Black Diamond. |
Just get some bacon for the dogs to find you 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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clarky999, nah, Garlic Sausage is the hot tip for dog training. Never ski without it
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diogo, slow down brother, snow is starting to fly. Do a little more reading, you've found  and TGR, both can give you a poo-poo ton of information.
It's not just your life you are taking in to your own hands. It's your ski buddies, other skiers on the hill and the brave folk who operate search and rescue.
Don't cheap out on a beeper, if you really need something cheap for this winter get the Pieps Freeride. I used to use a Pieps 457 and compared to even the most basic of modern analogue transceivers they suck balls.
Some people pointed it out on TGR, the first defense against avalanches is your brain. Learn everything, take courses, learn the equipment and then it's time to start skiing the back country.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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david@mediacopy, Ive not seen the garlic sausage training manual, where should said sausage be inserted whilst skiing?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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kevindonkleywood, I think the max moment of danger is when the dog makes a grab for it
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You know it makes sense.
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Cheers for your input guys. Parlor would like to point out you are a bit of a legend on the sly.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Is the Ortovox F1 Focus advisable?
This is the model I'm refering to.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ok - linking to an article published 12 years ago...
Am I the only one who thinks this is a troll - but not as good a one as the TGR thread parlor linked too?
diogo, if you are serious - an you do need to ask these questions - then (like me) you are at a level where you need all the help a modern digital beacon can give you. Why not look for a cheap/secondhand deal on a tracker or a Mammut Barryvox 3000?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
| Am I the only one who thinks this is a troll |
maybe, but there does seem to be 2 schools of thought on this. A few people I know decided they needed a beeper and then went out and got the cheapest they could find.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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david@mediacopy, the question is who they could then find...
I wonder if there is a reason some of the older technology beacons are marketed at experts - eg The Ortovox Patroller. From the question he asked on TGR I am sure he is not in the expert category.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
| david@mediacopy, the question is who they could then find... |
Indeed. I took the view that I wanted to make it as easy for my self as possible.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| diogo wrote: |
Is the Ortovox F1 Focus advisable?
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Yes if you're a professional patroller or very experienced user (and understand limitations). No if you have to ask the question.
If you haven't got experience and want cheap just buy a Tracker. My sub 2 year old niece managed a successful search for her teddy with one, (he'd been the unfortunate viction of a cushion avalanche, very hazardous in a domestic environment!) .
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Guess what, my new Tracker 2 arrived in the mail about an hour ago. The SCGB has a deal with Lockwoods giving you 20% off, which gives a net price of £228 plus postage.
At that price it's still far from the cheapest on the market, however cheap does not equal easy to use. I tried the Pulse last year and found it excellent, but having read plenty of reviews last week, I decided that the Tracker was probably the easier to use. I have been using transceivers for years although luckily only in practice. The Pulse has more facilities but for me, simplicity of use in an emergency situation, for someone who has never used one in an emergency situation, was the deciding factor.
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diogo, I' going to say that the F1 is one of my all time favourite beepers. FWIW I use a digital beacon now as it is easier to deal with multiple burials. I would have no problem skiing with you if you had this beeper - providing you trained hard with it! They are harder to get used to than more modern digital beacons, not harder to use - in fact technically they are easier to operate (less going on) - but you do need to spend time getting used to how it works.
IMO a basic analogue as your first beacon means you have to really train hard with it. I bet there are shed full of that own newer, fancy digitial beacons who played with it once when they got it and now never practice because all you have to do is "turn it on and follow an arrow", which by the way, simply isn't true.
Analogue transceivers teach you better discipline when you are starting out.
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Thanks for all your input. How about the Ortovox M2, tell me about it please.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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diogo, where do you live? UK Usa or europe? Do you have a shovel and probe already?
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| diogo wrote: |
| Thanks for all your input. How about the Ortovox M2, tell me about it please. |
We give up!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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diogo, M2 is good beacon. What's your plan for this winter? Realistically how many days will you use a transceiver? If you're going for a weeks holiday with family and friends who don't have beepers you might be a little lost on your own.
You might be better off renting this year on the days you need one and save for the latest models - an Barryvox Pulse, Ortovox S1 or S3 or BCA Tracker 2 would be the ideal beacons to get. See what I'm saying
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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diogo, In Europe - sport Conrad - about 280 euros gets you a full package of what you need, tracker plus deploy shovel plus probe.
In the US the same package for about $350 from snowbigdeal.
The M2 is comfortable to wear but old technology. I've tried it and didn't like it, personal opinion though. Parlor knows hugely hugely more about this than most of us - but I really am beginning to get the feeling you need a Beacon which is not going to require a great deal of thought...
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How does the M1 compare to the M2? I have been reading reviews etc and looking at the specs but I value people's opinions too, especially those who have more experience and knowledge than me. I'm going to perfectly honest, I don't know a great deal about Transceivers and this is my first time browsing for one hence me asking all these questions on this thread.
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You know it makes sense.
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diogo, people here can give you some advice when you answer the questions...
1) where will you be doing the buying?
2) how much skiing will you be doing off piste this year?
3) Who is going to teach you to use it?
4) Do you already have a shovel and probe?
5) What's your budget?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Look its simple - on the transmit side all transceivers do the same job roughly (some debates about range of signal etc).
On the receive side there are distinct differences as to whether you have an analogues or digital beacon and consequently how it processes the signals received and assists in pointing you in the right direction.
Hence an F1 provides you with no data processing - its up to the user to interpret the beeps and flashing lights, more sophisticated digital beacons do lots of neat stuff (although you still have to know what it all means and how to use the features). As a consequence the more modern digi beacons are more expensive. I'd usually say to anyone who asks get a Tracker because its almost foolproof, simple enough to use with little training (but not perfect in multiple burials) but I don't know how much better the latest iterations of digi beacons are.
You should really be asking the peopl who know you and plan on skiing with you what they recommend. Its their life your decision impacts not yours.
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Poster: A snowHead
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fatbob,
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although you still have to know what it all means and how to use the features
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and, as I discovered at Hemel the other day, to be able actually to read the thing. I found that I wouldn't have been able to read some of the newer models without taking my contact lenses out - which would not be terribly practical!
Can some kind mod please rectify the page width?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| and, as I discovered at Hemel the other day, to be able actually to read the thing. I found that I wouldn't have been able to read some of the newer models without taking my contact lenses out - which would not be terribly practical! |
IMO this is another drawback to the newer fancy digital transceivers, people become preoccupied with what's "shown" on the screen. Your eyes should be on the terrain at all times, it's faster to spot a bit of ski gear etc and start digging.
When I leaned beacon searches you wore headphones and guided your search by your ears, allowing your eyes to carry on searching for clues.
Hurtle, try a Tracker, you should be able to see which lights are lit and which are not.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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parlor,
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it's faster to spot a bit of ski gear etc and start digging.
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Parlor is making some good points here, ski gear can be a good indicator and I am sure what Parlor meant was if you got a signal from your transceiver as well as seeing some gear thats good, not good just dig up a lost ski or pole which is not attached to a victem
fatbob,
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on the transmit side all transceivers do the same job roughly (some debates about range of signal etc).
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What has to be taken into account is the pattern of the signal being transmitted, range very much depends on the orientation of the transmitting transceiver in perspective to the receiving transceiver, Hurtle, will remember the flux line sheet we used at Hemel and how the transmitted signal works.
fatbob,
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I'd usually say to anyone who asks get a Tracker because its almost foolproof, simple enough to use with little training (but not perfect in multiple burials) but I don't know how much better the latest iterations of digi beacons are.
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The Tracker 2 is much faster and easier to use than the older Trackers, plus much better in multiple targets, in the final search I would go so far to say that the Tracker 2 is the fastest of all the transceivers IMHO from the testing we have done.
But MOST important with any transceiver is to practice, practice and then practice some more, plus get some proper training to begin with.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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parlor, livetoski, absolutely. Coming to the test day from a standing start ie knowing virtually nothing, the Tracker 2 seemed great to me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| diogo wrote: |
| How does the M1 compare to the M2? |
The M1 runs all the way from London to Leeds whilst the M2 is just a bypass for the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne and Faversham.
Either is probably about as safe a place for you to play as the backcountry.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Chamcham, thanks for the tip, I may well look at getting myself an Arva Evo 3 from Decathlon too.
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Ok chaps - must be about time for the OP to post his daily request for info about a beacon he has seen in Cash-Converters... and to ignore the other things which are said...
any one want to guess what it will be?
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FAQ
