Transceiver interruption is very real, turn your dam phones off!

[Teth-Air]

Chris, here is a scenario for you. Turn on your beacon (transmit mode) and leave it on the kitchen table. Turn on your cell phone and put your cell phone on top of the beacon. Use another beacon in search mode and see what kind of interference you get. That was lesson #1 in my AST1 course. My phone is in my truck and my inReach is in my riser bag or in my back pack.

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I have tried this scenario and have not seen any interference, but each person has to try it for themselves as each beacon is different and each transmitting device is also different. (I may have had the right devices in the right modes of transmit to not see this) There will be a harmonic that is just right to disrupt any transmitter and any receiver. Bluetooth and wifi are definitely more of a worry as they are transmitting so often. You will not have a problem if you keep your phone shut off that's for sure. Keep in mind I am trying to look at this in broader terms e.g. I carry a Garmin Rino which is communicating with satellites and has 2 way radio. I would not go without it and maybe would put myself at more risk than if I left it in the truck. Other guys would not ride without their SPOT or other devices that have proven to save lives. My intent was to point out that there is value in these products and would not get rid of them just for the fear of interfering with beacons. Test these devices. With our early testing for the Cordless Teth-Air, the ignition coils on the sleds was the biggest culprit for radio interference than anything else. Kind pointless to tell people to leave their sleds home when they go sledding.

 

[ferniesnow]

I have tried this scenario and have not seen any interference, but each person has to try it for themselves as each beacon is different and each transmitting device is also different. (I may have had the right devices in the right modes of transmit to not see this) There will be a harmonic that is just right to disrupt any transmitter and any receiver. Bluetooth and wifi are definitely more of a worry as they are transmitting so often. You will not have a problem if you keep your phone shut off that's for sure. Keep in mind I am trying to look at this in broader terms e.g. I carry a Garmin Rino which is communicating with satellites and has 2 way radio. I would not go without it and maybe would put myself at more risk than if I left it in the truck. Other guys would not ride without their SPOT or other devices that have proven to save lives. My intent was to point out that there is value in these products and would not get rid of them just for the fear of interfering with beacons. Test these devices. With our early testing for the Cordless Teth-Air, the ignition coils on the sleds was the biggest culprit for radio interference than anything else. Kind pointless to tell people to leave their sleds home when they go sledding.

Fair enough.

 

[Depsnolvr]

I have tried this scenario and have not seen any interference, but each person has to try it for themselves as each beacon is different and each transmitting device is also different. (I may have had the right devices in the right modes of transmit to not see this) There will be a harmonic that is just right to disrupt any transmitter and any receiver. Bluetooth and wifi are definitely more of a worry as they are transmitting so often. You will not have a problem if you keep your phone shut off that's for sure. Keep in mind I am trying to look at this in broader terms e.g. I carry a Garmin Rino which is communicating with satellites and has 2 way radio. I would not go without it and maybe would put myself at more risk than if I left it in the truck. Other guys would not ride without their SPOT or other devices that have proven to save lives. My intent was to point out that there is value in these products and would not get rid of them just for the fear of interfering with beacons. Test these devices. With our early testing for the Cordless Teth-Air, the ignition coils on the sleds was the biggest culprit for radio interference than anything else. Kind pointless to tell people to leave their sleds home when they go sledding.

Appreciating where you are coming from, my original post suggested that if you insist on brining phones or other devices, simply keep them on your sled or in your pack.

No one can argue that it is common knowledge that electrical equipment can interfering with transceiver function.

When you are searching or even worse, buried under the snow, it is likely that you are not near other transmitting devices (if they are stowed away properly), so with proper care, the idea is a non-concern.

Education is key. Protocol, not prohibition.

 

[SUMMIT TREE]

Not worth the risk for my crew. All phones stay in the truck, Inreach in my riser bag and radio in my pack. There is not enough time to be f' in around with false signals and having your beacon not working 100% when it's go time for real. I just took AST 1 and it's a real eye opener to how it might be in a real avalanche situation. In ideal conditions it took about 13 mins to rescue our victims. So if it happens for real there will not be time for dicken around,everything has to go smoothly.

 

[RGM]

Electronic equipment will not effect a beacon in send mode. If you do need to do search then turn your stuff off. I have no problem carrying my sat phone cell phone spot drift cam with remote etc. Are you guys aware that a running sled will cause interference?

 

[fidorama]

Watch for your new Gopro as well. The ones with wifi.

good question.. I have a garmin virb action camera and garmin GPS that are both Bluetooth/wifi as well.. I would sure like to know if they would cause this problem as well. And by the way, with all the truck break in's. I would never leave my phone there.