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There’s still time to take advantage of the Ortovox Beacon Retirement Program, wrapping up its third year on May 1, 2019, with over 300 obsolete transceivers upgraded for newer, more reliable safety technology, to make being found easier.
ORTOVOX is committed to mountain safety. For the remainder of the spring ski season, older transceivers of any make can be retired at a participating ORTOVOX dealer where they will be recycled and traded for $75 credit toward a new
3+ digital beacon with Smart Antenna Technology, to make being found easier. For a list of dealers, visit
www.ORTOVOX.com. Those who do not live near a dealer and wish to participate in this offer are encouraged to arrange an exchange by mail.
“Friends don’t let friends carry vintage beacons,” said Tom Mason, ORTOVOX brand manager. “Outdated safety equipment is a liability not only to you, but to those around you.”
The ORTOVOX 3+ transceiver’s Smart-Antenna Technology makes being found easier, regardless of what kind of transceivers searchers are using. It works by analyzing the position of its antennas and automatically switching to the best transmission antenna. The result is almost double the range in the worst coupling position regardless of the beacon used to search. A vertically situated transmitting antenna without this technology is more difficult for searchers to detect.
Even folks with dual-antenna transceivers should strongly consider trading up. According to the
Canadian Avalanche Association, “Dual antenna digital transceivers aren’t obsolete, but they’re dated. The current crop of three antenna digital transceivers supersedes them and provides clear advantages over previous generation … we strongly recommend students to have 3-antenna devices.”
With only two buttons and both visual and audible search cues, the intuitive design of the 3+ makes it simple to use, even in a time of panic. The center button allows for flagging in the event of a multiple burial, and an automatic secondary avalanche switchover changes modes from search to transmit if no motion is detected for 120 seconds during a search. Adding an additional element to this transceiver’s unique ability to be found, the 3+ also includes
Recco technology, making it highly visible to search-and-rescue operations in any kind of terrain. The 3+ transceiver retails at $339 ($264 with trade-in credit).
The Canadian Avalanche Association’s guidelines for identifying obsolete gear can be found
HERE.