There’s still time to take advantage of the Ortovox Beacon Retirement Program, wrapping up its third year on May 1, 2019, with moe than 300 obsolete transceivers upgraded for newer, more reliable safety technology.
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.
“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 “Outdated safety equipment is a liability not only to you, but to those around you.”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, said Ortovix. 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, said the company. 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.”
The Canadian Avalanche Association’s guidelines for identifying obsolete gear can be found HERE.
