Test fired your avalanche beacon lately?

[Laris]

I took a beacon out of storage the other day; before strapping it on we did a test trial with a couple units. All units sent out signals just fine, but one would not pick up signal. I know for a fact alot of people turn these things on and as long as there's a green light, it's good to go. Just a reminder to check your safety gear to ensure it's functioning properly, for your own well being, your buddies and sledding population in general. A dysfunctional piece of equipment is nothing more than false security.

 

[SledsWest]

Yep, a few friends of mine and I went up to a beacon basin to practice.....I highly recommend everybody do that at least once a year!! Gets you familiar with what your beacon can and can not do. Arm yourself with knowledge!

 

[farwest]

Good call,we experienced the same thing when we practiced with our group this year .One of them would not go into search !!!

 

[aart]

we do it at the start of EVERY ride, we take turns in search mode to locate all.

 

[Norona]

Great reminder that everyone should as their day begins do a beacon check. Put it to search and have your buddies walk by one by one...takes a minute and ensures everyone is wearing it and it is working each and every time...

 

[finerotax]

ya,had one wouldn't even turn on.Sent back for service,ordered a new one,guess we'll have a spare.......Great post,not some thing most people would think of.

 

[yz400ex]

we do it at the start of EVERY ride, we take turns in search mode to locate all.

We do this as well. I dont see a reason not to.. takes a few minutes and there is no doubt if its working this time or not..

 

[Scott]

Test fire, test use, and test bury. Gotta do all of it.

 

[cowboysedge]

Every time we ride!

You all need to make sure everyone knows how to operate them also. Make sure they know when they are transmittling and when they are on search. I've noticed at the avy classed that I have attended there is always someone switching their beacon to transmit while we are doing a search. Most of them don't even know they did it.

 

[SnowBigDeal]

Test fire, test use, and test bury. Gotta do all of it.

Yep. It's amazing the difference between putting the beacon in the parking lot and searching for it versus burying a backpack and searching/probing/digging for it.

 

[papa bear]

One of our older units (8-10 years) was giving a false indication while in search mode. It always "blinked" to turn in one direction. Sent it back to manufacturer, and despite it being way past the 5 year warranty, they gave us half off price on a new unit.

 

[mtnpull]

Definitely should test both functions before a ride. Also at the end of the season REMEMBER to remove the batteries from the beacon before storage. You don't want a ruined beacon from leaky batteries.

 

[Laris]

Good to see proactive discussion on a topic alot of people don't think twice about.

 

[NWGooser]

Every beacon, every trip.

Great reminder. Thanks

 

[24drnkz]

Always

Worth a 'Sticky' eh admin.....