Author Topic: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!  (Read 3937 times)

Lyle Brotherton

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Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« on: November 04, 2013, 03:05:39 PM »
If you want to stay alive don’t buy one of these!

Various smartphone apps are marketed as transceivers and these give users a false sense of protection.

The CAC (Canadian Avalanche Centre) has completed test of three such apps created and available in Europe:

• iSis Intelligent (Mountain) Rescue System http://www.isis-application.com/en/
• Snøg Avalanche Buddy: http://www.avalanchebuddy.com/
• SnoWhere: http://charcoalfrost.com/

All three apps present themselves as economical alternatives to Avalanche Transceivers: I personally carry an avalanche transceiver and these are the standard device used to locate people buried as a result of an avalanche.

CAC found the two of the main issues are compatibility and frequency range. All avalanche transceivers conform to an international standard of 457kHz (regardless of make or model) and can therefore be used to search and find other transceivers. The 457kHz standard was chosen because it transmits very well through dense snow, is not deflected by objects such as trees and rocks, and is accurate.

None of the aforementioned apps are capable of connecting with other avalanche transceivers, they are even incompatible between themselves, and so one type of app can’t find another!

Additionally, none of the various communication methods used by these apps come anywhere close to the 457Khz standard for transmission reliability and functionality, because WiFi and Bluetooth signals are significantly weakened when passing through snow, and easily deflected by the solid objects frequently encountered in avalanche incidents, from snow poles to skis.

Plus, the accuracy of a satnav (GPS) cannot be relied upon for the precision required for finding an avalanche victim.

As discussed in several other threads smartphones have other critical issues which include battery life, robustness, reliability and interference compared to bespoke products.
“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato

Pete McK

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2013, 08:26:23 AM »
Another example of a Jack of all Trades :o We ski off-piste during on annual winter Alpine trips and hire our avalanche transceivers, but this year we are thinking of buying a couple, would you recommend this Lyle or keep hiring the receivers?

Callum

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2013, 09:28:57 AM »
Pete, I always hire in the belief that my kit is always the most up-to-date, which from my supplier in Chamonix has always been the case. The downside is that I have to learn to use a new piece of kit, as a techie I quite enjoy this, but maybe its not for all.

Pete McK

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2013, 01:20:42 PM »
Thx Cal :) Good point, I too like the techie side, but Emma is not so keen, so maybe it's time to shell out for our own Avalanche Tranceivers.

captain paranoia

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2013, 06:58:48 PM »
> Plus, the accuracy of a satnav (GPS) cannot be relied upon for the precision required for finding an avalanche victim.

If the buried GPS can get a signal through the snow (hmmmm), then it might at least be able to narrow down the required search area.  This might give a false hope, though.  But if the avalanche area is large, where do you start anyway, even searching systematically?

I guess it might be a case of 'better than nothing'; for on- or near-piste skiing, perhaps, where avalanche risk should be managed, even if not ruled out.  But it would be prudent for the apps to carry suitable caveats as to their applicability and performance.

But if you're going into an area that genuinely avalanche prone, then a proper transceiver and probe pole is very much preferred.

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2013, 08:39:28 AM »
Pete

Forgive me for a taking a few days to come back to, you, the beginning of winter is always a busy time for me and this year busier than ever before!

I have used many avalanche transceivers and on my last trip to the Alps a few months ago, visiting one of the French PGHM teams, I was introduced to a new product they were evaluating, which is now available to the general public and I recently bought one.

CP raises a good point about apps which rely upon satnav, both the limitation of pinpoint accuracy required for finding casualties and signal penetration; I too doubt if the signal will transmit deep into the snow pack – it would be interesting to test if this is actually the case this winter and I can already see a dusting of snow on the hill near my house.

I also agree with Callum, the risk of using different models is that when an avalanche happens and you are searching for buried casualties. In an emergency, the last thing you need to be doing is working out how to use your avalanche transceiver; you should be 100% familiar and confident in its use, which is why I would recommend you buy two.

The transceiver is from the German firm Ortovox, who have many years of avalanche transceiver manufacturing experience, producing reliable and robust pieces of kit.

Their new model is the ZOOM+, which is packed with innovative technology and by far the easiest transceiver to use in my experience.

Their market blurb is an accurate description of the product:

The ZOOM+ combines the simplest handling with the latest technology and the most advanced design. Reduced to two functional buttons, the ZOOM+ concentrates on intuitive usability. The focus on the clearly designed LED-display is on the on / off switches and the switch between transmitting and searching. Distances, directional arrows and information about several avalanche victims guide you in the fastest way to the refined search area, with the intuitive search acoustics making victims easier to locate. Equipped with the patented SMART-ANTENNA-TECHNOLOGY, avalanche victims are found much better with the ZOOM+. The device analyses its position in the avalanche and automatically switches to the best transmission antenna. The latest digital 3-antenna technology is taken for granted at ORTOVOX just as much as the automatic switch over in case of a follow-up avalanche”.

I particularly like the:
+  10 day continuous transmission delivered from just one battery
+  Big display meters from the other transceiver and the very simple direction of travel indicator
+  It gets a fix at 40m
+  A gird appears reminding you to perform a grid search.
+  The beeps increase when you are 20m from the other transceiver reminding you to slow down your search to be precise now you are in close proximity. The beeps also increase in intensity at 10m and 5m
+  At 2m the direction lights go out as you now are doing a pinpoint search (sweeping left to right across the ground as you slowly advance forward)
+  At 0.5m the unit indicates find for you to start digging, unlike some other models which try to zero, which is a waste of time as average accuracy is 0.3m
+  Cost new £170 which is low compared to inferior models offered by the likes of Mammut (Element Barryvox @ £250)

Flaws
-  The buttons at the top which you slide apart to initiate the units search function is clumsy with gloves on.
-  An accessory that comes with it, the elastic cord to secure it to your person, is neither long enough nor strong enough and I replaced mine with 550 paracord.


“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato

Pete McK

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2013, 11:53:50 AM »
Fantastic information guys and thank you too for the recommendation Lyle, the Zoom+ will be now added to our rucksacks for our upcoming winter Alpine trip :)

As a footnote, does anyone know of any good avalanche courses open to members of the public?

Callum

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2013, 12:13:07 PM »
The low cost of this avalanche transceiver got me thinking about buying one.

Last year skiing, we paid 39 Euros each, for the hire of an avalanche transceiver for 1 week. The low cost of the Zoom got me thinking about buying one instead and I have found that Facewest are selling the Zoom+ for £143 delivered, therefore in just four skiing trips the hire price would pay for them outright, plus the units would be ours to keep and my wife does not have to keep learning how to use a differnet model – not a brain decision really ::)

Callum

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Re: Avalanche Smartphone Apps – forget them!
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2013, 08:38:32 AM »
Update: now the proud owner of two Zoom+ :) and will be practising using them this weekend.