Comments on: Ortovox S1 – Avalanche Beacon Review

By: Lou

Lou — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:14:26 +0000

Nice job Jonathan, thanks!

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:01:43 +0000

Ortovox S1 review has now been updated for firmware version 1.2.3074 (often referred to as version 3, after the leading digit of the last part of the code) at the end of the original review. I also made some relatively minor edits throughout the main body of the original review to better match up with the new info, but I tried to preserve the main text as much as possible so that any comments still refer to material in the review.

By: Jonathan Shefftz

Jonathan Shefftz — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:23:39 +0000

Firmware upgrade especially recommended now for certain serial numbers:
http://en.ortovox.com/service/s1-safety-update.html

By: Jonathan Shefftz

Jonathan Shefftz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:00:45 +0000

Fall 2009 update: new 1.3.x firmware is available for the S1. I had my beacon upgraded in September, but haven’t had a chance to play around with it yet. The only visible change is that the inclinometer has a lock function. (So for example, if you were using it to test the ramp angle inside the boot board of you ski boot, you could set it in there, press the lock button, then take out the beacon to read the angle, i.e., without having to simultaneously measure the angle and see the readout.) Otherwise, the changes are all related to internal processing issues.
More detailed testing to follow in November. I’ll update my review if I notice anything different during the testing.

By: Jonathan Shefftz

Jonathan Shefftz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:57:10 +0000

I didn’t notice this comment from March until now:
“Hey! Review the beacon, not all beacons. Jeez!”
I did not review all other beacons. However, many of the S1’s features are best understood in comparison with other beacons: which features does the S1 have that its competitors don’t (and vice versa), as well as how functionality and effectiveness compare to competing beacons that do have those some features.
The danger is illustrated well in the comment from “Downhill Dave” since most of what he cites as making the S1 his favorite are in fact available in other beacons. (Then again, he violates his own chastisement by spending an entire paragraph criticizing a competing beacon.)
Most of his stream-of-consciousness comment is not worth a response, but a few points require corrections:
“Ghosting occurs at great distances, but as you close in it is eliminated. Ghosting is not an f1 problem. And a 10 year old or more f1 which was THE STANDARD back in the day should be expected to have drifted. All those old units are still good as long as they are tuned correctly. And with so many in use out there today, everyone should design beacons so that the analog beacons with constant carrier signals are included and the signal is acknowledged by the newer better beacons.”
Not all of those old F1 units are still good. Many of them have drifted beyond the official spec, and will no longer be found effectively by many other beacons. A drifted beacon can’t be “tuned correctly” – the only solution is putting it in the garbage. If you still have a pale blue (more like teal?) F1, be sure to have it checked by an S1 or DSP frequency tester at the beginning of each season.
For F1 beacons that are still in spec, they will be found by any signal separation beacon. The only problem is that their constant carrier could cause confusion among a rescuer because the searcher’s beacon might count each F1 more than once, and marking/masking might not be as effective.