UKC

I have a Recco reflector cut out from some old ski trousers. I want to put it in something which I wear everyday skiing and though my transceiver harness might be a good place. Are there any known interferences with a reflector so close to a transceiver though?

Cheers,

John

In reply to JohnV:
From what I have read i don't think Recco is much more use than for body recovery, chuck it in the bin an rely on transceiver I would say.

In reply to JohnV:

Some Ortovox transceivers have a Recco reflector built in. This would suggest that it would be ok.

In reply to JohnV:
It has been known for rescue teams to cut their own Recco tags out as they have interfered with the transceiver.
Although I have no information to back this up.

I have also heard about Go Pro's interfering with the transceivers.
http://www.backcountryaccess.com/2012/11/19/issw-2012-avalanche-beacons-and...
It would be interesting to see what Johns new results are.


richlan is right to say Recco is pretty much a corpse recovery device

In reply to JohnV:

Although not recco specific, some interesting reading here re: interference issues.

http://www.mammutavalanchesafety.com/2014/10/electrical-interference.html?m...

In reply to Jack Loftus:

As a Recco operator the first check you do is of yourself for background reflectors and a clear horizon for foreground reflectors. Recco gets slagged when its often poor training thats at fault. Its no substitute for companion rescue but it does save lives. Newer Ortovox beacons have a recco reflector inside and it does not a affect the beacon. The R9 Recco detector has a 457kHz analog receiver built in as well which gives a huge distance even while beacon and Recco searching which as analog is the one and only advantage over digital. Conflict of interest I declare as I am a Recco trainer and also BCA educator

In reply to JohnV:


Find another transceiver and check to see if the tag interferes with reception? The recco antennae are pretty small; I've seen transceiver interference from a lift pass before (which was in a pocket covering the transceiver), but they have quite a large antenna by comparison.

In reply to richlan:


Spare a brief thought for the people who have to recover bodies, eh?

In reply to Shearwater:
"Spare a brief thought for the people who have to recover bodies, eh?" Yep a very good point indeed as quicker recovery equals less risk.

In reply to richlan:
"From what I have read heard i don't think Recco is much more use than for body recovery, chuck it in the bin an rely on transceiver I would say". You have heard wrong and its out of context and most of the folk with this opinion have never seen Recco in use. However it is no substitute for a transceiver search if the buried have a transceiver but plays a part in the modern thinking of collabarative searching as when every means of search is used there are more succesful outcomes. An interesting paper on this for this years ISSW http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/item.php?id=2079

Have at least 3 reflectors on you with 2 on each side of your body as it sheilds radar if on the side buried away from the detector.

In reply to Shearwater:


>Spare a brief thought for the people who have to recover bodies, eh?

OK, not sure how that could be taken the wrong way but never mind, i apologise if any offence was taken by anybody.

In reply to Shearwater:

Is there any statistics that might indicate the effectiveness of RECCO in a rescue situation, I don't mean a white paper, I mean real life rescues of alive people ?

I am obviously misinformed and would like to read some evidence of its effectiveness in the real word published by the resorts that use it, not by the manufacturers.

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Here is one to whet your appetite. There are quite a lot more for instance the ANENA stats from 2003 to 2010 show 3 dead and 3 live recoveries in France. I grant you there are not many, but I guess the survivors will not complain. There are not a lot more positives for transceivers either which is why I have an airbag!
http://acna.cat/inici_imatges/Secours%20avalanche%20de%20Valmorel-2.pdf