# PSA: Put new batteries in your beacon now.



## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

I enjoyed reading that always informitive stuff when it deals with avalanches. I dont know if I over looked it but where was the death at?


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Haven't had it yet. What I meant by "check is in the mail" is that it's just a matter of time before we get our first one. The snow pack this season is shaping up to be super sketchy at a lot of places. We are getting big early season snowfalls, and then prolonged warm ups creating some less than ideal conditions for a strong snow pack. We already have our sketch layer in Colorado, but if this keeps up we could start seeing persistent weak layers in other spots like Utah and even the West coast. Places that are not as used to seeing that as we are in Colorado. Those years are always the worst, avalanche kill wise.


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## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

Ok I just didnt understand I am sorry. Thought you meant it had happened already my bad. On TGR there are a few TRs with pics with I believe a couple of the avy's. Pretty scary stuff.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yeah, TGR pretty much had all the early season activity experienced by members that post on that forum. It's amazing what a great back country resource that site has become. Most of the write ups by the CAIC are done with the information gained from those reports.


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## Zee (Feb 21, 2008)

TGR is great.. blocked at work though


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

That sucks they block TGR. Such a great fairly work safe website. Now go put new batteries in your beacon...


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

is it ok to use rechargeable batteries if i put the beacon in my pack


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Legally, I am wondering if you are being your normal (smartass) self or not, but I will give the serious answer. No, do not use rechargeable batteries. They do not have the even power drain that regular alkalines do. When you are using your beacon, it should be worn under your outerwear. Typically with the harness it comes with. I also have a few friends that put theirs in their zipped up pant pocket. Not ideal imo, but the idea is to have the beacon in a spot that won't get ripped off if you take a ride in a slide.

A fresh set of alkalines in your beacon right now should last for most if not all of the season. Last year, I left my beacon on after using it and didn't realize I did that until the next weekend. A solid 7 days had past, and I had only drained it down to something like 70%. The only time that you are really sucking juice out of the batteries is when you are in receive mode, not transmit.


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## nzboardlife (Mar 25, 2008)

I replace mine everytime it reached the 60%-70% mark. You see a notable difference in performance at around that 60% mark. More importantly go get some training! Remember a beacon is no good on its own... its part of a 3 piece team.

On another wavelength, i boarded 10 fresh on this slope on saterday 
YouTube - avalanche from hell

nice wide big open bowl with only a short hike to the top, conditions where better by the way


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Do not use lithiums either. Battery life in your beacon with standard alkalines is not an issue. Like I said, you might have to change your batteries once over the season. NZ is right about changing them out. I generally do it at 70% and under, but keep in mind most beacons now a days have an even power drain. My Pieps and Arva in theory will work just the same at 99% charge down to 1% charge. Of course at 1% if you have to go search, forget it.

Anyway, there is an issue with using the lithiums in beacons. BCA put a warning up about it I believe and I posted this info when I found out about it a couple of years ago. I can't give you the exact reasons, I believe it has to do with the charge it holds, but you do not want to use lithiums in your beacon. I'll dig around later today and see if I can find the info on that.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Here's some of the information about lithium batteries and beacons on Pistehors.



> However all the manufacturers are very strict about using only Alkaline batteries in their avalanche beacons. This is because the circuitry which detects how much battery life remains is tuned for this kind of cell. The capacity of Alkalines degrades gracefully whereas Lithium (and rechargeable cells) have a relatively flat discharge curve. One minute your beacon is saying 99% full, the next it is on zero.


More about the issue on this link, but as you can see it's not really worth taking the chance with anything but Alkaline batteries.


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## Sam I Am (Sep 9, 2009)

Good to know that my life depends on something as trivial as batteries...


Thanks for caring man.


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

Is there a sticky on avalanche safety? (if not, might I suggest one?)

-edit-

Found it!


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yes there is. Though I will say, this site is not the place to get your avalanche education. I am happy to point people in the right direction, talk about gotcha's, protocol's, etc, but if you are a n00b in the area, this is not the place for an education. All the discussion here is either to help people make decisions on learning about back country travel and safety, or discussing the method's that can be used for those of us who have experience.


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