Since the original Barryvox was commissioned in 1968
to protect the Swiss Army in avalanche terrain, the brand name has been synonymous with alpine safety. Building on this respected reputation, a new industry partnership promises to heighten the professional rescue standard
by integrating a RECCO® reflector directly into the latest generation of the trusted Barryvox PRO transceiver.

The Barryvox VS 2000 PRO will be the first transceiver to integrate a RECCO
reflector directly into the unit's body, allowing the device to be located
in the event of a burial both by traditional beacon search method and by
RECCO® detector pinpointing. Willy Zurkirch, the electronic engineer behind
both the analog Barryvox PRO and the dual-antenna Mammut Barryvox, says,
“They are not two competing systems­the RECCO® system and the avalanche
beacon­they are systems that work together. The RECCO reflector adds
additional safety to our Barryvox beacon.”

RECCO CEO Magnus Granhed also sees the new partnership as complementary. “We
have never seen beacons as a competitor, because we know the beacon is an
important part of rescue equipment when it comes to avalanche accidents,”
Granhed says. “Yet I know that almost every year rescue people search for
beacons that are turned off. If you forget to turn on your beacon, this is
another possibility to find it. A second advantage is that if you wind up
with multiple beacons buried close to each other or a deep single burial,
RECCO would be an easier tool to pinpoint the person exactly. Third, if your
beacon is damaged then you have an alternative.”

The professional-grade Barryvox PRO has long been a favorite of rescue
workers due to its durable casing, external antenna compatibility and
extended maximum range of 120 meters. Response from within this close-knit
professional community sparked collaboration between the two companies,
Zurkirch says. “At the beginning, it was only an idea to integrate the
RECCO® reflector into the beacon because there was no beacon with integrated
RECCO. And then I was surprised by all the positive feedback from all these
rescue people about this idea. Now you have two different systems, and you
have the advantage of both systems in one device.”

The first production models will be selectively released to avalanche rescue
experts in Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and the United States for advanced
field trials this winter. Dominik Hunziker, technical director for the Swiss
Alpine Club, will coordinate this first introductory stage. The analog
beacon will then be made available to all rescue professionals in Fall 2006
through Zurkirch's Girsberger Elektronik division, which supplies
organizations worldwide with specialized equipment for avalanche rescue and
training.