General Information

Serial #

508124

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Predominantly synthetic, metal prongs

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

19.6 cm

Width

3.8 cm

Height

4.8 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Meteorology

Category

Precipitation amount, rate & duration measurement

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Lawtronics

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Buffalo

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

British Columbia

Period

ca. 1971-1975

Canada

Taken from acquisition proposal, Reference 1: This beacon, operating at the frequency of 2.275 kHz is made in the USA, and also called the “hot dog” due to its shape. It represents the first use of the first successful and commercially (American made) produced avalanche beacon in Canada – used by staff working for the British Columbia Dept. of Highways and Communications in avalanche risk zones. Recognizing the dangers of working and recreating in avalanche risk zones, the use and requirement for wearing rescue beacons quickly became recognized and accepted by several industries. The avalanche probe and shovel make up the other two safety device in use today.

Function

An avalanche rescue beacon (radio transceiver), is a radio transmitter-receiver device used to detect people buried in snow. This analog device broadcasts a pulsed signal as an audible tone which is picked up by users with other beacons and heard wearing the supplied earphone.

Technical

Taken from acquisition proposal, Reference 1: This may be the first successful and commercially produced avalanche beacon. The invention of the first practical avalanche beacon is owed to a research team led by Dr. John Lawton at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory in Buffalo, New York who, influenced by avalanche expert Ed Lachappelle in 1968 developed the Skadi. Used to detect people buried in snow, this analog device broadcasts a pulsed signal as an audible tone and picked up by other beacons. It went into production in 1971 and quickly became a standard used by ski patrollers and people travelling in avalanche prone environments. In Europe, the first avalanche rescue beacon was commissioned by the Swiss Army in 1968 and developed by the Autophon company. Using the newly introduced European standard frequency of 457 kHz, development of the Barryvox VS68 took almost 2 years and soon thereafter found civilian use. The standard of 457kHz was adopted in 1986 by the International Commission on Alpine Rescue (IKAR), in 1996 by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and also by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Silver print on case "SKADI". Red label with white print affixed to side of case "DEPT. OF HIGHWAYS/ Ser. No. 5753/ COMMUNICATIONS". Black print inside of unit reads: "LOUDER/ SKADI [registered]/ AVALANCHE RESCUE BEACON/ BATTERY CAPACITY:/ TRANSMIT 1 WEEK, RECEIVE 1 MONTH", "TRANS./ OFF/ &/ CHARGE/ RECEIVE", "120-220V/ 50-60 Hz", "LAWTRONICS, INC./ BUFFALO, N.Y. 14226, U.S.A./ [logo which incorporates ans "L".]". White label with black print beside volume dial "508124". Embossed print on earphone "JAPAN/ CRYSTAL/ RECEIVER".

Missing

N/A

Finish

Red exterior synthetic casing with silver print. There is a red label affixed to side of unit with white print. Interior of unit is predominantly white synthetic with black print. Black synthetic volume dial with white print. Thin beige synthetic electrical cord with beige and clear synthetic earphone at the end. Metal toggle beside battery. Battery is nickel-cadmium rechargeable, It is white with a white and blue label with black print. Grey synthetic and metal charger plug.

Decoration

N/A