ahahahahahahahaQuote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
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ahahahahahahahaQuote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
Those strategically placed film layers 'll get 'cha every time. I wish I had edibles as an excuse, but that seems to be my normal state ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
... Thom
A lot of the folks you will meet on a hut trip are getting pretty old and who else has the money and time and maturity ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
same guy who couldn't read the display on I think it was the S1 asks me to read the hash marks on his adjustable ski poles, so I shot BD an e-mail to point out their focus group of customers are getting so old they can't read the writing on their products and they should design accordingly with big printing
I duno if they paid attention but now they know
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGKiX6FnesY/
Something to consider if you're buying a beacon in 2020. Pass over any DPS models. I've seen this failure in the field but we chalked it up to user error. It seems it's an all too common and potentially deadly error.
A pragmatic study done in Canada many years ago is still accurate today - the best avy beacon is the one you have practiced, practiced and practiced with.
Practice means jack shit when your beacon goes from Send to Off when you're buried.Quote:
Originally Posted by Recreationpro
Maybe you weren't responding to my above post -- but given how threads worth it's worth pointing out that all beacons aren't necessarily equally "good".
hm
I had a broken switch on old style but have not seen this.
I've seen pics of broken switches on the newer BD versions. Hadn't heard about switch issues on previous models. Going to fiddle with mine soon...
That is some straight-up scary shit right there.Quote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
Just futzed around with mine. I think it's extremely unlikely it could switch off accidentally. I'd like to know more though.
Attachment 343285
Sent from my Pixel 3a using TGR Forums mobile app
Yours looks much less used than the one in the post. Mine feels decent but I never thought about that piece failing.
As a temporary thing, I bet a rubber band slipped on after turning the beacon on would prevent slipping to the off position. Not that that's acceptable with a beacon
I have had a PSP Pro (same model as the one in that IG post) switch modes in my pants pocket. I've posted about it before. If carried in the supplied harness, I think this failure is unlikely, although it does appear that they were using the harness in this instance. The beacon they were using has an older style housing than the current model - the current model has a different (and better) switch design.
To me it looks like the switch was just worn out, which could happen on any beacon.
More on the topic: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-broken-switch
yeah that’s what I mentioned before
been fiddling with my new one and it seems ok
nothing
I repeat
nothing
is perfect
PIEPS has always had that problem. I have used the same beacon for years, and have known that. This is the way that I roll.
Attachment 343292
Attachment 343293
I don't plan on changing.
yeah I hated that beacon a lot
After the last thread about the switch issue on the DPS Pro, the only issue I could replicate on mine was it switching from search to send somewhat too easily. The locking button for going from send-to-off or send-to-search never failed, assuming it was properly engaged to begin with. But as noted, know your beacon and practice^3. I would buy another Pieps(BD) beacon.
I believe the lack of lock going from search to send (but not in the other direction) is by design.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCMtnHound
Agreed. My only issue was that there was no obvious click or other indication of it moving out of search; it seemed to go into a limbo zone between the two extremes of the settings, and then revert to send somewhat spontaneously. I preferred the switch of the pulse/element in that regard. I never installed the upgrade to allow auto searcg-to-send after a period of inactivity for the Pieps.
I had a buddy who had issues with the switch on a DSP of ISBD's vintage. He's an avalanche professional, so his gear sees considerably more use than the average bear. I don't remember if it was going from send to search or going from send to off, but the lock failed in some manner.
Either way, I'm surprised to hear the conclusions of "eh, stuff wears out". This is true, but it's also true that a lot of critical hardware and software is designed to "fail safe" to prevent catastrophe in the event of equipment failure. Nothing is perfect, yes, but it seems like this design could be a lot better (maybe it is on the newer versions?)
Edit to add that this is an especially interesting topic in light of the Idaho snowmobile fatality last March that AFAIK involved a beacon that had been checked at the trailhead (<---hearsay, not confirmed) not but was not on during extrication.
Agreed with all of this. I think the first and second gen DSP switches are poorly designed, for a few reasons, but they're otherwise good beacons. I also agree with MikeyB that nothing is perfect. The new Pieps/BD switch is definitely better. And IMO, the switch designs on many other beacons are even better still.Quote:
Originally Posted by North
More than anything else, people need to check their gear. I'm going to be checking my wife's second gen DSP Pro tonight to make sure it's still in good shape. It's 5 years old now though, so maybe I'll just upgrade it.
That ID fatality - I just re-read the report, it doesn't say they had checked beacons? I don't recall hearing that they did, but could have been posted elsewhere.
I never heard an official word, but remember reading somewhere that a member of the group said they did a check at the beginning of the day. Maybe a message board or social media. It was early COVID times and I was bored so I went deep. I'll edit my post.Quote:
Originally Posted by adrenalated
In both the Idaho fatality and the Taylor mtn one on April 1 the beacons were off when the victims were recovered. I suppose if the parties were adamant that they did a beacon check, this information would've been in the reports so maybe it's fair to assume it was human error in both cases.
And this makes sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!
My 2006 DSP pro (about to be retired) has its "equilibrium position" as send. IOW it's easy to slide into send, but requires a conscious effort to switch from send to recevie.
This is the DSP Pro of which I speak - the same battered and bruised one that @schindlerpiste posted:... ThomQuote:
Originally Posted by schindlerpiste
Is Pieps offering any kind of buyback plan?
It seems like the whole lineup relies on that switch type
Wondering cuz I have the old yellow dsp & a green/yellow dsp sport
(Neither of which has a huge number of days on them)
Pitchforks are out on the social medias on this one. Interesting that Pieps demonstrates that the switch on a normally operating unit can be forced into off from send.
Unrelated: How many Barryvox users are relying on the pinpoint tech? I practiced with mine a lot last season, but did not do enough controlled experimentation to determine whether it was more or less reliable than the standard grid method. Thus far I've continued to do a full grid, and in that case the pinpoint function becomes somewhat distracting.
Can you say more about this? I'm a newer Barryvox user. My manual doesn't say anything about "pinpoint tech" -- it says to use a grid fine search.Quote:
Originally Posted by North
Quote:
During this search phase hold the transceiver at knee height!
The Barryvox® indicates you the first axis of the fine search,
refered to as the “runway” in the “Airport Approach” teaching
model.
For novice companion rescuers, it is usually faster to proceed
with the probe once they have found to lowest distance indication on the first axis.
For intermediate and advanced users, it is advised to apply a
classic grid search pattern.
It might be a feature that is unique to the S model. During fine search, the S will at some point switch to a new screen that says "probe here". This will sometimes (usually?) happen before I finish my grid.
Shown around 3:45 mark here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm_TMxh7Abw
Way to shoot yourself in the foot Pieps: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGT6EzAlgLn/
Yeah. I'm no marketing professional but I believe that when you make a video for your customers to show there is no issue with your product you shouldn't show the exact problem people are complaining about.Quote:
Originally Posted by doebedoe
Seems like a design flaw to me.
quite the kerfuffle
I’m curious how and why it blew up now?
I’m not quite ready to jump on the “Pieps sucks” train, but I’m paying attention.
It blew up now because big pros created a series of well written posts about it on IG.Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
Nick Mcnutt recently called them out for his beacon turning off in an avalanche he was in. I'm assuming the social media frenzy started with that. Not very often you see a pro skier call out some company in the industry for a shitty product.Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
I used more than "moderate force" on mine and it didn't budge.
mine too
but I have a new model
maybe I’ll try to break it
^^ yep. And you have super-cool-pros like Cody weighing in on it.
https://beaconreviews.com/Specs_PiepsDSP_switch.php is a good summary.
I've personally seen issue #2 on a beacon with less than 30 days on it. We wrote it down in our cool AIARE blue books cause we assumed we were noob idiots. I parted ways with that ski partner, but have recently seen him posting that it's happened again since then.
hey that’s my picture! [emoji851]
anyone had problems with the newer model?
I think most the issues are with the DSP series. They changed the naming in the last couple years when they updated the locking mechanism (which is now two slides versus a push and a slide)Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
Almost positive I've seen a pic of the new double slider broken. That doesn't mean it isn't rare.
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I haven’t seen it. Obviously I’ve seen the previous version. There was no way in Hell I was ever going to use the one before that. I took one look at it and knew it was no good, so I used my personal beacon at work for two years.
The Hanging Lake avalanche in 2017 that killed Corey Lynam was due to his Pieps beacon switching to search per his widow who reached out to Pieps who said they were going to do an internal investigation and didn’t get back to her (she posted on the Instagram post). Here’s the accident report:
https://www.avalanche.ca/incidents/3...d-bc130c9220d9
They said the beacon was in his pocket, but regardless, I know my Pieps DSP Pro slides very easily in to search from send and can see how this could happen. I can say that it’s not a risk I’m willing to take and I am not happy about having to replace $800 of beacons that are in great shape and 3 years old.