******Ortovox recalling ALL M2s*******

**Bunion 2020** · 08-16-2005, 01:11 PM

Got a phone call yesterday from the local Ortovox Rep. Ortovox is announcing a voluntary recall of all... ALL... M2 transcievers.

The problem is not one of manufacturing, it is the variation in battery sizes that occurs throughout the world. Ortovox will install a 2nd plate in the battery compartment to help with this problem. If you own an M2 and plan on using it this winter, it is highly recomended that you send it back to Ortovox for this modification. The sooner is probably the better, they are gonna be real busy.

No word yet from BCA but I suspect they may follow suit.

**verbier61** · 08-16-2005, 01:55 PM

FKNA!
are you sure? they work with standard batteries....

**verbier61** · 08-16-2005, 01:58 PM

also, there's no word in ortovox's web site

**Oslo T. Norway** · 08-16-2005, 05:13 PM

M2 works fine, but batteries (in this case AA) have varied size.
Their website will have an update. They will make the modifications.
Energizer is battery that works fine, but some must be prone to
poor connections....

**verbier61** · 08-17-2005, 12:41 AM

among my ortovoxes, M2 is the one which ALWAYS works (F and X series consumed batteries faster....). I'll try to give a call to germany to hear what's goin on

**verbier61** · 08-17-2005, 06:14 AM

You're right!!!
just called germany officies, they're preparing an official recall in the next weeks. It's sort of theoretical issue regarding the negative pole of some batteries. On a practical side, they suggest to select batteries with a "big" negative pole

**PNWbrit** · 08-17-2005, 02:56 PM

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9822

"We're the PR guys for Ortovox and it's true that the M2 is being recalled. We were going to announce it next week when they had all the return systems dialed in, but now that the word's out, here's the party line.

As Bunion points out, there are no current standards among battery manufacturers for length, width and/or diameter. In fact, a pretty wide range exists. For users of any beacon brand, this means that a shorter battery can be dislodged from its housing by a sharp blow, turning the beacon off.

It's important to note that no failures of this type have been reported by an Ortovox M2 in the field. The only time I've seen it happen is sitting around a table with a bunch of beacons and several brands of batteries. If you strike the bottom of a beacon on the palm of your hand, you can occasionally dislodge the battery and shut it off. Note: This can be done with virtually every beacon brand. Ortovox feels this is an industry-wide problem, (and, to be totally honest, more of a battery problem than a beacon problem), but elected not to rat out all the other manufacturers when they met with the CPSC. BCA is ahead of the curve on this - a couple of years ago, they began putting a layer of soft rubber inside the battery door, which helps hold the batteries in place.

Ortovox could have fought the CPSC on the recall, but since this is a product that saves lives, they've erred on the conservative side and volunteered to retrofit any M2 with new battery contacts and a new door.

Ortovox is in the process of setting up the systems, so hang tough until next week. www.ortovox.com will have return instructions by this time next week, including a link that will allow you to print out a custom UPS label. Yes, Ortovox is paying for the shipping. There will also be an 800 number next week with instuctions. I'll post it when it's live.

Turnaround time will be 4-6 weeks, which should have you up and running by mid-October. If you're skiing deep powder in mid-October, please call me, because I'll be staying at your place.

Thanks and stay tuned. I'll post relevant info as I get it. "
- Carson

**PacRimRider1** · 09-02-2005, 12:10 PM

After banging mine against my hand repeatedly, I've come to the conclusion that I am not overly concerned. A bit of foam and some superglue and I have total confidence.
Pretty damn cool of Ortovox though.

**iceman** · 09-18-2005, 09:44 PM

Has there been a public aanouncement announcement about this? This is the only notice I've seen of the recall, and it wasn't even originally posted here.

**cj001f** · 09-18-2005, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by iceman

Has there been a public aanouncement announcement about this? This is the only notice I've seen of the recall, and it wasn't even originally posted here.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05271.html

**iceman** · 09-19-2005, 09:02 AM

Thanks. For anyone interested there is a form to order replacement battery compartment doors in the link above. Also there is a deal on upgrading from M1 to M2 for anyone interested.