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  1. #1
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    Pieps DSP Pro broken switch

    I’m not complaining. This is not a bitch thread. I just want folks to see this.

    The switch on my transceiver broke. It doesn’t lock in OFF, SEND, or SEARCH. Not sure how long it was broken but I’m pretty sure it was just today.

    I look at my stuff. Today when I turned it on - to ski solo - I noticed it wasn’t working properly. I always carry it in the harness or in the BD pants I have with a Pieps padded pocket. I didn’t expect this.

    Just a heads up.

    Check your gear.

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    Last edited by ~mikey b; 06-07-2019 at 12:17 AM.
    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    risin up to paradise...
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    My DSP is really hard to toggle between on, off, search. The sliding switch is nearly impossible to move and often I need a tool to operate, not ideal...Wondering if you had the same issue prior to noticing it broken? I was planning to send in for repair anyway just curious if anyone else experienced this.

  3. #3
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    the switch always worked properly before this

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ~mikey b View Post


    Just a heads up.

    Check your gear.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Very true.
    "True love is much easier to find with a helicopter"

  5. #5
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    that little crack could make a difference

  6. #6
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    I sent in my Warranty claim last night and followed up with a phone call this morning. Black Diamond just sent me an email letting me know that a replacement is on it's way today. Looks like the new version has updated housing, switch and buttons.

    well FKNA

    excellent service

  7. #7
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    i have the same experience with my DSP but have not had as positive an experience with BD warranty
    Like I told my last wife, I never drive faster than I can see, besides it's all in the reflexes.

  8. #8
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    Bummer.
    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  9. #9
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    Interesting. Mine is just the same.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I'm 99% sure the switch/latch was fine when I took the batteries out in May, but was looking at it just this week and mine is nearly identical. I honestly don't see how it could break just sitting there, so that seems unlikely.

    ...Though I suppose it broke when I started to fiddle with it, when I noticed the break. I thought to myself, "did I take the battery out in the spring? I'm pretty sure I did, I hope so. I'll just flip it on and see." And then it didn't latch...

    So, any suggestions on BD warranty approach?

    -Greg

  10. #10
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    Sep 2015
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    Oh, and yes, mine was pretty stiff sliding from "Off" to "Send" to "Search" from the start.
    Not wicked hard, but stiff enough that I often wondered if I'd pressed the latch button hard enough to disengage it. [And it was always hard to tell if you'd pressed the latch down at all.]

  11. #11
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    I would just send them a warranty claim with a photo and explanation. Seems like a not uncommon occurrence.
    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregorys View Post
    So, any suggestions on BD warranty approach?
    I suggest: https://warranty.bdel.com/CreateCase/StepOne

  13. #13
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    Sep 2015
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    @MS - yeah - I'd already started that when you replied...

    BD was really excellent - they've replaced the beacon. It does sound like they're aware of an issue - though I have no idea if this is just a few beacons or many...

    Mine was only a bit more than two years old, IIRC. Given the warranty though [which I'm pretty sure is one year], they really didn't _have_ to do anything at all.

    Given the item, that can't be an inconsequential cost. Warrantying a shovel is trivial. A top-end beacon? Not so much. [And they didn't replace it with a refurb beacon either, they sent me the current equivalent version. +++Nice.]

    So, good on BD.
    While I've always liked BD's products, I don't think I've ever had to submit a warranty claim.
    Impressive!


    Thanks Black Diamond.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    13
    I had a similar problem with 2-3 old yo Pieps DPS pro. Lock didn't work and slid freely between off, send and search. It's a bonk design, hence why Pieps and BD changed it. I submitted a warranty claim to BD and BD replaced it no questions asked with the newer model with the better lock. I think they know it was a crappy design on the lock. I would probably blame the euros at Pieps for the crap design, but good on BD for honoring a warranty. I've also gone through several BD headlamps, and a pair of skis that BD warranty turned around pretty easy. SO, not sure if lucky or what, but I've never had any problems with BD warranty.

  15. #15
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    I submitted a claim for by broken DSP Pro. I was denied warranty for the 4 year old unit. Understandable, I guess, but the first time BD has denied a warranty request.

    Time for a new beacon, might look at the Barryvox

  16. #16
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    bumping this up, because even though it's being discussed in another thread, I thought it was important to follow up - I am not an apologist for Pieps or Black Diamond, but I am also not going to jump into the pitchfork and torch carrying crowd and demand that heads roll

    my original message in this thread was to encourage people to check their gear, which as I see it, is the message of the Instagram post Pieps put up, which has turned into quite a dumpster fire in the comments

    this is not my first rodeo either - when I was patrolling in AK I discovered I had a BCA beacon with a bad battery door that didn't hold batteries properly, so it would lose power and was redesigned by BCA

    honestly, I'm not sure that Pieps/BD should recall the current DSP Sport or not - DSP Sport is the only current model with the switch design like my broken one, and I personally have not seen the new design break, but I could be wrong

    also, for what it's worth, I avoided the older DSP (2 versions ago) with the sliding switch because it looked shitty to me - I knew that thing was not going to hold up, and I refused to use one issued to me at work the last 2 seasons and used my personal one, as noted above

    hopefully this thread doesn't turn into a shit show -



    check your gear
    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  17. #17
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    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  18. #18
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    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  19. #19
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    Mine is functioning perfectly - but I’d never buy another one or tell my friends to do so.

    This is my unit in “send”. If we did a beacon check in this position it would be beeping. But it’s not locked in. You have to depress the lock to get it to move and release the lock to get it to click in at send from off. If you don’t release it and you just move it to send then release the lock- it looks like it’s in send but it may not be locked there.

    The first time I used it was on an Avi course and going back and forth a lot- I fucked it up and went about skiing not locked down. I now check it each and every time.

    Is that user error- yep, not a doubt.
    But it is a very easy user error to make for a piece of equipment meant for times when there is zero space for error.

    I am not saying that is what caused these horrible situations - just that when something is so easy to screw up, maybe the manufacturer should be more proactive about ensuring it doesn’t happen.

    Mine is getting to replacement age anyway so I may get something else. I do really like the actual search functioning- very very simple and intuitive. What you need but not much you don’t.

  20. #20
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    That’s the issue... if this user error is so ubiquitous then it’s a design flaw. A design flaw that has had several near misses and at least 1 death. The folks speaking out are not exactly newbs and don’t have anything to gain by speaking out. Pieps pretending this isn’t an issue as they demonstrate in their own video that the beacon can pretty easily be forced in to search without depressing the lock is not inspiring. I don’t want to have to check my beacon every run to make sure it didn’t inadvertently get switched, nor should this be the expectation for a $400 product. It’s a stupid design flaw and it needs to be fixed, not at the expense of the consumer.
    So hot right now

  21. #21
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    Wait I am a little confused. Are people worried about switching to "search" or completely switching "off?" I thought the issue was more that it was possible to switch to "off" in some devices/in an avalanche that managed the right combination of pressures? If it switched to "search" it should auto revert to "send" after a little while, which obviously isn't ideal in a situation where seconds count. But at least it's not an automatic death sentence like if it completely turned off?

    Sent from my Pixel XL using TGR Forums mobile app

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by fleaches View Post
    Wait I am a little confused. Are people worried about switching to "search" or completely switching "off?" I thought the issue was more that it was possible to switch to "off" in some devices/in an avalanche that managed the right combination of pressures? If it switched to "search" it should auto revert to "send" after a little while, which obviously isn't ideal in a situation where seconds count. But at least it's not an automatic death sentence like if it completely turned off?

    Sent from my Pixel XL using TGR Forums mobile app
    The various accounts are confusing on that.
    Plus the auto revert function status on the model at issue is somewhat confusing:
    https://beaconreviews.com/Specs_PiepsDSPSport.php
    "Auto Revert: Both the Sport and Pro support auto-reverting from search to send, but unlike other transceivers that support this feature, this can be enabled/disabled only at a Pieps service center. When enabled, "AR" blinks in the display while transmitting. The Sport auto-reverts after 4 minutes; the Pro auto-reverts after 1 minute without significant motion. These beacons give plenty of warning, both before reverting and after, so you don't mistakenly revert during a search."
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by lpkdz View Post
    [...] It’s a stupid design flaw and it needs to be fixed, not at the expense of the consumer.
    It already was changed on the latest generation of Pieps/BD beacons.
    But the DPS Sport with the older switch (shared with the DPS Pro) continues to be sold alongside the newer generation of models.
    (I am definitely not getting into the debate over what remedy -- if any -- BD should offer to owners of the DPS Sport and DPS Pro, and whether BD should continue to sell the DPS Sport. But just wanted to clarify that the ongoing controversy is not relevant to the latest generation of Pieps/BD beacons.)
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  24. #24
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    if you have a beacon you are unsure about contact BD.
    I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by ~mikey b View Post
    if you have a beacon you are unsure about contact BD.
    I did, they replied with the same thing they said in their Instagram post.
    So hot right now

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