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Thread: Which new beacon in 2020?
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10-12-2020, 02:18 PM #51
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
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10-12-2020, 02:21 PM #52
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.
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10-12-2020, 02:27 PM #53
More on the topic: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-broken-switch
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10-12-2020, 02:54 PM #54
yeah that’s what I mentioned before
been fiddling with my new one and it seems ok
nothing
I repeat
nothing
is perfectI didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.
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10-12-2020, 02:59 PM #55
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10-12-2020, 03:04 PM #56
yeah I hated that beacon a lot
I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.
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10-12-2020, 03:07 PM #57
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.
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10-12-2020, 03:14 PM #58
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10-12-2020, 03:25 PM #59
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.
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10-12-2020, 03:33 PM #60
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.Last edited by North; 10-12-2020 at 04:25 PM.
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10-12-2020, 03:46 PM #61
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.
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.
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10-12-2020, 04:22 PM #62
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.
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.
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10-12-2020, 06:08 PM #63
And this makes sense.
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: ... ThomLast edited by galibier_numero_un; 10-13-2020 at 01:55 PM.
Galibier Designcrafting technology in service of music
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10-13-2020, 08:04 PM #64
Which new beacon in 2020?
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)
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10-14-2020, 11:22 AM #65
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.
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10-14-2020, 11:33 AM #66Registered User
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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.
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.
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10-14-2020, 12:04 PM #67
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
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10-14-2020, 01:14 PM #68Registered User
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Way to shoot yourself in the foot Pieps: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGT6EzAlgLn/
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10-14-2020, 02:23 PM #69
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10-14-2020, 03:53 PM #70
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.I didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.
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10-14-2020, 03:58 PM #71Registered User
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10-14-2020, 03:59 PM #72
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10-14-2020, 04:04 PM #73
I used more than "moderate force" on mine and it didn't budge.
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10-14-2020, 04:08 PM #74
Which new beacon in 2020?
mine too
but I have a new model
maybe I’ll try to break itI didn't believe in reincarnation when I was your age either.
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10-14-2020, 04:17 PM #75Registered User
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^^ 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.
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