Mammut Barryvox DOA

[~mikey b]

I'm posting this to point out that all transceivers are susceptible to having problems. With all the hype about the Pieps switches, a lot of folks are turning to the Mammut Barryvox and Barryvox S beacons. When looking for new units this season to replace my son's Tracker2 and for a spare unit for me, I decided I would give Mammut a try. I am still using a Pieps DSP Pro BT, and my son now has a Powder BT. I really like the Pieps transceivers, and am not buying into the Pieps/BD hate, but I have not had the customer service issues other people are experiencing.
For my new spare unit, I decided that the Barryvox was the ticket. I considered the Barryvox S, but ultimately decided to stick with the standard unit due to it's simplicity and ease of use. I do like some of the other functions of the S, and that's probably the next unit I will get.

Last night I opened the box, scanned the QR code for the extended warranty, put the provided batteries in and fired it up. I have to say that I do like the battery door and the switch. Both seem solid and easy to use.

But instead of the beacon firing up and going through it's self check cycle, it did nothing. The display did not come on and no sound came out. After a few seconds it beeped and the SEND light flashed, and this repeated every 30 seconds. I turned on my DSP and it did not detect another beacon. I also tried it with the Tracker 2 and got the same result - nothing. I tested both the DSP and Tracker 2 with each other and they were fine. I put both units in SEND and switched the Barryvox to SEARCH, and it continued to beep every 30 seconds with the SEND light flashing.

As when I posted about my broken DSP switch, or my BCA Tracker's bad battery door, I had never heard of this happening before. I'm sharing this experience with you guys to point out that ANY avalanche transceiver can have problems. These are sophisticated electronic devices that are not always perfect. I've sent an email to Mammut and hopefully they'll send me a new unit right away rather than wait to analyze it. I'll be sharing this with beaconreviews.com and Jonathon S.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

So your saying I should buy an Arva, and anyone who doesn't use an Arva is an asshole, right?

[abraham]

Didn't one of the alta guys post about similar issues a few days ago?

[~mikey b]

I dunno. I missed it if they did.

[stealurface831]

The only thing I will say is that what you are describing with the Barryvox sounds like a rare malfunction or faulty unit. The thing with the DSP is an inherent design flaw. Another thing is this: if you were to take that Barryvox out into the bc straight out of the box without powering it up beforehand, the issue would be abundantly clear as soon as you conducted a beacon check. With the DSP, there is no problem until there is one, if that makes sense. It isn't until the beacon is checked and secured, when you think that you have the insurance it provides, that the danger of the design flaw arises.

[OrangeCSkier]

Mammut Maintenance Software has a rescue function that should be able to fix this issue.

[~mikey b]

got a link?

[tBatt]

Not DOA, but not reliable.
Good luck hearing from their warranty department. I emailed them 18 days ago and again 4 days ago. No response.
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...mut?highlight=

Another thing is this: if you were to take that Barryvox out into the bc straight out of the box without powering it up beforehand, the issue would be abundantly clear as soon as you conducted a beacon check. With the DSP, there is no problem until there is one, if that makes sense. It isn't until the beacon is checked and secured, when you think that you have the insurance it provides, that the danger of the design flaw arises.

My Mammut was securely in send mode, after a power up and beacon test, when I heard it go thru the startup sequence in my pocket. Multiple times. Multiple fresh sets of batteries. After the second time, I pulled it out of my pocket a few times to check. Indicator light wasn't flashing, partner's beacon wouldn't pick it up. Likely a shitty solder on the switch.

[Cocximus]

TLR barryvox ftw

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[tBatt]

TLR barryvox ftw

We got two broken ass Barryvox's and no customer support.

Maybe I need to check my sarcasm meter.

[~mikey b]

I will be the front guy that says “hey - we got a problem”

[tBatt]

When I heard that the Snowbird Avalanche Office can't even get an answer from them was right about the time I knew I'd using my work beacon every day.

[ASmileyFace]

tBatt were you running the regular Barryvox or the S?

Interesting that yours started this issue after 100s of days of use while mikey's was right out of the box. I love my S and probably have 150+ days on mine but will be paying close attention for this issue going forward.

[tBatt]

Regular, not S.
I have probably 250 days of use with the Barryvox.
Really wishing I had dealt with this over the summer rather than waiting until now. Testing in the field, the Barryvox has a 25% + greater range than both my Ortovox 3+ and BD Guide BT. I also feel like the processor is quicker and locks onto the signal better. My search times are certainly faster with the Barryvox than the other two.

[ASmileyFace]

Regular, not S.
I have probably 250 days of use with the Barryvox.
Really wishing I had dealt with this over the summer rather than waiting until now. Testing in the field, the Barryvox has a 25% + greater range than both my Ortovox 3+ and BD Guide BT. I also feel like the processor is quicker and locks onto the signal better. My search times are certainly faster with the Barryvox than the other two.

The Barryvox is the first beacon I've owned that I can say made my search times faster. I recently had it out with my old Tracker 2 and a DSP Sport from my works demo fleet (don't worry we aren't sending them out right now) and my barryvox S had by far the best range. That analog sound based mode was picking up on a signal more than twice what my old tracker 2 would and would switch to digital mode 15-20 meters before the tracker as well. Impressive real world difference.

I really hope this issue with these beacons is not a widespread problem. And their warranty department better get back to work soon.

[tBatt]

Got a reply from our local rep within 24 hours. He said they're very busy and have a lot of people in that department out on sick leave. Glad to have some communication.

[~mikey b]

got a contact for me?

[HAB]

Weird. I had a great experience with Mammut's CS a couple weeks ago (not beacon related). Super fast replies and got me sorted out promptly. Been very impressed with my Barryvox S and Ms. HAB's regular Barryvox too. Hope these issues are isolated, but I'll be keeping an eye on ours.


Mikey, PM inbound re: contact info.

[~mikey b]

yeah I know to contact customer service thanks

[XXX-er]

A certain precentage of electronic stuf/ gear in general is going to be DOA for which there is a warranty process, so just use it,every every gear maker has a web site with contact info, so this is ONE anecdote/ ONE data point, now if we hear about a bunch of these failing on powerup that is different but the engineers shouldn't have to answer to every individual failure

[~mikey b]

correct

I thought the same thing when I posted about my broken Pieps switch. And as in that thread, I’m not throwing a fit. Just putting up my one data point.

[jackattack]

I’ve got one of each model en route. I’ll hold on to the Ortovox’s (ortovi?) but they’re beginning to show their age. I hope this is a one-off incident.

[tBatt]

Got an RA # this morning


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[~mikey b]

I’m waiting for a call back.

[XXX-er]

talking about it is one thing but awhile back a particularly high drama failure of some binding plastic changed engineering becuz the mfger correctly assumed the optics were so bad