BEWARE the new Barryvox PULSE transceiver has major safety/design fault!

A snowHead

I've just purchased two of the spankin' new Barryvox PULSE transceivers, and both have the same major design fault!

To turn them on the on on/off button is pulled sideways, and is meant to lock into 'send' and can then in theory only be turned off by pushing it AND the off button down together and then moving the whole switch to off.

However on both my units the device goes into send mode and does it's self test the led blinks and it issues 3 beeps to say 'I'm OK' before the switch has moved far enough to be locked into the send position, and thus at any time a gentle nudge on the switch turns the device BACK OFF!!! (tumbling in an avalanche? Reaching into an inside pocket? falling ? etc.)

Has anyone else bought one of these tranceivers this year and if so does yours have the same fault?

I consider this to be extraordinarily dangerous, the device should only indicate it is turned on and transmitting when the button is locked and will be returning both my newly purchased units as being unfit for use.

A snowHead

colinmcc, ..... Thanks for your post. I have got one of them about a month ago after some person of very dubious parentage nicked mine from a restaurant in Ste.Foy. Mostly my own fault I must admit, but I didn't expect someone to swipe it whilst it was hanging on the back of my chair at lunchtime.

I can't say that the problem you have highlighted about the Barryvox Pulse has actually manifested itself on the mountain. I have used mine constantly for about four weeks and conducted two full-scale practice sessions during this time also. Passed with flying colours. I will check this out though when I get back to France on Tuesday.

One aspect that I have noticed - the Units screen must face the users body, in order to be correctly located in the carrying holster. There is a specific cut-out for the on/off switch which allows the switch to easily 'lock' in the SEND position.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Mine does the same, but I don't consider it a problem. The locked position is obvious with a very tactical/audible click when it slides into place. I use the protruding button on the side of the unit to click the switch into transmit position, having the unit in my hand so I can see the self-check status on the display. Under those conditions I think it's hard to see how you would leave the switch in the partially deployed position.

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I've just checked both my units and they are the same.

But I'm with rob@rar - the click is somewhat unsubtle and it's not something I can imagine doing inadvertently.

It's good to know though.

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Yeah, doesn't sound like great design, although I had a play with a pair on Thursday in Verbier and I agree with Rob and Phill that the click was pretty solid. I'm planning on buying a pair in the next week or so and I'll experiment a bit more fully then. Thanks for the warning, Colin.

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I gather my concern has been passed on to the company in Switzerland. I hope that they issue a product recall and fit re-designed switches that only turn it on as, (or after) they pop up into the locked on position.

If they don't and the scenario I have outined above happens, they have now been made aware of the problem and will be nailed to the wall by lawyers.

It really is a great shame since the technical workings of the PULSE seem to be rock solid. The 'mark as found and ignore' facility works which makes multiple searches far easier. (unlike the Pieps DSP which only likes marking other Pieps units, and frequently then 'unmarks' them and leads you back to one you thought it had marked. That was real PITA).

So if you read this and have one, and are convinced that you will always move the switch to the locked on position, there is no problem, but if you, like me are concerned, please contact your supplier and tell them of your concern. Together we might just save a life. (Which is, after all, the whole point of the things!)

After all it is free

The thing I like about the M2 is the fact that you can't wear it without it being in transmit mode. This is a major plus, IMV

colinmcc, A concearn and well spotted. My Boss is the French distributor for Mammut, our Shop being a Mammut Pro Shop i have been looking into this. Firstly i don't really understand your point, is the problem putting the switch to send or the switch being knocked to off? I find it impossible to see how the switch can be knocked to off when it's in it's harness, any shock needed to do this is more likely to kill the transiever by smashing it to pieces. If the problem is getting the button to send, i don't see the issue, it's simple. Please can you better explain your problem to me, if indeed lives are at risk, our contacts at Mammut will be forced to react, right now i can't identifiy the problem, and therefore can't explain clearly to the guys at Mammut their dangers. Thanks.

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SMALLZOOKEEPER, if you slide the switch across to a point BEFORE it clicks it turns the unit on, it self-checks then beeps to confirm it is in transmit mode. It does this without being in the correct, locked, position. It is conceivable that if you weren't careful about turning the unit on you might only slide the switch enough to make it transmit, but not enough to lock the switch into position. Perhaps if you weren't careful when turning it on, and relied on the beep rather than ensuring the switch was in place might lead to a situation where the switch could slide into the off position inadvertently? As I said above, I don't think this is a problem because I double check that the switch is locked into the transmit position, but I suppose it would be good if Mammut could look at the situation.

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rob@rar, I got you, it takes a fair bit of dexterity to slide it to this point without pushing the switch until it clicks. I would suggest a serious user error would be required to miss clicking the switch into place and would suggest the user concearned, if not being able to remember to ensure the button is clicked into place, would stuggle to use the said piece of equipment under the circumstances to which it would be needed. I'll pass on these comments to Mammut, however can't see much problem if one follows the proper checks required when acting responsably towards avalanche dangers.

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SMALLZOOKEEPER,

My point, as well understood by rob@rar, is that it is quite possible for the PULSE to be transmitting, and hence to pass a group test, while the on/off button is not locked into the on/send position. So it is possible that it is later inadvertently moved to off without the wearer noticing.

Since the switch is not locked at this point , it isn't a situation where it would take a hard knock to dislodge the switch, just brushing it with a hand or clothing could easily turn it off.

This is why I feel it should not turn on, self test, blink the led etc until after the button pops up into the locked on/send position.

This is simply a case of poor design, it appears to be a custom designed switch that has not been thought out and implemented well.

Sadly it has the potential to kill someone, which can only be rectified by a product recall and the fitting of a new switch.

You make the point about the case protecting it. I can tell you after many years with the guiding and heli industry here in Canada and in Davos where I was for 16 years, that many (most?) guides I know won't use the case/sling. If you have it on under layers of clothes and are wearing a backpack etc it is almost impossible to put the transceiver back in it's holster after doing a group test without undressing. More than once this winter I have found my opto 3000 dangling from it's cord down inside my trousers because I had missed the holster when returning it under layers of clothing after testing a group.

Many (including a lead guide at Whistler Heliski who I discussed my PULSE concerns with this week) will place the unit in a zipped inside pocket, because once clothed the holsters are so inaccessable. Another example is the Pieps DSP video that comes with each pieps unit. There the demonstrator/guide simply places his in an outside (albeit zipped) trouser pocket before going skiing!!???

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks, Phillip Stanton....

I had a phone call this morning from Tignes, from Andy Chamberlin, a childhood ski buddy of mine. He had seen my post at david's pistehors site.

Andy has a PULSE and could not make it do the turn on before locking scenario I describe. So, perhaps it is a quality control issue?

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Just out of interest... has any Snowhead been caught by an avalanche this season (or last season for that matter)? If so, what happened? Did the safety gear come into play?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Bode Swiller, there were a couple last season I think.

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Bode Swiller, ....not caught in one, I am definitely aiming to keep ahead of that game, but I had to dig a boarder out of a slab in La Plagne - alive. He had no safety gear whatsoever & he is a very lucky boy that two people saw him slide.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I just managed to get a DTS for 150 quid (only a couple of months old and still in box) from a boarder. He had bought it for his friends to use on a couple of trips but they have caught the bug for off piste and have now bought all the kit. He had his own with him when he met me so we did a little practice in the Asda car park

After all it is free

Hertz rent-a-quote,

"... and those words are brought to you by a one-time lion tamer, avalanche surfer and maestro of understatement"

David - please - not over here. Colin may have been the chap who posted the evidence in the other place that made your policy on cords look silly, but I think he deserves respect.

Hertz rent-a-quote,

And your point was??

I posted here to warn of a fault that I found with the PULSE, which I perceived to be serious enough to endanger life.

I wonder where you are coming from, your contribution to that particular subject in your post being nil. Puzzled

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Hertz rent-a-burk, you must remain calm.

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BOD had a scare last year, I believe. He hasn't posted much this year

And I know BC's story about the border. The poor kid didn't appear to have a clue what was going on.

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You know it makes sense.

"Hertz rent-a-quote", what a pity that these guys did not have the benefit of your awesome wisdom. Will you be charging admin £20 for it? Toofy Grin

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Have you heard the one about the snowman who got buried in an avalanche with a transceiver?

They found the transceiver, a carrot, two pieces of coal and a scarf but they're still searching for the body.

A snowHead

David Goldsmith, now, now, you promised.

A snowHead

Check your PM box, Nick. You may wish to respond here.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

David Goldsmith,

May I be the first to wish you a very warm welcome to snowheads

(Don't forget to read the terms and conditions)

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David Goldsmith, Lucky someone had a shovel with them then otherwise they wouldn't even have found those... I believe shovels are not part of the hire package available from hertz-rent-a-pun but a length of cheap string is attached to each car in case it gets lost.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

David Goldsmith, Yes hello. Better in than out Smile

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That's an odd thing for a snowman to say

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

David Goldsmith, The Abominable snowHead, Hertz rent-a-quote, Welcome back all three. wink

Is this like a Holy Trinity thing? which one's the ghost? Laughing

After all it is free

I think the only related ghosts are Evo and Pritt Sticks. Skullie

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I've just bought one of these, tried it our for the first time this weekend (in woods - no snow here unfortunately) and very pleased I am with it.

I've tried reproducing the fault mode described by colinmcc and, despite being as careful as possible with positioning the slider, I can't do it. There is a preliminary flash when the slider is half in position, but I can't get it to go into its bootup sequence without fully engaging the lock. I don't know whether this is updated firmware or not, modified mechanics in the switch or what, but I don't see the problem on my unit. The current Europe-wide price (which it seems Mammut is very keen on maintaining) is €379, significantly more than the €250 that davidof saw earlier this year so maybe there has been a modification. (It appears only Sport Conrad are discounting this heavily, much to the chagrin of Mammut and other retailers).

So my experience is that this is no longer the case.

I did find a problem in the practice scenario though. When the first victim is located, if that "victim" then moves about, e.g. while the search is still active for other burials, the multiple-device identification does get confused and starts showing more burials than are actually present. It takes about 30-60 seconds to recover from this and show the correct number of burials. This is probably less of an issue in a real rescue scenario though.

Help!!

BEWARE the new Barryvox PULSE transceiver has major safety/design fault!

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