Ocean signal GPS/EPIRB

[Celestialsailor]

I was shopping online for an EPIRB. I used Amazon and found some good deals. Ocean Signal had a nice feature of owner replaceable battery, There seemed to be good reviews on it and purchased it from a vendor named NewWebMart. Although they advertised the unit with a battery life of 5 years, what they did not say was it only had 3 years left on the battery since new. It was built in 2011
To me this was a case of non-disclosure. I emailed them and basically got the run-around with "Well...that's why it was discounted". To their credit, they offered a return. I emailed the manufacturer and talked with a guy named David who checked with his US distributor and gave me a discount on a battery purchase when the time comes in three years. To me, this was going beyond customer service. I like the design of the unit and can also say that the manufacturer stands behind their product no matter what.

[Snore]

In "the day" I was sponsored by ACR part of that was a factory tour. Back then when ACR opened a unit for battery replacement, they did a full test and reclosed it in a vacuum to ensure a good seal. The user replaceable batteries on this device raise a flag. How are you 100% sure you did not role a seal?

Also the USCG approvals appear to be for the releasing device and not for the EPIRB..... But reading this on an iPhone, could be wrong

Bill

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Snore

In "the day" I was sponsored by ACR part of that was a factory tour. Back then when ACR opened a unit for battery replacement, they did a full test and reclosed it in a vacuum to ensure a good seal. The user replaceable batteries on this device raise a flag. How are you 100% sure you did not role a seal?

Also the USCG approvals appear to be for the releasing device and not for the EPIRB..... But reading this on an iPhone, could be wrong

Bill

You'd have to see how easy it is to change. Pretty fool proof. Plus a self test that you do once a month. I had an ACR. After the battery life was up, I found out ACR no longer would service the unit. They lost my bussiness

[Snore]

Okay now I am confused. Check this link, it looks like they still have a support network.

http://www.acrartex.com/where-to-buy...vice-provider/

But I'm going to see if my contact is still there and find out. ACR hit me as a class outfit. It seems odd for them to bail. For the record, I am not associated with them.

Not that good..... YET. :>)

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Snore

Okay now I am confused. Check this link, it looks like they still have a support network.

Find a Battery / Service Provider | ACR ARTEX

But I'm going to see if my contact is still there and find out. ACR hit me as a class outfit. It seems odd for them to bail. For the record, I am not associated with them.

Not that good..... YET. :>)

The ACR unit I had...had been updated by a different model. This was quite a few years back. It was not a problem of customer service so to speak but I felt of planned obsolescent. I posted this in case anyone came across Ocean Signal and wondered about customer support.