Shearwater swift availability

[scubadada]

I knew you’d update it. I resisted the urge to call you out for slacking.

Ha . I wrote about the DSX at the end of last year, but I forgot to update the transmitter thread. I kept thinking of the Apeks as an Aqua Lung.

This is only the 3rd revision; Garmin, Shearwater Swift, now Apeks DSX and transmitter.

 

[Joneill]

@Joneill - You are lucky with your personal experience with the MH-8A. But we have a much broader experience with many many divers. We have sold the Hollis models which used the MH-8A's and of course sell the Shearwater models which support the MH-8A as well. We've sold literally well over 1,000 of the the MH-8A. We had many complaints regarding the loss of signal I mentioned earlier. Initially we recommended that if a buddy pair both had a transmitter, then use two different colors (we only ever saw the gray and yellow) although we were often out of stock on the yellow. It didn't seem to make much difference and it was later discovered PPS had been shipping the yellow with the same timing as the gray! The yellows were updated and in many cases that helped with the issue. Regardless MH-8A were a constant headache... for whatever reason there seem to be subtle compatibility issues between specific units of the transmitter and specific units of the dive computers. We found we could sometimes just exchange either a transmitter or a computer and the issue would get better or disappear. Interestingly, we had some customers that nothing we tried significantly improved the signal loss problem regardless of what we did... I have a theory that some customers perhaps have a very small electrical field on or near their body while in saltwater such as galvanic current from a specific orientation of dissimilar metals in their equipment or from lights, maybe a plate in their head or a pacemaker... never figured it out. Often putting the transmitter on a short HP hose would improve the situation. Conversely we also had some customers with two transmitters of the same color and so did their buddy, and for them there was never ever an issue, rock solid. As for the "latest" firmware recommendation, I was told there were some (unsuccessful) attempts to address some the issues using tactics in the dive computer firmware... but not knowing what version the diver has, it's prudent to recommend they always start with the current versions when diagnosing an issue.

All I can speak to is my own experience and those of friends. I still think the issue is largely overblown - my dive buddies have MH-8A’s (mounted directly on 1st stage) and in over 4 years of diving, none of us have ever experienced more than a random, brief loss of signal. Same with several instabuddies on Fiji and Raja Ampat trips last year.

If these drop outs were due to signal collisions, then it’s really not a problem as it has never been a persistent loss of signal.

 

[kammel78]

The Swifts are having a quality issue and are being replaced with a "new" version if you send in a faulty one for repair.

 

[scubadada]

The Swifts are having a quality issue and are being replaced with a "new" version if you send in a faulty one for repair.

Is there a specific issue? Looks like the over pressure valve was most common in the small poll Question - Pelagic Pressure Systems or Shearwater (the Swift) transmitter failures

 

[kammel78]

Is there a specific issue? Looks like the over pressure was most common in the small poll Question - Pelagic Pressure Systems or Shearwater (the Swift) transmitter failures

That's my assumption based on my failure and anecdotally the two shops I've spoken with who have sent Swifts in for customers. They're not even troubleshooting, just "send us the old one and we'll send you the new version once Shearwater has stock".

 

[Reef Madness]

I’ve had two replaced in the last 12 months….

 

[Joneill]

The Swifts are having a quality issue and are being replaced with a "new" version if you send in a faulty one for repair.

I was told by someone that had spoken to DiveTronix that SW had some issues with the OPV that they were hoping to improve on - on my last trip in December, a diver had their Swift fail that way.

 

[Superlyte27]

As of a couple days ago DGX told me it's likely May for Swift availability.

I spoke to Shearwater on Friday. They said they have the parts and are making transmitters now. They said they should have back ordered resolved in about 6 weeks

 

[Divin'Papaw]

The SWIFT transmitters are back in stock at Dive Gear Express!

 

[tursiops]

While collisions are most likely rare, they aren’t impossible. It just depends on when they turn on, and the variation in the different intervals.

Exactly, and it also depends upon the relative received strengths of the signals. Since one is rarely within 3-5 ft of another diver, even your own buddy, collisions are further unlikely. I appreciate DGX's anecdotal 2nd hand reports of dropouts, but I'm skeptical that they are all due to signal collisions.