Mechanical issue with a small number of SMM Series Microphones
(Includes SMX-U1, SMM-U1, SMM-A1 and SMM-A2 microphones)
Dear valued customer,
We strive for 100% reliability in our products so you can count on Wildlife Acoustics equipment for trouble free deployments. So when we recently discovered a manufacturing process issue causing 1% of our SMM series microphones to fail prematurely, we moved quickly to fully understand and correct the problem. While 99% of the microphones sold to date will be trouble free for years, we find the 1% early failure rate to be completely unacceptable because we know how important reliable data collection is to you. In this email, you will find instruction on how to test your microphones to see if they are affected. Also, rest assured that we will replace any microphones affected at no cost. And to demonstrate our faith and confidence in our microphones, we are hereby extending our microphone warranty for SMM-series microphones and the SMX-U1 microphone retroactively to 18 months, even against weather.
The specific problem we discovered is an inconsistent application of adhesives resulting in a weakness in two mechanical joints in the microphone assembly. This can result in the microphones coming apart at one of these joints. It is easy for you to test the two joints to make sure this issue does not affect your microphones.
First, if you remove the windscreen, you will see a black plastic inset adhered to the end of the stainless steel tube.
This joint is designed to be weak (allowing for the microphone element itself to be serviceable), but should be strong enough to withstand a light pull. You can test this joint by holding the stainless steel tube with one hand and rubbing your thumb up the tube against the black plastic insert as though you are trying to flip it off the top. The insert should not pull up out of the tube.
Second, there is a joint between the stainless steel tube and a stainless steel plug at the base of the connector. If you hold the tube in one hand and pull on the connector as if trying to pull the connector out of the tube, the parts should not come apart.
Try to avoid rotating the black plastic connector housing relative to the metal tube. It should not be so loose that it can rotate under light finger pressure, but will rotate if you use more force.
In addition to these mechanical checks, always be sure to check your microphones before deployment by making test recordings and/or using a calibrator to make sure your deployments will be successful. If your microphones fail any of the above mechanical tests (or fail to calibrate or fail to make test recordings) we will repair or replace them at no charge under warranty up to 18 months after the date of purchase. Please report any issues to support2016@wildlifeacoustics.com so we can get you up and running again as quickly as possible.
We apologize for any inconvenience this causes and thank you for your continued faith in us as a reliable partner to meet your bioacoustics monitoring needs.
Sincerely yours,
Ian Agranat, CEO
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