I've been using E-Chips since they came out and I'm a true believer. I forwarded the boards concerns about the product to Dick Pool(President of Pro Troll and co-inventor of the Black Box) and he responded with the following:

Tom:
Thanks for the heads up. I think we have all of these problems solved for
2005. There will be a transition but all our new production has ball
bearing swivels on both ends. I believe we have also solved the tape
problem but some of the early models are still out there. We have an open
offer to replace any EChips that are lost or quit rattling. We are just
completing a new set of dies on all the flashers. They will be better all
around. We are also testing a new ultra violet cured tape sealer that we
believe will work. If so it will give us a super hard finish and a tape
seal better than anything on the market.

If fishermen have problems we hope they will contact us. We will do our
best to take care of them. If you get more comments good or bad, keep them
coming. Thanks again for your help.

Regards,
Dick