Equipment service?

[scubakevinp]

Last time I we diving my Scubapro MK25SA/S600 regulator started honking when I exhaled and my wife Smart Tec dive computer was flashing "bat" where the PSI is displayed. The manual says this means the wireless transmitter battery is low. I took both sets of our equipment into our local shop where we purchases the gear 1 year and 8 months ago. We had it serviced 1 year ago and it was not due for another 4 months. I told them since I bought both ( mine and my wifes) of the Smart Tec computers/transmitters at the same time and 1 was saying low transmitter battery they should have both changed. We have about 160 dives on our equipment over 20 months and if 1 has a low battery the other can not be far behind. When I picked the gear up today they had done the annual service on the gear. I asked about the battery and they told me it had a 10 year life and it could not be low. I showed the the low battery display and the acted as it was nothing to worry about, but I might want to send it in to Scubapro myself. The I asked for a tank and connected myy reg, it still honked. They proceed to explain it was because it was not in the water, I connected my wifes and it made no sound. Then he rubbed some silicon grease on the small diapham in my reg and tried to say it was OK. He did not have a new part but said it was nothing to worry about. It still makes the honking noise.

I took this gear in and ended up paying for the annual service yet I still have the same 2 problems I had a month ago when I took it in to the shop. We are going on a 10 day dive trip in 3 week and I am not very comfotable with the condition of my gear.

I guess I will try to contact ry to contact Scubapro direct and see if I can send it to them direct to them for repair.

Any comments or feedback are welcomed.

 

[sytech]

I have a Mares V-16 Proton regulator.

It is superb at all recreational depths but I noticed some minor "honking" when I got it a few months ago which didn't in any way interfere with breathing. I sent it in to be serviced. I don't know what they did but it still honks occassionally on the exhale I believe.

I received emails from other Mares Proton users who said they have "honking" and it's a characteristic of certain regulators and is of no concern, unless it's related to some other problem of course.

Sy

Last time I we diving my Scubapro MK25SA/S600 regulator started honking when I exhaled and my wife Smart Tec dive computer was flashing "bat" where the PSI is displayed. The manual says this means the wireless transmitter battery is low. I took both sets of our equipment into our local shop where we purchases the gear 1 year and 8 months ago. We had it serviced 1 year ago and it was not due for another 4 months. I told them since I bought both ( mine and my wifes) of the Smart Tec computers/transmitters at the same time and 1 was saying low transmitter battery they should have both changed. We have about 160 dives on our equipment over 20 months and if 1 has a low battery the other can not be far behind. When I picked the gear up today they had done the annual service on the gear. I asked about the battery and they told me it had a 10 year life and it could not be low. I showed the the low battery display and the acted as it was nothing to worry about, but I might want to send it in to Scubapro myself. The I asked for a tank and connected myy reg, it still honked. They proceed to explain it was because it was not in the water, I connected my wifes and it made no sound. Then he rubbed some silicon grease on the small diapham in my reg and tried to say it was OK. He did not have a new part but said it was nothing to worry about. It still makes the honking noise.

I took this gear in and ended up paying for the annual service yet I still have the same 2 problems I had a month ago when I took it in to the shop. We are going on a 10 day dive trip in 3 week and I am not very comfotable with the condition of my gear.

I guess I will try to contact ry to contact Scubapro direct and see if I can send it to them direct to them for repair.

Any comments or feedback are welcomed.

 

[do it easy]

If the honking sound is coming out of the second stage, I don't think it's a problem- I had a reg that did that above water, but not when it was wet. You could try it in the pool to see if that makes you more comfortable.

The batteries in the Uwatec computers are very long life, although I don't know how long the batteries in the transmitters last. Maybe you could try pairing it with your computer and vice versa to see if it a computer issue (different transmitter, same problem) or a transmitter issue (different computer, same problem). If I understand the problem correctly, I don't think the tech understands the difference between the batteries in the transmitter and the computer.

 

[Steve50]

Not unusual for the 2nd stage exhaust diaphragm to vibrate and make a honking noise when not submerged.

 

[DiverDuane]

I would complain about your shop to Scubapro. I had a leaking problem with my Aqualung Legend. I took it to the dive shop 3 times, even suggested that it might be a lemon, but he kept taking it apart and readjusting it and it kept leaking. I ended up taking it to another shop and asking them to send it to Aqualung. They reported that it has a grain of sand in it (the guy at the shop supposedly did an annual on it and then took it apart 2 more times). Now I don't trust the guy's service and won't go back to him. It's a drag when you can't trust your LDS to do good maintenance on the equipment you trust your life on. To sum things up, some regs and computers have small seemingly unimportant, annoying problems, but they shouldn't. If they can't fix them they should replace them. This is the reason we shop at local dive shops and not the internet, for service. Scubapro seems to be a pretty good company, they might want to know that they have a reseller doing what your guy is doing.

DiverDuane

 

[CrawfishDiver]

I have an old scuba pro mk-7. It was called the honker and it was made to honk due to low air. mine has been serviced several times. it stops for a while then starts up again. not a real problem but sounds funny. I don't know what to tell you about the batt. Iwould have a second opinion. If you bought the gear from them they should fix the problem. If they wont www. scubatoys.com LOL

 

[David P]

I just heard something about the uwatec computers with the batteries going dead quick. IIRC it was the computer not the transmitter though. There was a problem with the battery life timer... it doesnt actually know the battery is almost dead, it is programed to tell you to replace the battery after so much time. For some reason the program in several computers started running fast, the computer has to be sent back to the mfg and have it reset. There is a possiblility that it was one other manufacturer that said this, but almost positive it was SP.
As far as the honking goes, as long as it only makes the noise on the exhalation, its the exhaust diaphragm, there is no adjustment on this part, this may sound really stupid but try exhaling either faster or slower and see if you happen to exhale at just the right speed for that particular reg. Once in a while I may get board while tooling around with regs and Ill try different breathing and "score" when I make a different reg honk... ok Im a dork...