abysmal battery

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doc6464

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Since the Abysmal Explorer seems to be the hot topic of discussion, maybe someone can help me a bit.

How long does the battery last?

How hard is it to change and can I do it?

I have heard there are problems with the OMS distributed computer as far as battery life, but I do not know for sure.

Scott
 
Battery lifespan is highly dependant on use. If you are using the computer to it's potential, most likely it's best to change it every 3-4 months even though it will most likely last 6-9 months or more with heavy usage.

The battery is a 3.6volt Lithium, and aside from it being "user-replaceable" I haven't done it so I can't say how easy or difficult it may be. I can tell you this though. I've probably changed batteries on dozens of different computers hundreds of times, but have never run into any problems.

To read up on the Abyss Explorer go to this LINK
 
and his reply was up to 40 hours of DIVE TIME. Evidently the computer goes into a quasi sleep' mode within 15 minutes of surfacing.

I was seriously considering the computer until I heard about the dismal battery life. It stores all info in non-volitile memory so you won't lose the info during battery changes, but still a max of 40 hours is terrible.

Changing appears to be no more difficult than on the Oceanic data trans. Unscrew the end cap , replace battery and put the end cap back on. This appears to be as it should be -since you will no doubt be doing it quite often.

For more details on it check out the user message boards (you can logon as a guest and read all the threads


Bill

 
How many hours do you want? For the "majority" of divers, 40 hrs. will get them through a season.

Personally, I would not spend that amount of $$ on a computer and instead get two Bottom Timers and a some good software that is simple to read and use. If you read the manual, it still recommends to take tables, why duplicate? Lets not forget that we all dive with the best computer, our brain.

Take Care,
Eric
 
I'm afraid 40hrs wouldn't last me through a two week holiday and would be lucky to last through a weeks live-a-board! I would hate now to dive without a reliable computer. It can calculate my dive profile and bottom time far better than my brain. I have an Aladin AirX Nitrox and NO I dont rely on it completely, I always wear a dive watch and a contents and depth guage. I also always carry my tables with me. Redundancy means safety.
 
You are correct about a dive trip. I was looking at it w/o a long diving week. My bad. 40 hrs. is short, but I guess the reason is all the functions it has to preform. It is a Mix computer (I know they make a nitrox version, but for that price only the Tri Mix would seem worth it) and I don't know many places except Truk Lagoon where you could use this on a long holiday. I am probally wrong, but this seems like a computer that is overkill for a trip.

Eric
 
For the Nitrox version $750 is not that steep. A Cobra or Data Max Pro + will run the same or more with less features. Of course their batteries last way longer.

The only other with similar features is a cochran or the Nitek3. I don't know prices for cochran's but the nitek3 should be in the 900-1000 range.

As for the Tri-Mix version at 1,400 thats getting up there. But people spend about that for hoseless AI models Uwatec and Data Trans Plus. And they are single mix notrox.

I do agree with you that you need backup for depth/timing and carry redundant tables unless it is purely no stop diving. And that the nature of doing planned deco and tri mix dives demands that you stick closely to your PRE-planned profile - which partially obviates the need for such a tool in the first place.

Bill
 
I think that the price they are asking and the battery life is reasonable enough for a technical Trimix computer like the explorer. I would trust my life with only three units out there.

  • OMS VR3
  • Abyss Explorer
  • Dive Rite Nitek 3

Remember the scope and extent of the dives in question. 40hrs means the battery would need changing, every 2 days if you were diving something like the Andrea Doria.

Though neither of these computers are inexpensive, they are all highly specialized, and that type of exclusivity doesn't come cheap without being able to sell in volume... which I don't see happening for sometime.

I am looking at the OMS unit for my personal use, but haven't decided on it, and won't until I speak to several people whom have used several of these units. Anyone out there with some input?
 
Mario,

I saw and held the VR3 last year at DEMA when I was with Sartek Industries. That thing is a brick. You could run a car over it. (the unit in the display case was stolen) I heard that every unit has the diver's name inputed into it and S/N. Good unit, just looks to big and too heavy.

Eric
 
Eric,
I have to admit, you're absolutely right about the size and look of the unit. It does look rather beefy. It's definitely the Hum-Vee of diving computers. If you look into the capabilities of the unit, it starts to make sence though. Still I'm more concerned with ease od operation and dependability of the unit in real world, extreme conditions than I am with the size.

Since you were with Sar-Tek at last year's DEMA, we may have even talked. I was with NiteRider last year.

I do have a question for you: Since I have a couple of Interspiro Divator II's and I was wondering how well the gas switching blocks actually worked. I was planning on picking one up and playing around with some simple gas switching for practice purposes. But do the units pose any problems under emergency situations, or with cold numbed fingertips? Any input would be appreciated!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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