Aeris Atmos Elite Battery Replacement Troubles

[Lexy]

Help! Ok... tiz the season for battery replacement. Piece of cake to replace the battery on the transmitter. The computer - completely different story.

Fellow Aeris Atomis Elite owners - how the heck did you pop open the hatch ring? Did your computer come with the "hatch ring tool"? What does it look like?

I tried a few times to gently pop the hatch ring with 0 success. Any suggestions (well besides going to my LDS).

Thanks!

 

[Dstone20]

I have an Oceanic VT Pro which is essentially the same computer. Battery replacement is identical.

My computer did come with the hatch tool which is basically a piece of metal with two pins spaced about an inch, inch and a half apart. The pins get inserted into the two holes on the hatch ring and then you turn the hatch ring clockwise until the tabs in the hatch ring align with the small rectangular cutouts in the body of the computer (about 10 degrees). You can also use a screwdriver to do this. Getting the hatch ring off was a bit of a pain as it has to be aligned with those cutouts perfectly or it's not coming off. Also, if you try to pry it out it one side at a time, the other side gets wedged in. The key is to align the tabs with the cutouts and try to lift the whole ring straight up and out. I used two small screwdrivers for this. Then you need to remove the clear battery cover, I just used my nails to grab it and it pulls right off with gentle pressure. Remove the retaining bar by simply lifting it out with your fingers. Remove the O-Ring, again using only your fingers. Do not use tools to remove the O-Ring. Lastly, the battery just slides up and out to the right of the compartment.

Getting the whole thing back together was a major PITA. Assembly is easy enough as you simply reverse the disassembly steps. However, the clear battery cover is pressure fit onto the O-Ring and the hatch ring has to be replaced while pressure is being applied to the clear battery cover and the O-Ring. I had to do it 6 times before I could get it to seal, and then I was still unsure whether it sealed correctly. Fortunately mine did and it has not flooded or had any problems since the battery replacement. I do however know someone whose Aeris did not seal and flooded. Even though the computer SAYS it has user changeable batteries, it is difficult. Unless you have no other option (i.e. you are in the middle of a dive vacation) I would recommend sending the computer in to Aeris and have them do it.

If you do continue to attempt battery replacement be sure that you use NEW O-Rings when doing so. Do not try to re-use the old O-Rings even if they look fine. Using old O-Rings makes it much easier to replace the cover, but that is because they have already been compressed from being in the computer for some time. A compressed O-Ring will not provide you the same protection a new O-Ring will.

 

[Dstone20]

FWIW

Found a picture of the hatch removal tool.

 

[Marek K]

Sounds like the battery compartment and cover are identical to those used on the other Aeris (and Oceanic, etc.) hockey-puck computers. The tool, which came with all our hockey pucks (we have four of them now), is certainly identical. If you're desperate, I can figure out how to send you one (I've got U.S. mail privileges).

I've found that most of the time I don't need the tool. There are lugs on the locking ring that can be used to turn it with thumbs. The tool is handy for stubborn rings.

It is a bit of a trick to get everything back together correctly. It's a tossup for me whether to put the o-ring in the housing first, or put the o-ring on the cover before putting the cover on. Because the cover is transparent, I think you can sort of see that the o-ring is in place when the cover goes on. You can "feel" the cover softly popping on when the o-ring is correctly positioned. You then have to hold the cover down tightly while putting the ring back on. If you don't do that, the cover (and o-ring) is very likely to just pop off when you release your pressure to put the ring on, and get the o-ring out of position.

And the way to be able to do that is to have your thumb through the ring before you put the o-ring and cover on, using the same thumb to put and hold the cover on.

Fortunately, it's a sealed battery compartment, so if you flood it you're just out a battery. I carry always carry extras.

Again, all this assumes the battery compartments are the same.

--Marek