Announcing the SubGravity H3 - Powered by SeaBear

[stuartv]

On battery life:

I charged my H3 fully after the last time I used it (about 3 weeks prior). It sat, turned off, for those 3 weeks. I turned it on last week and found that the battery icon was flashing with 3 empty red segments, indicating that the battery was almost completely dead.

I emailed SubGravity support and they told me that this is normal behavior IF you have Auto Dive Detection turned on. They said that, for that, it turns on and checks the ambient pressure every 5 seconds, to be able to detect the start of a dive. In order to get the battery to last the 1 year in Standby that they claim you have to go into Settings/Dive and change Auto Detect from Auto to Off.

I charged it up fully again, early to middle of last week and then left it sitting again (with Auto Dive Detect still turned on). I had a pool session on Sunday where I used it. By the end of the <2 hours in the pool, the battery was showing as yellow with only 2 of the 3 segments lit. SubGravity support also told me that that is also pretty normal. They say it drops from showing as Green and indicating "full" to Yellow, with 2 of the 3 segments lit pretty quickly. But then they say that it runs a long time in the Yellow before it drops to Red with 1 segment lit, and then finally Red with all 3 segments displayed as empty.

I have not yet gotten to do anything but pool sessions, so I am really looking forward to seeing how it behaves on an actual multi-day, 2 dives per day, trip.

 

[ronscuba]

Stuartv:

Are you diving imperial ? If so, in your logbook, is your dive temp in celsius or fahrenheit ?

 

[stuartv]

Stuartv:

Are you diving imperial ? If so, in your logbook, is your dive temp in celsius or fahrenheit ?

Yes, and I'll have to check.

 

[stuartv]

Stuartv:

Are you diving imperial ? If so, in your logbook, is your dive temp in celsius or fahrenheit ?

How was the battery life on your recent trip?

(apologies for the PM and now this)

I still haven't gotten to check my H3's logbook.... I keep forgetting when I'm at home.

 

[ronscuba]

Ours went yellow daily. I charged them every other day.

I don't like the idea that you can turn auto detect off.

 

[stuartv]

Stuartv:

Are you diving imperial ? If so, in your logbook, is your dive temp in celsius or fahrenheit ?

I finally remembered to check. My logbook shows the temp in F.

I am running v1.45 of the firmware, which I believe is the latest available.

 

[The Chairman]

They are the real deal! They look better in person than online. No, I haven't got to dive one yet, but I'm sure I'll get the chance to do that one day.

 

[ronscuba]

I finally remembered to check. My logbook shows the temp in F.

I am running v1.45 of the firmware, which I believe is the latest available.

Thanks.

Guess I will have to upgrade my firmware before my next trip.

 

[stuartv]

I had a training session in the pool last Sunday. It had been 3 weeks since my previous dip, which was also a training session in the pool. A couple of days prior, I checked my H3 and it had gone completely dead just from sitting for 2 1/2 weeks or so. I had charged it fully before the prior session and then used it in the pool for a couple of hours.

It charged up and off I went on Sunday. I got in at the pool and noticed a couple of things. First, it seemed like it was no longer automatically sensing the dive and turning on. And, two, it lost all my other settings (which seems to go hand in hand with losing the setting for Auto Dive Detection, except that I thought the default for that was On, not Off).

Since the battery runs down so quickly when the computer is not in use (understood that that is only when Auto Dive Detection is On, but that's how I use it, so...), it is extra frustrating that it loses all settings when it really dies.

Especially since, as at least one prior poster has commented before, the menu system for Settings is so clunky. Every time you change a setting, it takes you all the way back to the Dive screen. So, re-setting all your settings after a reset is a LOT of button pressing.

The Shearwater Petrel saves your settings to non-volatile storage and restores them after a battery change. It seems like the H3 ought to do this, too.

The Shearwater Petrel can sit for months with Auto Dive Detection On without killing the battery. It seems like the H3 ought to be able to do the same.

 

[ronscuba]

I upgraded to the latest firmware and that fixed the celsius/farenheit display in my logbook. The firmware upgrade supposedly also addresses having your settings wiped out if battery drains down.

I did change my auto detect to off and the battery has remained on full going 3+ weeks. I have to take a look at what the auto off time setting is. If I can set it to 10-15 minutes that will be enough for me to leave auto detect in the off position. I dive tropical. I put on my computer after suiting up which is normally around 5 minutes before entering the water.