Another Shearwater question.

[broncobowsher]

OR your plan is to get on a boat, about to splash, oh my computer is dead. Let me throw in a new battery. Opps, I don't have one, used it the last time I did this because I am an idiot and can't plan ahead. Splash, anyone got..., splash, a spare..., splash, AA battery? Anyone going to wait for me?
You created your own problem. Doesn't matter if it is changing a battery or charging a built in one. There are places where finding power is easier than finding a store that has some AA batteries for sale.

Carry a spare AA or carry a charger for the computer. Same thing, different package. If you are just planning on fixing things last minute on the boat you are planning your own problems. I see no more guarantee that you will have access to a spare battery on a boat than you will getting one charged.

 

[flyboy08]

My Shearwater lasted 18 dives and still has enough juice for another 25 or so before placing it on the charging slab (maybe longer)....Unless I leave it on by accident too long (which is hard to do), I believe I can travel without the charger and dive for 2 weeks and then some. Avg dives were 90 minutes long...

 

[MaxE]

So the original question was about how often does shearwater update or release new models.

I was trying to stay out of the debate on what’s better. My need for a new computer may dictate that I get the current version of the perdix. I like the larger form better than the teric. For me eliminating the failure/flood point of a battery compartment is a plus. I don’t dive where I won’t have access to a power source within 24hrs, and frankly I don’t believe a 99.9% of divers here will either. If that were to be the case a solar charger is cheap and reliable.

 

[broncobowsher]

Update, random. 5 years ago you could expect something new every few months. A bug found and fixed. This setting doesn't work the way we need it to. At this point it is almost not worth checking for updates. Maybe one a year? IF anything worth it comes out I am sure the internet will light up about it and you will know.

 

[doctormike]

I see no more guarantee that you will have access to a spare battery on a boat than you will getting one charged.

I guarantee you that I will always have a spare battery on a dive boat.

The difference is that the spare battery gets your DC working in 30 seconds from the time you realize that you need it, and you are good to dive. Even if your dive boat has AC power, how long before you can get in the water with your charger?

 

[Manatee Diver]

I guarantee you that I will always have a spare battery on a dive boat.

The difference is that the spare battery gets your DC working in 30 seconds from the time you realize that you need it, and you are good to dive. Even if your dive boat has AC power, how long before you can get in the water with your charger?

You check the computer the night before, if the charge is below say, 50% you throw it on the charger for an hour or two.

Also you don't need AC power to charge a Shearwater Teric (and likely the Peregrine or any other computer they come out with).

This will charge your Shearwater anywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNFBJYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[doctormike]

You check the computer the night before, if the charge is below say, 50% you throw it on the charger for an hour or two.

Also you don't need AC power to charge a Shearwater Teric (and likely the Peregrine or any other computer they come out with).

This will charge your Shearwater anywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNFBJYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah, you are right. There is no reason to go to the trouble and expense of carrying a spare AA battery, when you can just do that stuff.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Yeah, you are right. There is no reason to go to the trouble and expense of carrying a spare AA battery, when you can just do that stuff.

Like I said, I carry that battery for my phone already, and it is rather small (takes the small space as my rite in the rain notebook). I also carry a spare AA battery in my kit, for all the Perdix/Petrel divers that claim that their computers are superior because they have a spare battery in their kit and can change it in 5 minutes, but never seem to actually have the battery when they actually I need it.

Charging my computers is part of my nightly routine, along with charging my can lights, my video lights, and my camera batteries. As a rebreather diver you probably have a routine too.

 

[broncobowsher]

Drama queen: Doesn't check the gear before heading out. Finds the battery is nearly dead. Goes into a near panic trying to get the battery changed in time for the dive. Gets it done in time. Goes for a dive. Highlight for the day was saving the dive at the last moment by changing the battery.

Normal person: Checks the gear ahead of time. Has stuff planned out. Steers clear of the drama queen. Hands off a battery after watching them get really wound up. Highlight for the day, the actual dive.

 

[doctormike]

Like I said, I carry that battery for my phone already, and it is rather small (takes the small space as my right in the rain notebook). I also carry a spare AA battery in my kit, for all the Perdix/Petrel divers that claim that their computers are superior because they have a spare battery in their kit and can change it in 5 minutes, but never seem to actually have the battery when they actually I need it.

Charging my computers is part of my nightly routine, along with charging my can lights, my video lights, and my camera batteries. As a rebreather diver you probably have a routine too.

Yup, and as a rebreather diver I'm acutely aware of the problem with relying on a routine for a specific process when it's important. That's why we have checklists, and don't leave important stuff to our routines.

And that's why I prefer my method to "remembering to check my DC the night before a dive, every day that I'm going to dive in the future, forever, no matter what I'm doing the night before, and charging it for 2 hours if it's below 50%". Hey, sometimes you get asked to go diving at the last minute, and you didn't plan to dive the night before. And not everyone here is a rebreather diver, so maybe they aren't quite that regimented about their diving.

I put a AA lithium disposable battery in my crate. It costs a dollar or so, it has a 20 year shelf life. Once I have done that, I never ever have to think about it again. If I'm ever in a situation where my battery is low before splashing, it's there to throw in the controller.

I mean, I really don't understand the pushback to this simple concept. I'm not telling anyone not to use DCs with sealed, rechargeable batteries. I'm just saying why don't prefer them. It's one of the reasons why I hope my NERD 1 lasts so that I don't have to get a NERD 2. But if people prefer carrying solar chargers, that's fine too...