Are ScubaPro 2013 transmitters ? better than the older models?

[Hatul]

Please elaborate....

I think the Petrel also has wireless with Bluetooth, perhaps he meant USB connection like Suunto. Can't speak for reliability of Bluetooth on Petrel, but other Bluetooth devices I've used to connect to have been temperamental. The IR Galileo interface is really reliable and very fast.

 

[bumcikaz]

Not sure why you're unlucky, i got about 150 dives on mine, never changed batterties in sol or transmitter, got them 15months ago

I've got the "new" transmitter. My experience is that battery life on the transmitter is horrible. Start getting low battery warnings after 20 dives or so. The longer time progresses, the more disconnects. They're only temporary, but the problem of intermittent connectivity issues has definitely not been solved by the new transmitter. Mine is just over a year old.. maybe 18 months. A week or two ago I changed the transmitter battery for the fourth time.


If the older ones were worse, that explains some of the animosity I see on this site regarding hoseless air integration.

As for the irda, I got a $20 USB irda adapter on amazon. The IRDA computer integration is a bright point for galileo in my opinion. Not only are dive log downloads easy and reliable (compared to other computers like petrel) but you can fully configure the computer's settings via PC using the IRDA.

 

[kelemvor]

Please elaborate....

With a petrel you have to go into the computer's menus each time you wish to initiate a bluetooth connection. It's time limited. Also, it only supports log downloads over the bluetooth and does not support changing the computer's settings over the bluetooth connection like other computers do.

Not the end of the world, but one of the few areas where petrel is inferior to the competition.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Actually don't see it that way since changing the settings is so easy and intuitive anyway. I don't mess with downloading logs. Only if I think to remember it. I like that you don't need anything but the computer to change a thing. It is kind of neat when I do the download but since I keep paper logs the log function is not important to me. What is important is the support, lack of gimmicks, ease of use, and that I'll never need another computer unless I go to a rebreather. And that is with a predator. If I ever hit a number or start getting mucho tech level students the only computer I would even consider adding is a shearwater. As for the Bluetooth functionality mine has been flawless, fast, and easy. Never had a problem linking up. Can't even say that for my oceanic that was a hardwire. That sucked so bad I sold the damn cable.

 

[LowDrag]

The thing I like about downloading my logs Jim is that I can see a graph that shows my dive. It really gives me a good idea of what I am doing on a dive. I am now diving the Luna and love it.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

With a petrel you have to go into the computer's menus each time you wish to initiate a bluetooth connection.

As opposed to? You don't want the BT on the computer constantly active because BT is a battery hog. Moreover, you're downloding the log in one shot, so you're going into the Dive Log menu to activate BT and download your log exactly once per...however often you download your logs. What exactly could be easier?

It's time limited.

Again, BT eats battery power. If you've failed to pair the DC and your computer within the 3 minute timer SW built into the Petrel, running it longer isn't going to get you connected but it will needlessly drain your battery. Reintiating the BT pairing attempt--hopefully after you've made sure your computer's BT is active and whatever else screwed up the pairing has been fixed--takes a whopping two button presses and maybe 1 second of your time.

Also, it only supports log downloads over the bluetooth and does not support changing the computer's settings over the bluetooth connection like other computers do.

Yeah, you can't set up your gasses and conservatism on the SW Desktop and then load them to the Petrel, it's true. But given the fact that the superior U/I on the Petrel makes it entirely unnecessary to do so, I'm not sure that's a competitive inferiority so much as it's prioritizing DC U/I over a fix that only works when/if you have access to a computer.

Not the end of the world, but one of the few areas where petrel is inferior to the competition.

Maybe you have a point with the lack of ability to alter DC settings in the desktop software and upload to the Petrel. Not much of one, given the U/I, but maybe. Maybe there's a stability advantage to be gained by not allowing that kind of approach to settings...I dunno. But your first two points reflect a misunderstanding of how BT works in this context.

 

[rhwestfall]

Interesting statements, but I guess I'll side with the others. The UI is well planned out to make the PC setting assist really unnecessary. Having owned a PDC that relied on a PC to set some parameters, and some insane button/contacts combinations to view/edit others, the Petrel really shines. Bluetooth data dumps of logs to computer and/or phone/tablet have been flawless and simple, even with aftermarket dongles on my laptop and desktop PC. The software is a little "plain Jane", if you really wanted to delve into an analysis (I was intrigued in the ascent data logged on my other PDC) and I don't recall if tissue loading graphs are on the desktop, but there are other solutions to seeing some of those (like import into DivePAL).

To each his own.