Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Dive Computer

[RonR]

Hey Ron (or Atomic),

Have you any update when the latest firmware will be on Atomics website?

We found a small display problem in a battery charging screen last week, as soon as we have verified that is corrected it should be good to go. Definitely a minor issue, but we're trying to make it as perfect as possible before putting it up.

Ron

---------- Post added January 20th, 2013 at 04:04 PM ----------

Ugh. My Cobalt rode along as backup to my Petrel today, and now it looks like Akimbo's old one (full of cloudy liquid). It came back from Atomic (recall and button repair) recently, and has done a few dives since then and worked great. Today I was fairly deep (190'), but didn't notice anything wrong until I went to see which computer wanted me to do a deep stop first. Will contact Atomic after the holiday weekend about sending it back.

Really sorry to hear that- sounds as if something didn't get put together right. I would email Atomic- they may be back on Monday, I'm not sure.

Ron

 

[soonerwink]

I did a dive this weekend and my tempature reading is a little off. My 2 dive buddies computers both read 46 degrees and mine read 49. I have read that the depth and tempature sensor are one and the same, does that mean that my depth is probably off also. I did not compare our depths while we were diving, and one of my buddies went deeper than I did and one stayed shallower, so can't really compare.

 

[RonR]

I did a dive this weekend and my tempature reading is a little off. My 2 dive buddies computers both read 46 degrees and mine read 49. I have read that the depth and tempature sensor are one and the same, does that mean that my depth is probably off also. I did not compare our depths while we were diving, and one of my buddies went deeper than I did and one stayed shallower, so can't really compare.

No, that's certainly within the range expected. Now if it said 180°, or 0°, that would be a problem.

Lots of people have observed that the Cobalt tends to show a few degrees higher temperature than other computers, particularly early in a dive. We have checked many of these against calibrated gauges, and the Cobalt has always been accurate. What I suspect is that the Cobalt, being a more massive case and having the sensor buried fairly deep within, takes longer to cool down. If you have it in your hand, it may stay a little warmer. For depth comparisons, different computers can vary a bit, if they are calibrated for different water salinities. That makes no difference for deco, however, as that depends on absolute pressure, not how it is converted to a depth reading.

The best way to check the accuracy of the depth sensor is to check the ambient atmospheric pressure reading on the System Info screen. You can usually find a local source for barometric pressure online. It will usually be within 4-5 mBar. For comparison, a foot of water is about 33 mBar in pressure.

Ron

 

[diverrex]

I had been reading the different comments about buttons going bad and wondered what that was all about since I had no problems in my first 50 dives with my Cobalt. But last weekend I went to check my gas settings and realized that the up button didn't work and the back button only worked about 1 of 5 pushes. Luckily I didn't need those buttons to complete my 3 dives. The day after diving I took the cover off and saw that I had some of the rusting magnets. I called Atomic service, explained the problem and they sent out a new keypad and magnets that same day with extra magnets of various strengths. I installed the new keypad and all is well again. These magnets look sealed so hopefully no more rusting. But I guess I'll now add magnets to my save-a-dive kit.

Thanks to this thread it was easy to figure out the problem and thanks to Atomic for responding so fast.

 

[phatcher]

Sorry if I missed if this question was asked already.
Tried connecting my Cobalt to my new Win-8 64bit machine and the driver is not recognized (Unknown Device shown in the Device & Printer screen). Anyone get theirs working?
thanks in advance

 

[fred3798]

I'm off to Belize in three weeks with my new Cobalt. I'm going to go into the pool this week to figure out my new set-up and see how I like it. Any suggestions for what I should do with my Cobalt in the pool to check it out?

 

[JoBro]

Sorry if I missed if this question was asked already.
Tried connecting my Cobalt to my new Win-8 64bit machine and the driver is not recognized (Unknown Device shown in the Device & Printer screen). Anyone get theirs working?
thanks in advance

You need to disable driver signing, I don't have a link handy, but you reboot into a configuration menu which gives you an option to do it, and then the cobalt drivers install fine, reboot again to re-enable the driver signing and your all done.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

 

[phatcher]

You need to disable driver signing, I don't have a link handy, but you reboot into a configuration menu which gives you an option to do it, and then the cobalt drivers install fine, reboot again to re-enable the driver signing and your all done.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2

Thank you that did it.

Quick Answer:
From Win 8 main window go to settings
Change PC Settings
Select General
Scroll to bottom of list and select Advanced startup
Select Restart Now
Select the option for unsigned drivers

 

[Spittmonkey]

<sighs> Well my Cobalt detonated (again) just before a dive on the USS Emmons in Jan. This time it was a full blown explosion instead of just cracking at the seams. My partner simply turned on my air and a quick hissssss followed by a loud POP!!! (heard by all on the boat). When I pulled it out of my BC it was in about 4 or 5 pieces. The top housing fram was separated from the bottom and torn along the seam. the other parts (button overlay, clear lens, O ring seal ect) were still intact with no apparant permanent damage.

I sent it back to Atomic via my local scuba shop. They haven't been able to tell me if it's arrived yet or not due to a middle man stop in Hawaii.

I really love what the Cobalt does, I love how it's laid out, and how it displays deep and deco stops. I enjoy it more than any of my Suuntos (Zoop, Vyper Air, Helo2).
That said, it's just such ashame that a piece of gear that is so important to the dive can have such fatal flaws in design of the actual build. I count myself sooo lucky that it hasn't actually malfunctioned while at depths of 100+ feet.
I am dissapointed to the point of fustration, cause now I have to spend another month and a half + without it. That's 3/4 Months that I haven't had it due to it having issues. Its been up for repairs more than in the water.
At this point I want a NEW Cobalt (not a reparied version of the one that has broke 2x already), a full refund, or a computer of equal or lesser value.

Hell at this point I would settle for knowledge that Atomic has even received it

 

[RonR]

Spittmonkey,

That's terrible- and it also sounds exactly like what the Atomic recall was about. Popping the lid after turning on the air was the failure of concern. Was yours checked or repaired?

I would encourage you to contact Atomic directly- email works well- and fill them in. Adan does much of the customer service: adan@atomicaquatics.com I know they will do whatever is possible to fix the situation quickly (certainly should not take a month and a half), and from what you say I think a new Cobalt is what you will have coming. I don't think they would try to fix one after it blew apart on a dive site. If you PM me with contact info and the details I will make sure they get the message.

Ron