Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Dive Computer

[RonR]

Alternating would be the bombdiggity if it's possible. No to giving up temp.

This is in a firmware update being tested now. The temperature and time alternate.

 

[Akimbo]

This is in a firmware update being tested now. The temperature and time alternate.

Would you alternate with the same arrow key as with the compass?

 

[RonR]

Would you alternate with the same arrow key as with the compass?

No, we don't want to complicate the interface, and all the buttons currently have other functions in dive mode. What it does to to cycle automatically between showing the time and the temperature. We are adjusting the timing, right now we have it on a 10 second cycle, that could change depending on user feedback.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Hello RonR. Thank you so much for the instructions for how to access the six point calibration. it worked perfectly .

RonR, is there a reason this procedure can't be posted here? If there's a chance the Cobalt's calibration could be thrown off by airport screening, I'd sure like to know in advance how to fix the problem.

 

[Akimbo]

No, we don't want to complicate the interface, and all the buttons currently have other functions in dive mode. What it does to to cycle automatically between showing the time and the temperature. We are adjusting the timing, right now we have it on a 10 second cycle, that could change depending on user feedback.

I would prefer compass/time alternate personally. There is lots of space when the compass doesn’t show. No change to user interface.

 

[RonR]

RonR, is there a reason this procedure can't be posted here? If there's a chance the Cobalt's calibration could be thrown off by airport screening, I'd sure like to know in advance how to fix the problem.

That's a good question. It (currently) involves entering a calibration mode that has menu options that could potentially enable deleting good calibrations for other settings, like the HP sensor. We did not expect that the six point calibration would be necessary after it was done initially at the factory, and we still don't know what it is that is throwing off some compasses- though one individual was able to make his go off repeatedly by putting it on top of a powerful speaker magnet, and restored it every time with the six point calibration. The interface for doing this calibration is not intended for users- it's optimized for factory use. That said, if we're having calibration issues, we will consider putting this calibration option back into the user menu. I'll consider posting a link to the file here and from the Atomic site, with appropriate warnings about other settings, if they have no objections.

Ron

 

[tiburontucson]

Hi Ron.
Just came back from my first trip using the Cobalt, loved it! A few comments, questions: Once the user hears an alarm, is there any way to "acknowledge" it and turn the alarm off, rather than allowing it to continue beeping? Now that the alarm tone has been reprogrammed, I didn't have any difficulty hearing it, but would've liked to have turned it off once I heard it. Also, during a dive, I would've liked to have been able to quickly peek back at my previous dive to see what depth I reached/profile I dove. Any chance? Just some things to consider. Again, thanks for your support on this forum. I know of at least two people from my liveaboard that will probably pick one up! Cheers

 

[RonR]

Hi Ron.
Just came back from my first trip using the Cobalt, loved it! A few comments, questions: Once the user hears an alarm, is there any way to "acknowledge" it and turn the alarm off, rather than allowing it to continue beeping? Now that the alarm tone has been reprogrammed, I didn't have any difficulty hearing it, but would've liked to have turned it off once I heard it. Also, during a dive, I would've liked to have been able to quickly peek back at my previous dive to see what depth I reached/profile I dove. Any chance? Just some things to consider. Again, thanks for your support on this forum. I know of at least two people from my liveaboard that will probably pick one up! Cheers

Glad you liked it. The alarms have different durations, depending on what they are for. Some, like ascent, persist as long as the violation does. Others. like low air, last a minute. Some alert sounds, like when switching gases, are momentary. We don't have any provision at this point for silencing them during a dive, but you can set them to be silent or off, except for safety related ones which are always on. I'll put an "OK, I get it" function on my list for consideration.

The second question is getting at our philosophy of design- we don't have any provision for exiting the dive screen during a dive- if you are in a dive, all the dive data is always being shown. I know other manufacturers allow different "modes" that switch off information to look at the compass, view maps, check your Facebook status (OK, I made that last one up), but we have resisted adding modes to the Cobalt, for reasons of interface simplicity and reliability. If you allow the diver to exit dive information, there is always the chance things will get stuck in the wrong mode. Adding switching features in diving exponentially complicates things, so we will continue to show only a single mode unless there is a really good reason.
Thanks,
Ron

 

[bthinnes]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. There aren't really any major issues with the earlier versions of the program, at least not that aren't exceptionally rare. There was a fix to one rare problem that could potentially shut the computer down on the surface. But there have been quite a few enhancements that would make your Cobalts work better- the gas pressure and compass will respond faster, and we show average depth and SCFM consumption in the log, and made the alert sounds clearer, just to mention a few changes. Updating is worthwhile.

I know Atomic is putting up a new Windows version, and my understanding is that it should be available next week. You don't say when you are leaving, but if the new version is not up in a couple of days PM me and I'll see you get one of the older Windows versions and the firmware so you can update before your trip.

Ron

Ron this was posted on 15, October. Should be available next week is what you said. Today is what 5, December; and the download section says that the updater is still unavailable. I have a trip in January any chance I'll be able to get a firmware update?

 

[RonR]

Ron this was posted on 15, October. Should be available next week is what you said. Today is what 5, December; and the download section says that the updater is still unavailable. I have a trip in January any chance I'll be able to get a firmware update?

I need to learn to stop making predictions about Windows versions... There is a new version that was, I believe, received from the developer last week. There were some revisions that did not end up getting get posted because of incompatibility with older versions of Windows. If it's not on the website this week PM me and I'll email it to you.

If you are at version 1.11 or above there has not been much change. 1.12 altered the sound frequencies. There is a 1.13 and 1.14 that are just updates to provide compatibility with some new parts in recent production, these versions don't change anything at the user level. I did put up an update/ version history on the Atomic site, Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Version History .

Ron