Cobalt 1 doing "weird" stuff

[wizbangdoodle]

I have been diving Grand Cayman for the last 2 weeks and have 1 more to go. Was shore diving today and when I descended to depth, noticed that my computer was not on. I pressed the select button and it lit up, but would 0 ft instead of the 30 feet I was in. I was able to go into the menus at depth so obviously it did not think it was in dive mode. I dove my buddies computer until about 10 minutes later, I noticed that it was now displaying a depth, 44ft. I was at about 90. No matter what I did, it never changed from 44ft. It also indicated the water was -30 degrees. The only thing it displayed correctly was cylinder pressure and time. After returning from that dive, I tried everything to get the unit to fail while out of the water. It seemed fine, so I got another cylinder and headed out. This time, when I descended, everything seemed fine. At about 20ft I stopped and monitored my computer for a minute. It started displaying various depths from 20 ft to 2ft. Any time it would go from 20 to 2 it would give me an alert on the right side that says SLOW in yellow and red. Any time it was malfunctioning, it would display -30 degrees. I tried going back to the surface and down several times, but it just wouldn't work. I went back to shore and rented a cheap computer from the shop. This time, the Cobalt worked perfectly. On our 3rd dive, it hiccuped twice. My deepest depth was 70ft, but it showed 99ft as my max. It also went to the safety stop screen (like it does at 25ft) when I was at 50ft. Other than that it worked fine. On our 4th dive, it worked perfectly again. Any chance that it just needs a reset? I am in the process of downloading the newest firmware now to see if that helps.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I'll let RonR give the definitive expert opinion, but unfortunately it sounds to me like your pressure sensor is shot. I'd give AA a call and see if they can help you out, though if it's a Cobalt 1 it's likely out of the warranty period.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Thanks Doc, I will wait for Ron to reply also. I am wondering why, if the pressure sensor is at fault, would the temperature be affected? Going from -30 to 83 degrees can't be affected by the pressure sensor....can it?

 

[Romera]

I believe that I have read (from RonR's posts) that the tempature and pressaure sensor are connected/releated. So if you are also seeing a large incorrect temperature reading than it is additional confirmation that the pressure sensor is kaput.

From another thread by RonR:

Well, that is not good news. The temperature comes from the depth sensor, and having it be off by a huge amount indicates a problem with the sensor. I'm sending you a PM with some more diagnostic information.

Ron


Steve

 

[wizbangdoodle]

That's the only way I could believe they would affect each other.

Ron? Any ideas?

Dove twice today and it worked great.

 

[RonR]

Just saw this now- yes, this is the pressure sensor. The temperature displayed on the screen comes from that sensor as well, so if either are hugely off it indicates a problem with that sensor. This is repairable, but a firmware update won't help, the part needs to be replaced. As you have seen the failure can be intermittent, but I anticipate that it will happen again.

I'd contact Atomic to get this fixed, they are very good about it. I'm happy to help any way I can.

-Ron

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Thanks Ron. I'll contact Atomic and see what it takes to get fixed.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Well, we're batting 1000. Went for a dive today and when getting ready for our second dive, wife's Cobalt blew. She turned on her tank and pressed the button to wake it up and it just started blowing air out of the case. This is really frustrating.

 

[RonR]

I can imagine it's very frustrating. Was hers a Cobalt 1, and was it checked for the recall? The only consolation I can offer is that Atomic will definitely fix this with a current design (potted) HP end that will prevent it from ever happening again.

-Ron

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Yes, Cobalt 1. We had taken both mine and hers to our LDS. They must have missed hers because Divers Supply here on Grand Cayman said it should have been recalled. Our local shop at home is now going out of business.

The frustration stems from the fact that I really really like this computer. It has the best UI and screen, bar none, of any dive computer I have seen. Even looking online this last week, I have not seen a computer I would rather have. Of course I'd like it to work and not just look pretty

I'd also like to see the DSAT alogorithm on it. It fits into my type of diving a bit better. On a side note, Ron have you seen/heard about the SAUL algorithm?