Cobalt 1 help: What to do if your battery is dead

[RonR]

Hi fellow divers, my main DC is a Shearwater Perdix AI which I really love. Recently I purchased a used Cobalt 1 as a redundancy DC because the display is also self-illuminated. The Cobalt has 350 logged dives from the previous owner and was manufactured in 2011 and probably sat on his shelf for quite some time without usage/charging. Battery charges up to 89% and then stops, telling me that charging is done. I haven't taken it out on a dive yet but a 10 year old battery worries me a bit so I ended up in this thread reading about the battery issues the other Cobalts users have. Has anyone found a replacement battery which can be used? I can solder things around if needed but some advice on which battery to buy is much appreciated. Sending the Cobalt to the US support is not an option since I live in Europe...

Posts in this thread starting about #25 talk about sourcing the battery outside the US, perhaps they will help. I believe the basic battery size is fairly common, but we added a thermistor to the battery PCB to detect any over temperature. That third wire needs to be there for the Cobalt to see that there is a battery installed. Probably the PCB could be soldered onto a new cell.
It's reasonable to be concerned with a 10 year old battery. But if this sat unused and discharged for a long while, I wouldn't be too surprised that it only shows a partial charge for a couple of cycles. Many of these batteries from that vintage are still performing well. In the Cobalt 1 you could get 50+ hours of diving (depending on screen brightness) out of a full charge, so even if it has age diminished capacity you might find you are OK.

-Ron

 

[otherwise]

Ron, in an earlier message you mentioned a possible Colbalt trade-in incentive. Can you expand on that?
My Cobalt 1 has been sitting, and I have it plugged in to the wall but am getting no reaction at all.
Thanks

 

[RonR]

Ron, in an earlier message you mentioned a possible Colbalt trade-in incentive. Can you expand on that?
My Cobalt 1 has been sitting, and I have it plugged in to the wall but am getting no reaction at all.
Thanks

We are working on an updated version that we hope to offer as an upgrade for existing Cobalt users. I will post here when we are getting close to being able to offer this. The idea is to up-cycle your HP connector, hose, and a couple of other parts into a new console with new electronics. We hope to have this available this year.
IN the meantime, resetting the battery may well get you back up. See the inductions linked to in post #1 in this thread. Other possibilities include a bad charger, adapter, or connection at the Cobalt's nose pins. Batteries usually fail rather gradually, slowly losing capacity.

 

[otherwise]

Thanks Ron, I look forward to the new console. Can you please add my name to your list to contact when the new device is ready? Meanwhile I will try to take the Cobalt apart.

 

[otherwise]

Looks like the firmware update software is no longer available. The Mac link shown on the attachment is no longer useful. Since I can't see the screen to aid in updating on the Cobalt I guess I must take it apart.

 

[otherwise]

Update--Found updater and it worked!!! Thanks very much for your input, I was very nervous about taking it apart.

 

[donhealy]

We are working on an updated version that we hope to offer as an upgrade for existing Cobalt users. I will post here when we are getting close to being able to offer this. The idea is to up-cycle your HP connector, hose, and a couple of other parts into a new console with new electronics. We hope to have this available this year.
IN the meantime, resetting the battery may well get you back up. See the inductions linked to in post #1 in this thread. Other possibilities include a bad charger, adapter, or connection at the Cobalt's nose pins. Batteries usually fail rather gradually, slowly losing capacity.

Hi Ron, Did I hear (read) you correctly? Atomics is coming out with a new console? I have a Cobalt 1 and would jump at the chance to get a new version (new HP conn and hose and all). Please keep us informed. I would much prefer a new Cobalt to the Oceanic Pro Plus X.

 

[RonR]

Hi Ron, Did I hear (read) you correctly? Atomics is coming out with a new console? I have a Cobalt 1 and would jump at the chance to get a new version (new HP conn and hose and all). Please keep us informed. I would much prefer a new Cobalt to the Oceanic Pro Plus X.

Thanks, and not quite. It could be a little confusing. Here is the Cliff's Notes version.
We are the original, independent developers of the Cobalt's electronics and firmware/ user interface. We licensed our design to Atomic back in 2007. Atomic did design and manufacture the case hardware for the Cobalt consoles.
Huish Outdoors (who purchased Atomic in 2011) decided to stop moving forward with our development of new products on the Cobalt platform a few years ago. This decision came after they purchased the Oceanic brand, which markets computers manufactured by Pelagic (owned by Aqua Lung). Unfortunately for us, this was also after we had put several years into developing (at Huish's request) a new wrist computer incorporating proprietary acoustic technology from yet another company Huish had purchased, LiquiVision.
So we were left with the choice of abandoning what we had done or proceeding independently and creating our own acoustic gas pressure transmission design for a wrist computer from scratch. That is what we are doing- have done, really. We also wanted to design the electronics in a way that allowed us to offer an "up-cycle" path for existing Cobalt users to get a new console with the same screen and basic interface, but a sleeker case and newer electronics with additional features like bluetooth and multiple algorithms (Buhlmann as well as RGBM). We feel a lot of responsibility towards Cobalt users.
We are very small, and entirely self-financed, so this has taken us some time. We are using some innovative manufacturing tech that will allow us to work on a small scale, as we don't know what demand will be- or if there will be any, though there are a lot of Cobalt's out there. I will be updating information here as we get closer.
Hope this clarifies rather than confuses. We liked working with Atomic and think they are a great company, but they don't have anything to do with our current efforts.

Ron

 

[RonR]

Update--Found updater and it worked!!! Thanks very much for your input, I was very nervous about taking it apart.

Glad to hear it. No need to fear removing the battery cover- the rest of the electronics are in a separate, sealed compartment. But no need to disturb what is working. Cobalts are pretty resilient.
Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Ron

 

[ROGUEWV]

Hello to All:
Just got back from Grand Cayman. Great trip but host of tech problems with my dive computers. I took three (3) atomic cobalts (one I and two II's) down with us. Only my Cobalt 1 would start after a long covid related downtime without charging. The middle of the screen on Cobalt 1 is starting to lose some coloring and the down arrow wont work (not magnets as I checked that) but it appears to function appropriately otherwise (other than won't charge to 100%).
Now, as for the two Cobalt 2's, they wont turn on all all. I have tried the procedures mentioned above in this thread with no success. So, I took both the Cobalt 2's to on island dive store that is an authorized atomic dealer and they had them for a week and then gave them back and said they don't know what the problem is. The tech "said" he put a new battery in one and charged for several hours but that did not fix the problem so tech gave both Cobalt 2 units back to me and told me to have a nice day as they did not know how to fix. I asked if they contacted Atomic HQ but was told that they were closed for the holidays. Regardless, now i am back in the US and hoping to fix the problem(s) within "reason". Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I would also be interested in "upgrading" to new computers that has been above as well. I hope everyone remains both safe and well in the new year...
Respectfully,
Stacy