Cobalt 2 - Battery Dead - Lost AC Adaptor

[warhau]

Hi,

I was just surfing around looking for release notes for 2.43, and happened upon this post. I actually just applied 2.43 to hopefully fix the very issue that MikadoWu described.

Black illuminated screen (it's not off, just no text)
No buttons appear to do anything

I worked around the issue by using the following key combination:

back (left), back, .... (just hit back a few times), UP, ENTER (right), ENTER, ENTER

This is the key combination to go into sleep mode. Hitting enter again brought it out of sleep mode normally.

Computer was at 97% battery last time this happened.

This has happened at least three times on this computer. Luckily it has never happened on a dive. I'm not sure what the effects from going into sleep mode during a dive are on current dive tracking, and would probably assume it's not possible, although I've never tried it.

Using the sleep key combo to recover from black illuminated (no text) screen would indicate that the computer is still responsive and not locked. A little disappointed this hasn't been addressed between 2.26 and 2.43, but at least it's handy to know that it's not bricked or flooded.

Good to make sure computer is out of sleep just before entering the water and descending. Hopefully a fix will be available at some point.



Chris

 

[RonR]

Hi,

I was just surfing around looking for release notes for 2.43, and happened upon this post. I actually just applied 2.43 to hopefully fix the very issue that MikadoWu described.

Black illuminated screen (it's not off, just no text)
No buttons appear to do anything

I worked around the issue by using the following key combination:

back (left), back, .... (just hit back a few times), UP, ENTER (right), ENTER, ENTER

This is the key combination to go into sleep mode. Hitting enter again brought it out of sleep mode normally.

Computer was at 97% battery last time this happened.

This has happened at least three times on this computer. Luckily it has never happened on a dive. I'm not sure what the effects from going into sleep mode during a dive are on current dive tracking, and would probably assume it's not possible, although I've never tried it.

Using the sleep key combo to recover from black illuminated (no text) screen would indicate that the computer is still responsive and not locked. A little disappointed this hasn't been addressed between 2.26 and 2.43, but at least it's handy to know that it's not bricked or flooded.

Good to make sure computer is out of sleep just before entering the water and descending. Hopefully a fix will be available at some point.

Chris

Chris,

That's good thinking for getting out of that mode. Obviously the buttons were working and the computer operating, just no display. The backlight is controlled separately. You are correct in assuming it’s not possible to go into sleep mode while in a dive.

Actually, these two reports are the only ones we have heard of regarding this behavior. If it is happening repeatedly on your unit we might suspect a hardware problem. Was there a specific screen this was in when it happened? If it were a firmware related issue we would expect multiple reports. I will contact Atomic tomorrow to find if they have heard of this happening. Was your firmware 2.26 when you experienced this?

I will PM you with my contact info, we really would like to understand what is happening here that would cause the display to shut down intermittently.

Ron

 

[warhau]

Yep 2.26. I'm not sure about the screen at the time. It's never gone black while looking at it. It seems to occur after a dive, so I would think maybe it's a transition period between the dive and "end of dive" screens, or whatever comes after that (sleep/low-power?). It's not noticed until switching tanks and going to look at air.

 

[RonR]

Thanks, that is very helpful. We will look at that transition between the dive screen to the post-dive info screen, and then to sleep mode. Would you have has the compass on in the dive screen?

Ron

 

[warhau]

Most likely not unless it got bumped. Usually use an analog compass. Most recent occurrence was also after a shallow dive, so there was no safety stop mode.

 

[MikadoWu]

Most likely not unless it got bumped. Usually use an analog compass. Most recent occurrence was also after a shallow dive, so there was no safety stop mode.

This is an interesting Point. The dive in which I ran across the error was only a max depth 32 feet and Avg probably around 18-20. All my other dives on the Cobalt have been deeper then 60 feet.

 

[RonR]

Thanks, that scenario is the first place we will look.

Ron

 

[eguiney]

I have and am having similar problems with my Cobalt2. I bought it last October and on first trip noticed that the pressure reading was 300-500psi off. Dive shop replaced the unit. That unit came with no firmware on it. I had to flash the firmware to get the unit to work. It has been fine since then for ~100 dives. Last week while in Little Cayman with 90% battery it once again refused to wake up. I use the reset function to get it back and it worked for 2 dives. Now the BACK button will not work. 3 failures in one year is too much of a failure rate. I am not sure I will ever trust the unit again.

The original dive shop is no longer in business so I have contacted Atomic to see about sending the unit in for repair. Once repaired not sure what I will do with it. Now in market for another dive computer.

Since I am now Dive Mastering with a shop that carries Oceanic and want its folks to use gear they sell guess I will be looking at one of theirs.

 

[RonR]

There are some things here that don't add up.

If your first Cobalt was mis-calibrated for HP readings, it's a very easy matter (< 5 minutes) to recalibrate the HP sensor. The dealer should have known that and simply checked the calibration for you. While most dive computers don't allow recalibration, on the Cobalt it's a built in function.

Cobalts cannot go out from the factory without firmware- they go through several test dives prior to shipment, in addition to battery life checks, compass checks- quite a bit of testing that requires firmware. So I wonder what had happened previously at the shop with the 2nd Cobalt you received. Your saying the Back button will not work makes me suspect that you have the problem with corrosion in the buttons- which can be completely solved with a new keypad with the fully encapsulated magnets. If the Select magnet is corroded the Cobalt will not wake, as it won't get the signal. If you are sending it back, of course Atomic will take care of this, in addition to making other upgrades.

If you want to check the magnets yourself it is easy to do, let me know if you want instructions.

Ron

 

[eguiney]

There are some things here that don't add up.

If your first Cobalt was mis-calibrated for HP readings, it's a very easy matter (< 5 minutes) to recalibrate the HP sensor. The dealer should have known that and simply checked the calibration for you. While most dive computers don't allow recalibration, on the Cobalt it's a built in function.

Cobalts cannot go out from the factory without firmware- they go through several test dives prior to shipment, in addition to battery life checks, compass checks- quite a bit of testing that requires firmware. So I wonder what had happened previously at the shop with the 2nd Cobalt you received. Your saying the Back button will not work makes me suspect that you have the problem with corrosion in the buttons- which can be completely solved with a new keypad with the fully encapsulated magnets. If the Select magnet is corroded the Cobalt will not wake, as it won't get the signal. If you are sending it back, of course Atomic will take care of this, in addition to making other upgrades.

If you want to check the magnets yourself it is easy to do, let me know if you want instructions.

Ron

I cannot speak about the HP recalibration as that was never mentioned. The shop just replaced the unit with one from their shelf.

As to the firmware issue, I could not believe it either but the computer would do nothing until I followed the firmware update instructions on Atomic's website. Maybe my replacement unit was a defective or returned one that the dive shop pulled off the shelf. Since that dive shop is no longer in business cannot go back to them and discuss.

As for the buttons, I cannot understand what is going on as when I press the BACK and ENTER buttons I can get the unit to go into the boot loader mode and the time/date screen will come up, but the BACK button has no effect after that and I cannot get off of that screen. I have even tried putting the unit under water to go into dive mode and it will not.

If there is an easy was to check the magnets then I would appreciate the instructions.