Cobalt 2 Button = dead, Atomic's response: "LOL GOOD LUCK!"

[Seawhores]

Guess I'm a Scubapro/other guy going forward. Got the Cobalt 2 at what was the end of the run as a backup and found the back button was completely dead. Reached out to Atomic and they told me to pound sand. Unbelievable that a company I held in high esteem and have bought thousands of dollars of gear from is this callous to the consumer.

Are there any ways to fix this?

 

[davehicks]

I hate to say it because everyone does - Buy Shearwater.

They have actually useful service and support even for very old computers. There is a great range of size, cost, and form factors to pick from. They are all great and you won't be sorry. Dive computers are 100% of their business and they do it better than anyone overall.

 

[Seawhores]

I hate to say it because everyone does - Buy Shearwater.

They have actually useful service and support even for very old computers. There is a great range of size, cost, and form factors to pick from. They are all great and you won't be sorry. Dive computers are 100% of their business and they do it better than anyone overall.

It's my primary, super old and works great so yea, you are 100% right. I'm just really pissed at the response from them, as of a few years ago they were servicing them and now it's a brick. Just really poor way to treat your customers when you are a "premium" brand.

 

[rongoodman]

How long did you think they were going to support it?

 

[Seawhores]

How long did you think they were going to support it?

Honestly no idea. They were sending kits out to fix the buttons not too long ago, seems like a pretty low-effort solution to not piss people off. I've literally used the thing for like 4 dives so it's not like it was a high mileage piece of gear...

 

[deeper thoughts]

Had the cobalt 1 what garbage
Switched to oceanic datamax pro and very satisfied

 

[Johnoly]

Are there any ways to fix this?

Since it's use value is now negligible, I've heard several success stories from grass-roots fixes. Usually at local flea markets there are cell phone fix-it guys who can do incredible recoveries and have hundreds of drawers filled with working salvage components. Not just screens, but also PC board components like usb slots, speakers, transistors, chips, & capacitors. They also have a giant supply of the side of a phone's push buttons. The outside shape button cover usually isn't the broken part. Its the inside PC board mounted switch is what breaks. Surprisingly, those components are very similar across small electronics.

You might want to take it to a fix-it guy and see if has a similar component in his salvage components. He then can solder it in place for a repair. But if you are down to a choice of no-repair & it sitting in dead storage or a grass-roots fix-it, I'd give it a shot. If successful, you'll have a huge story to tell and lots of admirers.

 

[tridacna]

@RonR is your guy. Wait for him to answer.

 

[broncobowsher]

It could be that parts supply ran out. Not like someone is going to tool up to make a button that will never sell enough to justify the tooling expense.

 

[kinoons]

It could be that parts supply ran out. Not like someone is going to tool up to make a button that will never sell enough to justify the tooling expense.

That was my first though. I haven’t looked into how old the cobalt 2 is but when you buy new old stock you run the risk of no support for discontinued models.