Cobalt 2 Firmware version 2.60 available for trial

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RonR

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Washington State
# of dives
I just don't log dives
We have a new Cobalt 2 firmware version we are making available here, at least until Atomic has it up on their site. We would appreciate any feedback from Cobalt users- please respond to this thread or to me directly- we would really like to know what you think. This version was created in response to some users seeing dives being erased from the log unexpectedly when they reached the limits of the Cobalt's memory.

This version adds a warning when the Dive Log memory is full. It informs the diver that with the next dive some of the oldest dives will be erased to allow space for storing new dives.

The warning will appear when the Dive Log is entered from the Main Menu. It will specify which dive numbers will be erased when the next dive begins. This will allow the user to upload these dives if desired before they are erased.

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For background: At the default “snapshot” storage rate of 30 seconds, the Dive Log will hold about 1200 hours of diving. Higher dive data storage rates (as selected in the Preferences screen) will reduce proportionately the number of hours of diving that can be stored.

To update your firmware, follow the instructions on the Atomic site that can be found here:
Cobalt Firmware Downloads - Atomic Aquatics

The firmware file can be found here:
Dropbox - Cobalt_2600_User.S19.zip - Simplify your life

-Ron
 
Hy Ron,
Long time ago we was in contact concerning some doubts about the battery-life-time of my cobalt. Actualy I decided to change my computer. I use now the Garmin Descent MK2i and I'am very satisfied especially the battery lifetime.
Now I have to reactivate my Cobalt 2 for my wife because her Cobra was fallout by depth gauge (on surface allready 10 m).
But the problem with the battery still exist. Now I ordered a new battery and then we will see, what the actual situation is.

But now my problem:
I try to upgrade the cobalt on the newest version, but I cannot reach the 'bootloader'-drive on any of my computers.

I did as follw:
1. Connect the cobalt by USB to my computer (Windows 10)
2. Press RETURN- and ENTER-button together till the screen switch off.
3. No bootloader-drive appear???? I am also not able to download any dive-log.

What can I do ?

Best regards from Switzerland,
Roger
 
Hi Roger,
I don't recall what kind of battery life you were getting, but you should be able to get at least 30-35 hours of diving (at moderate screen brightness) from a full charge, or 6-8 months of standby charge on a Cobalt 2. In sleep mode, the battery shouldn't go down more than 1-2% per day when left in sleep mode. When Li-ion batteries get old they tend to gradually lose capacity.

As far as not being able to communicate with a desktop computer, either for firmware update or dive log transfer, by far the most likely reason is a physical problem with the connection. This could be:
  1. The pins on the Cobalt itself being dirty, shorted, or corroded,
  2. The sockets on the adapter- there should be four on the side you plug in for USB,
  3. The USB cable, or
  4. The actual adapter may be damaged. Sometimes if the USB cable is hit while plugged into the adapter, the USB connector can be levered up off the circuit board inside, breaking the connections.

If you can manage to borrow another Cobalt adapter I would try that- after making sure the pins and sockets look good. The boot loader is built into the Cobalt's processor, so it's extremely unlikely that there is an internal problem, and the fact that you can't upload dives either pretty well confirms that this is a connection issue.

If you have a problem with the battery, you can put the Cobalt into a diagnostic mode that will provide actual current consumption and battery diagnostics. To access the Cobalt's diagnostic and calibration mode, the user name needs to be changed to ATOMIC <space> <space><apace> A. That is, ATOMIC, followed by spaces, with an "A" in the last possible slot. After doing this, if you navigate to the Brightness screen you will see an actual live reading of current used.
For the Cobalt 2 at different screen brightness levels:
Lowest: 38-44 mA
Middle: 54-58 mA
Highest: 112-116 mA
When you are in diagnostic mode, if you navigate to the System Info screen, there will be a button at the bottom labeled Diagnostic. Select this, then select battery from the sub-menu that pops up. If you can take snapshots of the screen, both without and then with the AC charger connected, that will let us know more about battery status and current draw.

Hope this helps,

Ron
 
Hy Ron,
Long time ago we was in contact concerning some doubts about the battery-life-time of my cobalt. Actualy I decided to change my computer. I use now the Garmin Descent MK2i and I'am very satisfied especially the battery lifetime.
Now I have to reactivate my Cobalt 2 for my wife because her Cobra was fallout by depth gauge (on surface allready 10 m).
But the problem with the battery still exist. Now I ordered a new battery and then we will see, what the actual situation is.

But now my problem:
I try to upgrade the cobalt on the newest version, but I cannot reach the 'bootloader'-drive on any of my computers.

I did as follw:
1. Connect the cobalt by USB to my computer (Windows 10)
2. Press RETURN- and ENTER-button together till the screen switch off.
3. No bootloader-drive appear???? I am also not able to download any dive-log.

What can I do ?

Best regards from Switzerland,
Roger
 
Hy Ron,
Long time ago we was in contact concerning some doubts about the battery-life-time of my cobalt. Actualy I decided to change my computer. I use now the Garmin Descent MK2i and I'am very satisfied especially the battery lifetime.
Now I have to reactivate my Cobalt 2 for my wife because her Cobra was fallout by depth gauge (on surface allready 10 m).
But the problem with the battery still exist. Now I ordered a new battery and then we will see, what the actual situation is.

But now my problem:
I try to upgrade the cobalt on the newest version, but I cannot reach the 'bootloader'-drive on any of my computers.

I did as follw:
1. Connect the cobalt by USB to my computer (Windows 10)
2. Press RETURN- and ENTER-button together till the screen switch off.
3. No bootloader-drive appear???? I am also not able to download any dive-log.

What can I do ?

Best regards from Switzerland,
Roger
This seems to be a copy of your earlier post- Did you try any of the suggestions above?
 

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