Wayne
Guest
I am looking for feedback on Cochran computers. The good, bad, and how they compare with others.
Cochran Computers
- Thread starter Wayne
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Scubaroo
Contributor
My buddy is dumping his after much trouble. It "rebooted" during a dive the other day. He actually asked me how many times I've had to call Suunto regarding my computer, and was shocked that I had never had to deal with their customer support.
scubaroo
which model of the cochran would your friend have ? as for the reboot wouold it be the newer version of the gemini that after a dive if you take the wrist unit out of range of the black box for to long will cause you to have to reset the wrist unit and wait till it can resync with the black box ?
wayne i personally dive the gemeni plus (not the current version but one generation back) and i love it and cant wait to upgrade it to the new generation with inteligent wrist unit and with more memory onboard both to store more dives.
as how they compare to other computers it is one of few computers that you can set up to be very conservative to very little conservitive. so say if you have not been feeling to well you can bump up the level so that it will decrease your allowed exposure level on that gas. this is only one of many options at your use there website is www.divecochran.com
one note that the gemini uses haldane model for dive profiles to calculate ndls etc.
the only draw back to the cochrans is that you cant use them with helium mixed gases, but then again this computer can follow you all the way from open water open circuit to rebreathers.
if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
which model of the cochran would your friend have ? as for the reboot wouold it be the newer version of the gemini that after a dive if you take the wrist unit out of range of the black box for to long will cause you to have to reset the wrist unit and wait till it can resync with the black box ?
wayne i personally dive the gemeni plus (not the current version but one generation back) and i love it and cant wait to upgrade it to the new generation with inteligent wrist unit and with more memory onboard both to store more dives.
as how they compare to other computers it is one of few computers that you can set up to be very conservative to very little conservitive. so say if you have not been feeling to well you can bump up the level so that it will decrease your allowed exposure level on that gas. this is only one of many options at your use there website is www.divecochran.com
one note that the gemini uses haldane model for dive profiles to calculate ndls etc.
the only draw back to the cochrans is that you cant use them with helium mixed gases, but then again this computer can follow you all the way from open water open circuit to rebreathers.
if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
Scubaroo
Contributor
...but I will find out when I see him tonight. Local diving get-together at the pub and he'll be there.
The reboot was just that - the computer literally shut down during the dive, and restarted itself, and then said he was 0 mins into a dive at 0 feet - while he was at the end of a dive in about 20'. When he downloads his dives, that dive is corrupted and cannot be downloaded. He hasn't got air integration so there was no transmitter etc to get out of sync with.
The reboot was just that - the computer literally shut down during the dive, and restarted itself, and then said he was 0 mins into a dive at 0 feet - while he was at the end of a dive in about 20'. When he downloads his dives, that dive is corrupted and cannot be downloaded. He hasn't got air integration so there was no transmitter etc to get out of sync with.
well i dont know what version of software is onboard but he might want to send it in to have it checked and calibrated , because that problem is a little odd.
the commander is a good computer i would use one as a back up but i will be able to use my current wrist unit at the back up (it will be in monitor mode only) when i get my intelligent wrist unit at the end of hte fall.
FWIW
the commander is a good computer i would use one as a back up but i will be able to use my current wrist unit at the back up (it will be in monitor mode only) when i get my intelligent wrist unit at the end of hte fall.
FWIW
Scubaroo
Contributor
He recently had a Nitrox software upgrade done, but he's had general problems both before and after that. Maybe it's just a dodgey one.
I have 4 Cochran Nemesis lla nitrox computers.
Haven't had any problems with any of them. One thing. The wrist unit's battery screw in plug. The spring that's inside can come loose. Just need to tighten it and apply a little locktight or glue.
The do eat batteries though.
Haven't had any problems with any of them. One thing. The wrist unit's battery screw in plug. The spring that's inside can come loose. Just need to tighten it and apply a little locktight or glue.
The do eat batteries though.
lragsac
Guest
I've had a couple of Cochrans (Nemesis IIa and the Gemini Plus). I liked the Nemesis IIa but it's no longer made. Had problems w/ the Gemini Plus. It was still under warranty and Cochran replaced the TU; they never indicated what went wrong with it.
It's kind of a pain having to keep 2 different kinds of batteries on hand, but at least they are user replacable, which is a big plus.
You might find service kind of slow. That was my experience. Cochrans are fairly liberal, but they give you the option of setting a level of conservatism. The bottom line, IMHO: you could do worse....but you could also do better and dive with a standalone unit. With air-integrated if your computer fails you've lost your capability to do gas management. Poof...call the dive.
If my standalone fails on a dive (and it has), I still know how much gas I have, I look to my backup depth/bottom timer, and get out my deco tables. No need to call the dive.
It's kind of a pain having to keep 2 different kinds of batteries on hand, but at least they are user replacable, which is a big plus.
You might find service kind of slow. That was my experience. Cochrans are fairly liberal, but they give you the option of setting a level of conservatism. The bottom line, IMHO: you could do worse....but you could also do better and dive with a standalone unit. With air-integrated if your computer fails you've lost your capability to do gas management. Poof...call the dive.
If my standalone fails on a dive (and it has), I still know how much gas I have, I look to my backup depth/bottom timer, and get out my deco tables. No need to call the dive.
well on your tank unit was your air pressure bouncing around alot when it was failing ? (ie gas level going from 800 to over 5000 psi ? that might be one reason why they replaced (care to explain the failure)
keeping the two type os batteries might be a pain but it great that mike did so much research in advance so that the user could replace them in the field.
as for repair time, one thing that cochran does is that they try to figure out what happened to the failed unit , so that if needed they can make a manufacturing correction so that it doesnt happen again. then once the problem has been found they will fix the problem or replace the component completely.
FWIW
lragsac
Guest
I honestly don't recall exactly how the failure occurred. I do know that one day when setting up for a dive the TU started chirping (the 5 chirps) and just wouldn't quit. It did this when it wasn't hooked up to the tank. I checked batteries, checked configuration settings, etc. I read in the manual that the chirp warning I got *could* occur in the highly unlikely event of a transducer failure. As I said, I never got the lowdown from Cochran as to what the problem was. I only know they ended up giving me a new TU.
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