Dead computer - No backup

[InTheDrink]

Hi Peter,
This may be a stupid question (RTFM etc.) but I've got a Suunto Stinger too, and in three years the battery is still on Max. Why do you send it back every 15-18 months? Does your battery really run down that quickly? Or is there some other service reason?

 

[Doubler]

Your scenerio actually happened to me, well sort of.

My wife and I were diving in Socorro. I was diving a brand new Aeris Atmos 2. We are diving Nitrox 32, at 80 feet, 12 minutes into the dive and I am happily filming Silvertip sharks at a cleaning station when I here a computer alarm going off. I look at my computer and it is just flashing. No bottom time and no depth reading, no nothing just flashing. I motion Trish and look at her computer, Also an Atmos 2 and it is just fine. I also know that now I am not diving for 24 hours after we get back to the boat, so we turn the dive and use her computer for ascent and safety stop. Back on the boat the flashing continues for exactly 24 hours and then quits, but the computer will not re-boot, I even tried a hard re-boot by removing the battery for 30 minutes but to no avail. Fortunately, I carry 3 ancient Skinny dippers in my dive box, so I used those for the rest of the week. After the trip I brought it in for maintenance and found out the pressure transducer was bad. Aeris replaced the computer.
Lesson learned, we now each dive 2 computers, the Atmos 2 console with regular pressure guage and the Oceanic Datamax Pro Plus 2 air integrated. I love the "brick". I'm 58 and the large display is great. One thing I know about Murphys Law, **** happens at the most un-expected times so be prepared.

Jim

 

[Tigerman]

The simple solution (assuming your dive computer has a user serviceable battery) is to always carry an extra battery with you.

Two years ago in Curacao my daughter's Aeris ATMOS AI indicated low battery during the pre-dive check. We simply dug out a quarter and opened the battery port, replaced the button battery, replaced the battery port and we were all set to go.

Computer failures are extremely rare (excluding low battery which is preventable by having a spare).

Diving conditions where I live are similar to yours but somewhat colder (as cold as low 40^o F).

I replaced the battery after the dive since it is user-replaceable. I just wanted the experience before doing so.
As for the conditions here, the water gets a lot colder. I checked my logbook the other day and noticed that after I came home from a trip last year where the water temps was 30 celcius (86f) the next one in my logbook was 3 celcius (37,4)..
If I had the people and training I could do local ice dives for 4-5 months a year

 

[cavediver08]

Just a bit of advice...
I dive to a computer (nitek duo), but use gauges still... Always have a backup, whether it be your buddies dive computer (i.e. cave diving; as both you and your buddy should have almost identical dive profiles), or your backup computer (i.e. wreck diving). Always have somethings to fall back on.

 

[mruseless]

Hi Peter,
This may be a stupid question (RTFM etc.) but I've got a Suunto Stinger too, and in three years the battery is still on Max. Why do you send it back every 15-18 months? Does your battery really run down that quickly? Or is there some other service reason?

How many dives do you have on it? My Stinger took about 3 years for the battery to get to the replacement point (2 bars), but I was only putting on 20 dives a year or less. I'm sure that Peter is putting a LOT of dives on his, and Suunto recommends battery service every 24 months or 500 dives, whichever comes first.

My rule of thumb is to send it to Suunto every 24 months unless the battery indicator is full (then I wait until it hits 3 bars). I try to activate the computer a few times a year, or a few months before a trip, to get a general idea of the battery power left.

Now I have a D9, so I will send that in under the same "rules", and hopefully have my Stinger as a backup.

 

[CoralSeaMan]

Why should the failure of your air-integrated computer or an SPG haunt you?

If you are planning and diving properly, then you always have enough air to safely complete (or at least abort) the dive. Indeed, you should be always be carrying enough air for both you AND your buddy to safely abort the dive.

If this is true, then loss of pressure info should be no big deal. Just end the dive gracefully.

Because nothing ruins a good dive more effectively than a computer (or for that matter an SPG, watch, or depth guage) that is not working properly. Sure I have plenty of reserve, an ideal of how long and how deep; but now I must handle this problem. My non-integrated computer allows me to do this without extra anxiety.

 

[drbill]

I had a primary computer whose manual stated that even at remaining battery life of 0% there was still some left and it would function. Imagine my surprise when its factory replaceable battery died on a deco dive with the remaining battery life reading 38%. I heard from my LDS that they typically failed in the 35-45% range. Fortunately I had gauges, but no bottom timer to estimate deco time remaining. I just under for as long a time as I could (much more than the deco obligation).

After that I started diving with redundant computers, both with user replaceable batteries. After all, it's my life we're talking about.

 

[peterbj7]

My Stinger actually only gets around 200-300 dives a year - I only use it when I particularly want redundancy. Even so, I've never had much more than 18 months out of a battery. It is a true PITA to get the battery replaced, as I have to find someone who can take it to the US and mail it for me, then I need to find someone else who will be coming down here and tell Suunto to send it to them. Sometimes I've been without it for 3 months+. I can't send it directly or get it sent here for two reasons - too much stuff goes missing in the mail for me to trust it, and regardless of the circumstances Belize Customs charge duty as a new computer each time it passes through their hands coming into the country.

I greatly prefer my DiveRite Nitek+, as although officially they need it back to replace the battery, in fact I can do it myself. I simply can't open the Stinger, and Suunto won't sell me the necessary tool. Nor will they sell me any O-rings - I asked them and that was their response. I'm afraid this is the last Suunto computer I'll ever buy.

Another thing about the Nitek+ is that it has a decent battery life. I replaced the battery recently at nominal cost after over 4 years use and at least 1000 dives. Mind you, when the battery went it was very abrupt - the computer worked properly on the boat before a dive, with no warnings of any sort, but at about 50' on the initial descent it simply went out. No warning of any sort. I was leading guests on a dive and didn't have a backup with me, so I had to do the whole dive on guesswork and using someone else's computer for depth & time information. At least the Stinger gives ample notice of the battery failing, over several dives.

 

[InTheDrink]

Hmmm, it's only had about 80 dives in three years so not in same league as Peter, but I do wear it every day and I do most of the washing up in the house

Battery still at max, long may it continue as sounds like royal PITA to replace it.

 

[ianr33]

Imagine my surprise when its factory replaceable battery died on a deco dive with the remaining battery life reading 38%. . Fortunately I had gauges, but no bottom timer to estimate deco time remaining. I just under for as long a time as I could (much more than the deco obligation).

After that I started diving with redundant computers, both with user replaceable batteries. After all, it's my life we're talking about.

Just to state the glaringly obvious:

Doing solo deco dives without redundant computers/bottom timers is just plain dumb.
Who taught you to dive like that Bill ?