just discovering the problem with suunto transmitters

[Scared Silly]

If you pay the postage, I have a 1/2CR battery you can have. It still shows 3V. Just PM me your details.

 

[Centrals]

Getting the battery is the issue.

 

[Centrals]

hi guys. i bought a suunto dive computer and paired it with one of their transmitters. im away from any dive shops as im in tonga. sending anytinh back to australi for "service"would take about a month. i was told the transmitter would be good for 100 dives or 2 years. well its done about 40 dives, prehaps closeish to two years. the battery is dead and it seems no dive shop will sell me the battery kit becase suunto will disown them. anyone else have issues with suunto like this? its 4 screws. one with red paint so they can tell if you have done it yourself. Kits on ebay are about 70au. also taking a month to get here. a mate has a scuba pro transmitter and got a kit for 37au.

anyone else have a less diyphobic company i should buy gear from? whats the best for diy kits? the transmitter battery is also a rare cr 1/2 battery that no one stocks.

You have to replace the expensive and rare battery every couple of yr!
Get yourself a spg.

 

[Damselfish]

That is my take. Can you buy or borrow an SPG until you have the transmitter thing sorted out one way or another? Never needs batteries.

 

[shirtz]

thank you all, i really appreciate the speedy replies. ill provide a few responses below:

the model transmitter i have looks like this but with a clear bottom Suunto Wireless Tank Pressure Transmitter for select dive computers says dp173 on it. i have the vyper novo so i guess i got the cheaper one. it was bought new.

thankyou for the shearwater suggestion. ill look into them.

scared silly - thank you for the offer. ive found one on ebay and expect it here in about a month...

i have found an spg to borrow and will buy a spare one when i get home. i somewhat regret ever going digital in the first place!

 

[Centrals]

i have found an spg to borrow and will buy a spare one when i get home. i somewhat regret ever going digital in the first place!

1/2 AA Battery vs 14250 Battery

1/2 AA Battery vs 14250 Battery

www.batteryequivalents.com

Stock up a few + O-ring.

 

[El Diablo]

Seriously? Suunto doesn't allow the user to change the battery in the transmitter? That's absolutely archaic.

Many. I'm assuming this means you want to get rid of the computer and transmitter and go for something else. If keeping the computer, you are stuck with the Suunto transmitter as it won't work with anything else. The PPS transmitter (Shearwater, Oceanic, Aqualung...) is common, reliable and will allow you to change the battery yourself. The Shearwater computer I bought comes with a tool that works for the Perdix as well as the transmitter. The computer even came with a couple extra o-rings (for the computer), so I take it that Shearwater is completely fine with the user taking care of basic maintenance like battery and o-ring changes.

I don't own any Suunto gear (maybe a compass or spare gauge at most). And the more I read from Suunto owners, the more I'm glad I don't.

Right...

Sudden Shearwater Perdix AI malfunction

My Shearwater Perdix AI suddenly wasn't turning on after a battery change today. I purchased my Shearwater Perdix AI in June of this year - and did about 65 dives with it. During those 4 months of diving I changed the batteries about thrice. Always the day after a dive when it was dry and...

scubaboard.com

Weird error with Perdix AI

My Perdix AI had been off since I downloaded yesterday's dive this morning. This afternoon it turned itself on. Initially the temperature reading said 218ºC and then it started flashing with Err as per the picture below. If I turn it off it turns back on. I have since removed the battery. I...

scubaboard.com

Your logic is extremely simplistic and flawed. With EVERY product, there are happy owners and unhappy owners. Because you didn't had any issue with your DC, it doesn't mean that others haven't.
Also, I don't think you have any official research comparing DCs failure rate so pelase stop generalizing and being absolute, it makes no sense.

I personally had issues with my Stinger after 20 years, my D9 after 15, others haven't. No issues with my D5. The OP doesn't have a problem with the DC but the fact that he cannot replace the battery himself.
FYI, my dive buddy uses only Scubapro computers and they've ALL failed so far. My instructor bought a Mares Smart last year and now the buttons activate with the slightest of touch, no hard press necessary.
In contrast, there must be hundreds if not thousands of happy owners with Scubapro and Mares computers that never had any issues at all...

 

[Belzelbub]

Your logic is extremely simplistic and flawed. With EVERY product, there are happy owners and unhappy owners. Because you didn't had any issue with your DC, it doesn't mean that others haven't.

And your logic is hard to follow. The main point was that Suunto is stuck in the old model that the user is not capable of performing a simple battery change. This used to be common with oil filled computers, but has mainly gone away.

I mentioned the reliability of the PPS transmitters, and you responded with two instances of Shearwater computer malfunctions. The PPS transmitter is not even made by Shearwater.

And to address your quoted threads.

Sudden Shearwater Perdix AI malfunction

My Shearwater Perdix AI suddenly wasn't turning on after a battery change today. I purchased my Shearwater Perdix AI in June of this year - and did about 65 dives with it. During those 4 months of diving I changed the batteries about thrice. Always the day after a dive when it was dry and...

scubaboard.com

In this one looks like Shearwater responded and worked it out to swap through a Shearwater dealer that would be local to him in order to avoid any missed dives.

Weird error with Perdix AI

My Perdix AI had been off since I downloaded yesterday's dive this morning. This afternoon it turned itself on. Initially the temperature reading said 218ºC and then it started flashing with Err as per the picture below. If I turn it off it turns back on. I have since removed the battery. I...

scubaboard.com

And in this case, a 4 year old computer was replaced for the cost of shipping. It was 3 years out of warranty.

And, the summary I got from reading those two threads you posted was that the owners of the failed units are still happy Shearwater owners. So, I'm not exactly sure what your point was supposed to be.

Got any examples of Suunto handling failed units in such a manner? I'll wait.
As I recall, there was a depth sensor issue with Suunto computers a while back. They had to be forced to cover units in the US by a class action lawsuit. And as I recall, they did nothing for the ones that were not sold in the US.

Yes, anything can fail. Electronics, mechanical parts, whatever. They all can fail. The company's response to these failures is what makes a difference.

 

[Belzelbub]

I personally had issues with my Stinger after 20 years, my D9 after 15, others haven't. No issues with my D5. The OP doesn't have a problem with the DC but the fact that he cannot replace the battery himself.

Right, and in the original post, he asked for recommendations for other manufacturers. Which is why people responded with alternatives. In short, he was looking for companies that would allow their customers to change their own batteries. I was absolutely shocked that Suunto still felt a battery change required a dealer or repair center visit.

 

[Dan]

i was told the transmitter would be good for 100 dives or 2 years.

Pressure transmitter turns on & broadcasts the pressure signal when you open the tank valve. So just have a good habit of opening the valve right before entry, make a quick check if the pressure readout at your dive computer shows full tank pressure, do a couple of breaths through your 2nd stage before jumping / backrolling into the water. After the dive, turn off the valve and purge the air out of the second stage so the pressure transmitter will also automatically turn off and stop broadcasting useless pressure signal to your dive computer.

I have made 300 dives on my pressure transmitter and still have not replaced its battery. However I carry spare batteries on my dive trips and have SPG as a backup.

My 1st stage has 2 high pressure ports where I put SPG on one port and pressure transmitter on the other port.