looking fo an OLED bottom timer...

[Nasser]

So far it's between the Liquivision Xen and the upcoming xDeep Black BT. Both look like they have great displays and ease of use, but I have read that the Xen seems to have a very short battery life and this has been it's major drawback. As of yet, I have yet to read any hands on reviews of the xDeep Black... Does anyone have any additional input regarding either the Xen or the Black ? Are there any other OLED BT's out there I should be checking out?

thanks

cheers,
nasser

 

[Dr. Lecter]

What do you think is special about OLED?

 

[Nasser]

The clarity and boldness of the numbers. Much easier for me to read... especially in darker lighting situations. The UWATEC and Suunto type displays can be a little more tiring to read over the course of a dive and the backlight is not really that great.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I agree with you about the Uwatec/Suunto-type displays, but the newer LCD screens are at least as good as the OLEDs in my opinion. I've used Atomic, Shearwater, and Liquivision OLED displays and I don't think any are as easy to read as the Petrel's LCD screen, even in low/no viz, though the OLEDs are probably a tad brighter.

Since you're looking for just a BT rather than a computer with a BT mode, a Petrel or HW computer is probably not what you want. I'm not sure if there's a dedicated BT on the market using these newer LCD displays, but it's worth looking into given the price premium for OLED is no longer balanced by exclusive performance levels.

 

[Liquivision]

So far it's between the Liquivision Xen and the upcoming xDeep Black BT. Both look like they have great displays and ease of use, but I have read that the Xen seems to have a very short battery life and this has been it's major drawback. As of yet, I have yet to read any hands on reviews of the xDeep Black... Does anyone have any additional input regarding either the Xen or the Black ? Are there any other OLED BT's out there I should be checking out?

thanks

cheers,
nasser

Only the early Xen's with the smaller battery and earlier (power hungry) software had short battery life. The newer Xen's with the bigger batteries and better software have a very long battery life.

Eric Fattah
Liquivision Products

 

[Nasser]

I agree with you about the Uwatec/Suunto-type displays, but the newer LCD screens are at least as good as the OLEDs in my opinion. I've used Atomic, Shearwater, and Liquivision OLED displays and I don't think any are as easy to read as the Petrel's LCD screen, even in low/no viz, though the OLEDs are probably a tad brighter.

Since you're looking for just a BT rather than a computer with a BT mode, a Petrel or HW computer is probably not what you want. I'm not sure if there's a dedicated BT on the market using these newer LCD displays, but it's worth looking into given the price premium for OLED is no longer balanced by exclusive performance levels.

I'm open to LCD displays as well and might consider a combination Air/Nitrox computer with Bottom timer as it could double for recreational fun dives on Air/Nitrox and a BT for tech dives, but I think the Trimix Computers are overkill for my needs and I prefer a BT for those kind of dives.

---------- Post added September 20th, 2013 at 04:49 PM ----------

Only the early Xen's with the smaller battery and earlier (power hungry) software had short battery life. The newer Xen's with the bigger batteries and better software have a very long battery life.

Eric Fattah
Liquivision Products

Good to know - thnx

 

[TSandM]

I know an awful lot of divers using Xens, including my husband, and everybody in our area seems to be happy with them.

 

[Nasser]

I know an awful lot of divers using Xens, including my husband, and everybody in our area seems to be happy with them.

That's encouraging - Do you know if the majority are running the Xen BT with the new software/firmware updates and the longer life batteries? and if so, have they noticed a significant improvement from the older versions?

 

[Tug]

I've been using a Xen since they were still quite new (serial number below 50) and while I didn't upgrade to the latest battery, I am running the latest software and noticed a better battery consumption rate. I had an issue with the battery door but after some communication with Liquivision, they are replacing the unit and I hope to see even better battery life when I get it back.

 

[ajduplessis]

If you plan on spending that much cash on a BT you can include a secondhand Shearwater Predator, they have an OLED display. Some divers might be upgrading and you should find a well looked after unit at a good pri$e.