Lynx - Continued battery and transmitter issues

[doctock993]

I just got back from 30 dives in Komodo (second trip with the Lynx) - and am having continued issues with the Lynx batteries and the transmitter.

Battery problems:
The white rechargeable batteries do NOT hold a charge!
If I fully charged both batteries (until the charger light switched to green) and then immediately put them into the transmitter or computer I would get maybe 15 min of "green" before the indicator went "orange".
This is WITH the electronic switch to the LFP123A for both transmitter and receiver. (I admit to forgetting doing this initially!)
In addition, the battery lasted, at most, 3 dives/hours before transmitter started flipping into "red".
The battery in the computer lasted ~6 dives/ hours with the same initial ultra short time from "green" to "orange".
At first I thought the issue might be continued pressure causing the transmitter to remain active - however, over the subsequent 3 days I obsessively made certain there was no remaining pressure in the system between dives (to the point of removing the first stage from the tank) and checked to make certain there was no noise/signal coming from the transmitter as a way to confirm "off". In addition I checked the computer to verify the absence of AI signal.
With all of the obsessing, I still had the same very low power/ length of charge issues.
Of note, I started the trip with my remaining blue non-rechargables and was able to get at least 15 dives/hours off each per device.

Transmitter problems:
Many times I would have to physically put my wrist next to the transmitter to get them to link while diving. Oddly, this did NOT occur on a regular basis.
I've reviewed the manual and have followed ALL instructions regarding mounting, connection/ electronic tethering, etc. I have the transmitter mounted as standard - directly to my first stage (on no extension hoses & my first stage is non-magnetic Titanium) and dive a standard BCD [Zeagle Stiletto = no extra metal backplate].
I wear the computer on the same side (right wrist) as the transmitter (by the right side of my head).
The dive assistants seemed quite responsible and did not pick my gear up by the transmitter - although one of these days something will bump into the plastic transmitter and shatter it (poor design guys!).
I don't know if it was due to battery issues, as problems occurred with both my last blue non-rechargable and the white rechargeable.

These issues really are bothersome as otherwise the Lynx is a fabulous, very easy to use and read computer!

 

[Fishnette]

We purchased 2 Lynx computers last year (July) and used them for local diving (one or two dives in a day) and had battery issues at times (luckily we always had a back-up Aeris computers along). In November we did a week's worth of diving in Bonaire and they were nothing but trouble. My husband and I both had battery issues where a fully charged battery would not last for 3 dives - it would give a ridiculously short low battery warning and then just shut down in the middle of the dive. There were also intermittent transmitter issues for both of us as well, and we would change/recharge the transmitter batteries daily. I came back from that trip totally dissatisfied with the Lynx computers and regretted ever purchasing them (especially since I was the one that insisted we get the Lynx). They may be easy to read underwater but they are completely unreliable - one of the worst things a dive computer should be. And since the same problems happened with both mine and my husband's, and it seems yours too, it wasn't like we just got a bad one.

I will be interested to see if anyone has any suggestions or similar experiences and responds to your post. At this point I'm thinking of selling the Lynxes and going to Shearwater or Diverite.

 

[gurnie]

LQ are notorious for battery issues, bought one and it rarely ever saw the water due to issues.. If you are looking for reliability go with the Shearwater...

 

[Teller]

I had two different Xeos over a period of a year. Both had issues. Shearwater is great.

 

[tigerkai]

Actually thinking of buying the lynx and T2, after reading this i give it a second thought.Have you guys try using other brands batteries? Like efest or aw IMR 16340, they seem to have good review.

 

[doctock993]

I'm also bothered by the lack of input on this issue from the Liquivision folk.
They used to monitor this forum & provide prompt replies.

 

[gurnie]

You are better off contacting them directly. Chances are they will tell you that the shortcomings of the device are your fault. I found their customer service less than friendly or helpful.

Sent from my MB886 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

 

[paulw]

I have the same battery issue with the transmitter using the rechargeable ones, three or four dives and its done but the LYNX unit is still green. So far all the dives I have taken it on needing to change batteries has not been a real issue but I think it will be really annoying on my next Bonaire trip where I dive five or six dives a day so I really hope they find an answer for this issue. As for the linking issue I have never had an issue with mine linking or loosing link on a dive. I was one of the first to receive one and have had questions on several occasions and quite different from what I read in this thread Liquivisions customer service has been outstanding each time I called or emailed. My O2.

Paul

 

[Liquivision]

It sounds to me like most of the people reporting this 'issue' are seeing what they think are low battery warnings which are not. If you use the white battery you must make sure to select the correct battery type in the Lynx wrist unit, both for the wrist unit battery type, and for the transmitter battery type. If you do not, the battery indicator will go yellow/red almost immediately because the white battery operates at a lower voltage than the blue (ER17335M) or green (ICR16340) batteries; this doesn't mean the battery is running out. If the battery indicator turns red it doesn't mean anything if the wrong battery type is selected for either the wrist unit or transmitter; this may lead you to feel you need to recharge the battery every day which is false.

The wrist unit battery life depends greatly on the mode you choose. If you run the unit in 'buddy' or group mode, the battery life is much less than if you run the device in 'solo' mode monitoring only your own transmitter. If you are diving with just your own transmitter make sure you select 'solo' mode.

The other challenge is you need to understand what the actual battery life expectation is. If you expect the battery to last 200 hours per charge you will be disappointed. The white battery (LFP123A) in the transmitter gives you around 10 hours of diving per charge (assuming you actually depressurize the 1st stage immediately after getting out of the water. A blue battery gives you around 25-30 hours of dive time. In the wrist unit, it depends on whether you are in 'solo' mode, buddy/group mode, or running with AI-off. It also depends on the brightness. At medium brightness in buddy mode, the white battery gives around 7 hours of 'on' time per charge. With a blue battery in solo mode you get about 40-50 hours of dive time depending on how long the battery sits inside the unit. If you run the wrist unit in buddy mode and you don't like recharging batteries then I recommend using the blue battery.

Keep in mind that all of these battery lifetimes are truly remarkable given what the product is capable of doing. The only other ultrasonic computer on the market (UTC UDI computer) is the size of a VHS videotape (enormous) because of a gargantuan battery inside it, and even then it only gets less than 10 hours per charge. It took us years to figure out how to transmit & decode ultrasonic signals with such small batteries as exist in the Lynx and the transmitter; other companies had tried and failed to do this. With the Lynx you have the only small, compact digital ultrasonic transceiver system capable of long range air monitoring, location, and capable of tank pressure monitoring that is not affected by scooters, strobes, or other sources of electromagnetic interference.

Eric Fattah
Liquivision Products

 

[paulw]

Ok, in my case it looks like Eric is probably correct. The other day I did the two updates 1.16 and 1.17 and I had to completely set up my computer from scratch and after seeing Eric's post I decided not to change the batteries from last weekends dives where the transmitter was showing red, I just returned from my dives and the transmitter was green when I started and is still green. I will see just how long they last and let yall know, 5 so far. I'm betting I had it set for the blue battery instead of the rechargeable white ones I use.

Paul