New Cobalt 2 Compass problem

[ducatstrada]

I used my new Cobalt 2 for the first time today. First 2 of 3 dives went great. Midway through the 3rd dive, the compass display went blank. The temperature/time displayed. Depth and max depth displayed. Pressing the right arrow again asked if I wanted to set bearing, press left arrow, no compass display.

I hear that Atomics has excellent customer service. Kind of a bummer that I would need to use it so quickly . Looking at the warranty information, says user must pay shipping to the factory. This shouldn't have to be the case if the computer is brand new and has a problem. So asking for advice. I guess I can just call them on Monday and see how they want to do this.

Has anyone else had this issue before? Everything else worked fine. Can I try resetting it myself to see what happens?

I did a reset, but still now compass display

Thanks,
Paul

 

[RonR]

Paul,

If the Cobalt detects bad data coming out of the compass chip, it will blank the display rather than show suspect information. This sounds like what the compass chip manufacturers call "stiction". It comes from contamination in the chip manufacturing process, and is rare, but does happen when something gets through their testing process without being caught. There are very tiny moving parts inside these chips, and even a stray molecule can cause them to stick.

This is going to sound odd, but try thwacking the Cobalt solidly against a table or even your hand, to see if this shakes the compass loose. I'm not suggesting this as a fix, but a diagnostic. It it is stiction, it's basically a mechanical problem inside the chip. We do have a diagnostic screen for the compass that we can look at to confirm the raw data coming from the chip, I will PM you with more info on that. If it is the compass chip, it's going to need to be replaced. And yes, Atomic does have great customer service. Sorry you need to find that out this way.

Ron

 

[faitheevans]

We love the Cobalt computer by Atomic but after numerous issues with my husband's Cobalt - had it back to the dive shop and manufacturer probably 4-6 times since 2011 when we bought them new - issues with contacts, the date issue in 2012 and fast battery discharge... Atomic replaced mine with a new Cobalt first generation in 2013 or 2014 - I forget. But my husband's Cobalt... well, he lost confidence in it so Atomic offered to let us buy a Cobalt 2 at a nice discount. We got it! Very excited. Got it home and charged it up, input the personal info and started checking it out. NO COMPASS DISPLAY!! Right out of the box! Compass can be calibrated and the screen asks if you want to set the 180 bearing, blah, blah... but no compass display. Reloaded the software, did a reboot - still no compass. Contacted Atomic and they said they would check it out if we would send it back to them. Well, I'm not paying shipping and I don't want that same computer. Going to exchange at the dive shop. Mind you, its about an 80 mile round trip to go to the dive shop each time. But I called to make sure they would have one completely charged so we can check it out at the shop before we leave. If we are not happy with that we will just get a refund and consider other options for a computer. It's too bad because I really like the Cobalt friendly user interface and underwater view-ability. You'd think these would be checked before they leave the factory...makes me wonder about the quality control of their equipment.

 

[RonR]

Faitheevans, I'm sending you a PM with information on how to access a diagnostic screen for the compass. That should be able to tell us what the issue is. It should be able to eliminate the need to send it back to Atomic for diagnosis.

-Ron

 

[faitheevans]

Thank you, Ron. But as you stated "if it happened once it can happen again. The only fix is a new chip." We'll go ahead and swap out computers at the dive shop and let them handle the issue with Atomic. I've already talked with them and they will have one charged and ready for us to "check" out before we leave the shop with it. I do appreciate your input and I DO still love the Cobalt. Maybe in a couple of years - if I need to - I will get a Cobalt 2 for me.

 

[RonR]

Yes, if what you are seeing is a stiction issue, the solution from your standpoint is to replace the Cobalt. I've only seen that issue a few times in all the Cobalt 2's shipped, but it would result in exactly what you are seeing, an empty compass display. I'd appreciate knowing the return information from the shop so we can track this unit and let the compass manufacturer know.

Thanks,

Ron

 

[Ricksteric]

Hi Ron
I sent you a email concerning this same problem

Rick