Shearwater Peregrine TX battery reliability

[vaughnd]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a Peregrine TX. I use an apple watch ultra as my daily watch and backup computer, so I'm keen on a console-style computer for legibility. My only worry is the rechargeable battery. I'm in Cape Town, South Africa, so there's no official service center although Shearwater is sold by two shops in SA. I only do recreational air and nitrox <40m diving, so I don't need all the extras that the more expensive Shearwater's offer, but I do like the user-replaceable AA battery. Air integration is a non-negotiable.

My question is whether the battery in the Peregrine TX is reliable?

I just had a Mares Sirius refuse to charge on any charging pad while on an RA trip, so I'm naturally wary of rechargeable kit now. Also trying to find a half-AAA battery for the Mares transmitter in remote locations is impossible, so saner design choices would be great. My apple watch has been fine with charging, so it could just be Mares quality. Seeing as I also had a Mares Smart freeze up on me and need to be replaced, straps unscrew themselves, straps split, etc. I think I'm officially done with Mares computers now.

Thanks,
Vaughn

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

My question is whether the battery in the Peregrine TX is reliable?

I have a Shearwater NERD2 which has their rechargeable battery. Had it over a year with no issues. There is a thread, I think on the shearwater forum here that has discussion about this.

 

[lexvil]

Mine has been sitting more than diving, when I turn it on to check I don’t see any power lever drop, the Apple Watch is more likely to have battery issues before the Peregrine since it’s in constant use and doing a recharge every few days.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I have a Peregrine (not the TX model) that is now a backup to my backup, but I have had it for 4.5 years and have put 150+ dives on it. I turn it on and charge it up every 90-120 days with zero charging issues. I take it for a dive a few times a year and it continues to work flawlessly. Zero issues with battery life nor issues charging when needed.

 

[GreggS]

I have the TX and the battery lasts for quite a while. I bought 2, one for me and one for my wife. Although we didn't dive as much as we'd have liked after receiving them in late June, we did several dives over the next 3 month period. They were fully charged when we received them and both were still showing about half a charge when I charged them for winter storage in early December.

The rechargeable battery was a concern of mine as well when I was looking at the TX, but I was assured by several Peregrine owners that the battery is very reliable and lasts for many dives between charges. From my experience so far, I have no reason to dispute that.

 

[d^2b]

My newish TX showed only a small charge drop over sixty days in storage. I forget where I got this habit from, but I like to recharge my computers every 90 days or so if I'm not diving.

 

[Nemrod]

I have an original Peregrine from when they first came out. The battery is every bit as strong today as my brand new TX. Eventually the battery will need to be replaced, someday. They both will run a full weeks of dives, three or so per day. Charging is easy.

I was not aware there was a console version, I wear mine on my forearms or may put the back up on my camera float arms.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

My newish TX showed only a small charge drop over sixty days in storage. I forget where I got this habit from, but I like to recharge my computers every 90 days or so if I'm not diving.

That is actually Shearwater's recommendation right out of the manual.

 

[vaughnd]

Thanks all. I'm a lot more confident in my purchase now.

Sounds like it's not a problem compared to the watch-style rechargeables with small batteries. I dive maybe once a month or three other than dive trips, so I'll set a reminder to top it up every 3 months.