Shearwater transmitter failure

[scubadada]

Hi Clammy,

I'm far from an expert on the topic. My family has 3 PPS transmitters. In 10 years I've had one failure, the transmitter quit sending any signal. I had the transmitter replaced with a new one from Oceanic for $120. I've not heard of a failure like the above. Assuming it was purchased from Shearwater, I would imagine they will repair or replace under warranty or offer a deal similar to Oceanic's if out of warranty.

@SISUAT let us know how this works out.

My first PPS transmitter lasted for 7 years, about 850 dives, before it quit transmitting. The replacement, from Oceanic, is now 3 years old, about 600 dives. The original Oceanic VT3 computer is now 10 years old, 1464 dives, 1540 hours!

 

[Cio]

Glenn,

I’m super OCD about my gear. I clean my regulator by placing my apeks din cap on my first stage and submerging the reg set in fresh water. I then do a final rinse of the second stages under running fresh water. There’s no chance the transmitter is stored pressurized, as I watch my analog SPG go to zero prior to each disconnect. The apeks DST does not have an ACD.

The last time I dive the transmitter was in December, I’ve been diving doubles since then and this transmitter was on my singles setup.

I’ve attached the requested photo.

In other news, shearwater is sending out a replacement. So here’s to their continued awesome service. This is night and day from what I experienced with my xdeep Black....

Do you have this non functioning transmitter? I would like to have a look inside it if you were willing to part with it.

 

[SISUAT]

Do you have this non functioning transmitter? I would like to have a look inside it if you were willing to part with it.

Cio,

I no longer have the transmitter, as I sent it back to Shearwater for a 1 for 1 swap.

-J

 

[Marcati]

I just had the same thing happen to my Shearwater transmitter last week in Subic. Completed several days of diving and in-between dives during one of the days the transmitter stopped working. According to Shearwater it was an OPV failure. When we opened the battery compartment there was brown sludge inside and the outside of the transmitter looks exactly like the OP showed. (Attaching photos for reference as well. I cleaned up the inside of the transmitter with Q-tips). Mine was manufactured in 2017 so it's out of warranty. Shearwater is giving me a discount to purchase a new Swift Ai Transmitter. I have two transmitters in my set-up, both purchased at the time when I bought the Perdix Ai. No issue with the second unit as of now.

 

[scubadada]

I previously described the failure of my 1st PPS/Oceanic transmitter after 7 years and 850 dives. This transmitter looked fine. The OPV was intact, and the battery compartment was pristine. Shearwater transmitter failure

My second PPS/Oceanic transmitter recently failed after 5 years and 875 dives. In this case, the OPV valve was missing with some discoloration around the orifice. When I opened the battery compartment, there was small amount of brown sludge. This transmitter was also replaced by Huish/Oceanic for $120.

It appears that Pelagic Pressure Systems transmitters rarely fail, in a variety of ways. For Oceanic transmitters, out of warranty units are replaced for $120. I would be interested in hearing how other brands are dealt with when out of warranty.

I am now on my 3rd PPS transmitter at the start of the 13th year. I use the transmitter with an Oceanic VT3 that I purchased in 2010 and with a Shearwater Teric I first purchased in 2019. The VT3 now has 1771 dives and 1862 hours on it! On the other hand, I'm currently on my 5th Teric Teric owners, have you required repair or replacement service?

 

[Belzelbub]

This one is going to be epic... I thought only Suunto transmitters were bad... lol

@Centrals, @Belzelbub and @Wibble anything you want to add regarding battery change being simple and only stupid people servicing their gear at official dive stores, etc... funny how you suddenly went radio silent...

I'll get the popcorn

Huh? Who went radio silent? Several of us were still posting in that other thread after you went radio silent, but don't let the facts get in the way.

For one who, as you said, dislikes the Shearwater interface so much, I don't know why you are looking through the Shearwater subforum other than to try to stir things up, but whatever. And the quote you posted was from 2019. Also, if you read the thread, it doesn't appear that this had anything to do with a battery change. The original post looks like it flooded after the red over pressure valve (kind of like a burst disk) blew. Not caused by a battery change.

As far as the more recent one, looks like the same cause. The OPV is missing from the case.

Congratulations, you found a failure that is completely unrelated to a battery change. If you are collecting these, you can add the ones that @scubadada mentioned above, and I'll give you one more. I bought a used transmitter that didn't power up. It was an Oceanic or at least a BM prefix. Probably 10 or more years old. Oceanic sent me a replacement, for the service charge of $120, which the seller covered. Transmitter showed some use, but did not show any water intrusion or anything else that would indicate a problem related to flooding. I use the refurbished replacement and have two others at home. I've successfully changed the batteries in all of them.

Nice try though. Keep looking for an actual failure related to a battery change.

 

[scubadada]

I made several battery changes in each of my PPS transmitters without problem. I generally change the transmitter battery when I change the battery in my VT3, around 200 dives.

 

[justinthedeeps]

I had one (a Swift) apparently lose an OPV(?) and flood also last month. Just ordinary air diving max depth less than 30m. Perhaps the OPV was the failure point? Or did something else go wrong and the OPV did what it was designed for?

The regional dive shop (Indonesia) worked with SW to arrange a replacement, as I'd had it for about a month.

I've had another Swift for about a year without blowing yet, but I guess we should be visually inspecting our OPVs before diving?

My ScubaPro transmitter has been in service for 5 years of heavy diving, not sure if it even has an OPV?

 

[Wibble]

That ego of yours makes you sound like a fool every time you open that mouth...

Yes, I totally dislike the interface. Do you have an opinion about that too???
ALL products fail, you tried to make Suunto look like crap just to justify your own purchase and I just highlighted that. There are plenty of Sheawater failures out there, it is absolutely logical and normal.
The same way it is normal for people to screw-up battery changes and flood their transmitters. Only an ignorant would believe that that doesn't happen.

"I've successfully changed the batteries in all of them". Congratulations again, you must be really proud.
Now a step-up from that will be to change the batteries on your bicycle led tail light.

Suunto is crap in comparison with Shearwater equipment.

Why is Shearwater chosen by most technical divers? I saw an EON Steel being used as a backup computer on a technical dive boat (circa 70m/230ft) dives recently. Turns out it is a marketing ploy, given to that diver in exchange for some insta/face/chat pics.

 

[tursiops]

I'm sure you'll not rest until you find one to justify your purchase and continued reliance on the dealer doing all your battery changes.

Perhaps he is afraid of changing his own battery.