Spare handset/controller?

[berndo]

The Petrel on my JJ crapped out and the dive weekend was cut really short.
Now I'm wondering if I need a second handset as it would really suck to be on a dive trip with a useless rebreather. Do most people bring a spare handset on trips? Also, I hope Shearwater will get a service center in the EU that can fix EXT units and within a reasonable time frame. It seems that shearwater's buttons aren't all that reliable having long shipping times or very pricey express shipping and having to deal with customs is not good service.

 

[LFMarm]

On my Choptima I recently replaced my HUD with a second controller so that I can swap them in case of failure.

 

[beldridg]

Kind of.

I carry an old NERD 1 that has a 4 pin wetmate connector.

If my NERD2 fails, it is an easy swap.

If my Petrel controller on a 5 pin DiveCan bus fails, then I have to do a little work. I would still have the NERD2, but I also installed a spare analog 4 pin wetmate cable into my unit. I could remove the Petrel, rewire the new cable into the O2 cells, and use two NERDs.

I would lose the ability to have the solenoid fire and the RMS probes, but I’ve run my unit manually a lot anyway and don’t really need the RMS.

I though about getting a new Petrel3 and keeping the Petrel2 as a backup, but didn’t want to spend that kind of money.

- brett

 

[sea_ledford]

I just did a mixed gas class where our spare controller saved another students bacon. His just went blank at the beginning of the dive.

Just comes down to economics. Just doing local diving and you'll be out a couple hundred? Probably not worth it. Traveling halfway around the world to do a once in a lifetime trip? Spare controller seems like chump change.

 

[kensuf]

I brought a spare head with all the bits to Bikini. My luggage didn't make it, but that was an airline issue.

 

[berndo]

I brought a spare head with all the bits to Bikini. My luggage didn't make it, but that was an airline issue.

Wow, that sucks. Did you get your bag a day later or no rebreather for the entire trip? Isn't the Fathom small and light enough for a carry-on bag?

 

[stendhal]

This Saturdy, my New petrel 3 controlloer died during my night dive when I have 70 min of deco to go. Just went to black during ascend , and after surfacing I changed the battery still not working. This new controller got only 8 dives.
Now I think I will keep my old JJ petrel 2 controller with me.

 

[berndo]

This Saturdy, my New petrel 3 controlloer died during my night dive when I have 70 min of deco to go. Just went to black during ascend , and after surfacing I changed the battery still not working. This new controller got only 8 dives.
Now I think I will keep my old JJ petrel 2 controller with me.

Good luck getting it fixed if you're in china. I'm seriously considering selling the JJ and getting a unit that can run with a computer other than shearwater. Outside of the US or the UK the shearwater service is pretty bad. It's a bummer as I used to be a fan of shearwater .

 

[kensuf]

Wow, that sucks. Did you get your bag a day later or no rebreather for the entire trip? Isn't the Fathom small and light enough for a carry-on bag?

I arrived in Kwajelan/Ebeye and boarded a boat 3 hours later for the 30 hour transit to Bikini with none of my bags. United currently only flies the route on Monday/Friday, my bags didn't arrive until 4 days after I did, there was a second Bikini trip that was kind enough to bring me my stuff 5 days into the trip. Thankfully there was enough spare gear on the boat, including a JJ, which I was able to use.

 

[Wibble]

Contact Narked@90. They have an excellent reputation for fast and effective service.

Thought: keep an eye open for an old Predator that might be cheap. There's one on eBay at the moment

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