Subsurface 4.9.4 has been released

[dirkhh]

If by "PC software" you mean Subsurface - no, you can't. Here is the quote from FAQ | Subsurface

How do I download dives from my Bluetooth LowEnergy, BLE, Bluetooth Smart dive computer (e.g., Shearwater Perdix AI, Shearwater Perdix (latest models), Suunto EON Steel)?

At this point (May 2018, Subsurface 4.7.8) the release versions of Subsurface for Linux and Mac and Subsurface-mobile for iOS and Android support connecting to dive computers over BLE. We are continuing to work on this support for Windows, but don’t have a version that supports BLE on Windows, yet. In the meantime we suggest using Subsurface-mobile on iOS or Android to download from your dive computer and then sync the dive data via the Subsurface Cloud.​

Hrmpf. The FAQ urgently needs updating.
At this point (May 2020, Subsurface 4.9.4) BLE downloads should work on all platforms.
However, most BLE dive computers have "interesting" BLE implementations (basically because there is no good standard for doing this kind of data transfer via BLE). As a result getting a dive computer to pair can be extremely painful. And many dive computers respond rather poorly when you try to use them with multiple computers / mobile devices. E.g., all Shearwater devices appear to remember the last BLE device that they talked to (e.g., your phone) and will not pair with your computer if the phone is nearby. My recommendation is to try and try again until you have it working with one device and then not mess with it. I have three different Shearwater dive computer and each is paired to a different end point so I can test... and yes, this has been tested to work with Windows (one of the developers who helped write the Qt BLE code for Windows that we use is actually a Subsurface developer and he uses a Shearwater Perdix AI for his testing - so we know this works with Windows).
Also, with Windows, please carefully read the user manual. Windows is even more finicky than the other OSs when it comes to getting BLE devices to pair.

 

[Pearlman]

Ok

WHICH app did you find? which version number do you see? It should be 3.0.5.

For that one, you cannot transfer the GPS data. Instead you share your dive log with the app and GPS data are applied on your phone (and then synced back to your dive log).

3.0.5 it is. So the GPS data gets embedded into the dive logs on the phone and once transferred to the cloud that GPS data should be available on the desktop?

What if I did it in reverse? And many days later after the phone had restarted? I may need to do this - Because my DC has a custom usb cable the other end of which is usb-A not micro- USB or usb-c that requires propeitory USB serial drivers from Hollis on windows at least. So I have no way to download the dives from DC to phone...it would be useful if SS on Android simply logged the GPS timestamps and saved them then automatically matched it to any dive log from the cloud when the phone app downloads it. Then let it persist and transfer back to the desktop as well... Reading the post above this feature would be useful to let divers sync their DC with a more reliable laptop BTLE connection/transfer and then use the phone app to simply record the GPS via the cloud...


I may have done SS on linux without the propeitory drivers in the past , will check again tomorrow.

 

[stepfen]

Hi @dirkhh. I just noticed a minor bug in the latest desktop version (4.9.4) in windows 10.

Once I add tank and start/end pressures for a new dive, the calculated SAC value is shown in the corresponding area in the Information Tab, but it is not shown in the list with the dives.
Here is a screenshot:

SAC for older dives appear in the list correctly (sorry I cropped it too much).

Once I save the dives and reopen the program SAC values appears in the list for the new dives too.

BTW I just managed to dive today after the lockdown and to try things out I imported the dives first to subsurface mobile using my Xiaomi Note 4, my Cressi Newton DC and DivemateIR and it worked like a charm !!! Ccongratulations once more for solving this!! Then I synced the dives to the desktop to edit them and I saw the bug I reported above.
Let me know if you need more info!
Thanks a lot.

 

[kelemvor]

My recommendation is to try and try again until you have it working with one device and then not mess with it. I have three different Shearwater dive computer and each is paired to a different end point so I can test... and yes, this has been tested to work with Windows (one of the developers who helped write the Qt BLE code for Windows that we use is actually a Subsurface developer and he uses a Shearwater Perdix AI for his testing - so we know this works with Windows).

An easy workaround for this is to temporarily disable bluetooth on the phone. On Android, it's very easy as there's a bluetooth icon in the main pulldown.

 

[stepfen]

I just noticed another minor thing. In the information tab I think you should reverse the star rating for the currents. I know it's a matter of taste (some people like currents some don't) , but I think it is more logical the more starts to mean more/stronger current. The way it is now 1 star is described as "strong" while 5 stars as "weak".
All the best

 

[Umuntu]

WHICH app did you find? There is an ancient "companion" app that I have tried to remove from the store which for a while had that "no longer in active development" comment. The Subsurface-mobile app had it's last release just a week ago - which version number do you see? It should be 3.0.5.

For that one, you cannot transfer the GPS data. Instead you share your dive log with the app and GPS data are applied on your phone (and then synced back to your dive log).

I was unable to find a link to download the mobile Apps on the Subsurface website.

 

[dirkhh]

So the GPS data gets embedded into the dive logs on the phone and once transferred to the cloud that GPS data should be available on the desktop?

correct. when you run the "GPS locations service" on the phone it basically creates a list of time/GPS locations. When you then "Apply GPS fixes" to the dive log, it finds the best GPS fix for a dive and sets the coordinates of that dive location accordingly.

What if I did it in reverse? And many days later after the phone had restarted? I may need to do this - Because my DC has a custom usb cable the other end of which is usb-A not micro- USB or usb-c that requires propeitory USB serial drivers from Hollis on windows at least. So I have no way to download the dives from DC to phone...

The cable is proprietary, but to the best of my knowledge this is just a standard USB cable which should be fully supported on Android. So depending on your phone this may be as simple as one of those 4 dollar USB A-to-C dongles (one of which is included with many phones, anyway). I have an Oceanic dive computer that uses the same cable and that works just fine with the latest Android version.

it would be useful if SS on Android simply logged the GPS timestamps and saved them then automatically matched it to any dive log from the cloud when the phone app downloads it. Then let it persist and transfer back to the desktop as well... Reading the post above this feature would be useful to let divers sync their DC with a more reliable laptop BTLE connection/transfer and then use the phone app to simply record the GPS via the cloud...


I may have done SS on linux without the propeitory drivers in the past , will check again tomorrow.

Please don't call Subsurface 'SS'. A lot of people have very negative connotations with those two letters written like that.
And I believe we do exactly what you are asking. If you cannot figure out how to connect your dive computer with the phone (especially common for iOS users), you can simply at some later point in time download the dives on your laptop, push them to the Subsurface Cloud, sync on the phone, apply the GPS fixes, and sync back to the computer.

 

[dirkhh]

Hi @dirkhh. I just noticed a minor bug in the latest desktop version (4.9.4) in windows 10.

Once I add tank and start/end pressures for a new dive, the calculated SAC value is shown in the corresponding area in the Information Tab, but it is not shown in the list with the dives.
Here is a screenshot:
View attachment 584149

SAC for older dives appear in the list correctly (sorry I cropped it too much).

Once I save the dives and reopen the program SAC values appears in the list for the new dives too.

BTW I just managed to dive today after the lockdown and to try things out I imported the dives first to subsurface mobile using my Xiaomi Note 4, my Cressi Newton DC and DivemateIR and it worked like a charm !!! Ccongratulations once more for solving this!! Then I synced the dives to the desktop to edit them and I saw the bug I reported above.
Let me know if you need more info!
Thanks a lot.

It's easiest for us if you open a GitHub issue.

Update: I just did that for you: Looks like SAC isn't updated in the dive list itself · Issue #2814 · subsurface/subsurface feel free to add to it.

 

[dirkhh]

I just noticed another minor thing. In the information tab I think you should reverse the star rating for the currents. I know it's a matter of taste (some people like currents some don't) , but I think it is more logical the more starts to mean more/stronger current. The way it is now 1 star is described as "strong" while 5 stars as "weak".
All the best

Haha... that was an active debate among the developers and in the end the person implementing the feature 'won'.
So yeah, that is unfortunately intentional.

 

[dirkhh]

I was unable to find a link to download the mobile Apps on the Subsurface website.

Correct, there is no such link. In your app store, simply search for Subsurface-mobile.