Uwatec Aladdin Prime

[sloyota]

New diver just got an Aladdin Prime to use...pratically new...

Just wondering: I set the time...but what else is involved?

I used a wrist computer once, yet this AP seems a little more complicated.

I am hesitant to use the computer unless I understand what I need to.

The manual says English, but the instructions sure the heck isn't written in English.

Any pointers?

Please don't bash me for being a newbie, but I 'd rather be safe than sorry, which is why I will definately use my tables too.

Thank you in advance.

 

[stormrider]

The manual is quite easy to understand. The chart found in page 5 should be easy to figure out.

Its all a matter of learning how to press the buttons. There is the short press (to scroll through the menu) and the longer press (to enter or set).

In setting the local time and date (found in Set 2), you should take note of the time difference of your location vs. UTC (GMT). And your preference -- AM/PM or 12/24h readout.

Aside from the time, the other notable settings you should customize to your preference would be the unit system (English or Metric) and activation of the water contact both found in Set 1.

 

[sloyota]

Check check...made those little adjustments.

Providing the Unit and H20 contact is on, once in the water, is the rest pretty simple?

I am going to take a shallow dive with my instructor tomorrow, but he uses a watch, the S Mosquito.

I opted for a console computer so when I ascend, at least I can view the console instead of needing to view my hand/wrist.

Still a newbie.

Thank you for the pointers; that chart on Page 5 confused me...but slowly figuring that out.

 

[stormrider]

Once in the water, its pretty straightforward. It displays present depth, dive time, no-stop time, present temp and max. depth.

Safety stop timer is activated manually.

You will also notice that the Suunto Mosquito is more conservative than your computer.

 

[rakayaker]

Best advice I can give is use it and play with it underwater. It is automaticaly on - water pressure will turn it on. You really only need to set the O % if you are diving with Nitrox, otherwise it will do pretty much everything all by itself. It takes some getting used to if you've never used a computer before. Not rocket science, but the safety stop timer, caution beeps, etc. take some time to become rote. You can use a light to make the surface glow (I found that out on a night dive.)

My biggest issue is getting an infrared to read it to transfer to my computer, haven't had much luck yet and am going out soon to get an new reader. I have 15 dives on it and had to make manual log entries for all so far.

 

[Graham Leach]

Hello,

There's a tutorial available on eBay that I just bid on.

I found the manual really, really confusing. I almost ditched this computer as a result, especially after pissing around with the unit a bit too much and managing to improperly set BOTH my OXYGEN mix and my partial pressure. My divemaster pointed these items out to me, probably saving me some diving grief.

Eventually, after something like 3-4 hours of fiddling with the computer, it's starting to become familiar, but WAY WAY too complex - the company should put instructions on how to use this unit online in a movie, that's how fiddly it can be.

I'm hoping the tutorial video will help me master this thing once and for all, but I'm already saving up for a Citizen Nx as a replacement in a couple of years. The Nx has four (4) buttons and a much more straightforward operating metaphor than this computer.

For now, I think I've mastered the half-push and full-push mechanics of the Prime to not threaten my life any more.

The manual is a terrible mess and a far cry from some of the other computers I've seen on the market. While the device is easy enough to use (eventually) the lack of intuitive use and terrible manual (which attempts to instruct on two different models of the Prime at the same time - what a silly thing to do!) will probably spell doom for this unit in the long run.

The upside is that if you can master this computer there will probably be a lot of cheap ones on the market in a year or so and the unit itself, once properly configured and even half-understood, works great.

 

[NiclasG]

Hi Sloyota,

The user interface is very simple, but one has to understand the philosophy.

The user interface of the prime has ENTER/SELECT/CONFIRMATION logic(You have to
do a long press on the right to register changed vales or select a submenu) and CANCEL LOGIC (Long press left cancels changed entries).

So ENTER LOGIC means that you always have to confirm entries and ENTER LOGIC will make sure that you don't accidently modify values.

CANCEL LOGIC means that if you changed something you can always back out(You didn't yet press the ENTER button). CANCEL LOGIC is the escape when lost or unsure.

Short key presses left or right moves in the menu or increment/decrement.

Uwatec computers used to have all menus/sub-menus on a line:

END - nitrox - Start/surface mode - Logboox - Diveplanner -settings - END

The disadvantage with the line is that when you came to one end then you have to press the other button to move in the other direction.

In Prime everyting is arranged in circles. Regardless if you go in the left or right direction you always find the menu option you are looking for and in the end you always come back to the start. By choosing the correct left or right directon in the beginning you can minimize the amount of keypresses that you have to do to arrive at a specific option.

Also notice that when you increment a value the eventually it will turn around and start from beginning. Another abstract circle.

Why didn't UWatec put a separate ENTER button? Every mechanical button is a leakage risk. The less buttons you have on a computer the better.

============================================
short left/short right - Move in menus, increment/decrement values/toggle between yes&no
Long right = ENTER/CONFIRM/SELECT
Long left = CANCEL
All menus are circles->eventually everything repeats
============================================

Niclas
The b*st*rd that designed the UI 6 years ago. Since 4 years working for another company.