VEO 250 Dive Computer

[scubadon64]

Hi ya'll,

Any one had issues with an Oceanic Veo 250 resetting the date to 1/2003 and possibly randomly shutting off? On a recent dive trip to Bonaire, more than one person noticed this behavior on their Veo 250. Firmware appears to be version 2b. Not sure if it can be updated. The computers restart with a simple push of the button.. and the battery indicator appears to show full strength. Some settings like the date appear to be reset to defaults. It's a bummer when diving Nitrox and it happens in between dives.. No one remembers it happening during a diving.. only when hanging out between dives..

My computers a more than 2 years old.. but haven't been used very much.

Thanks for any help possible.

 

[deepstops]

I'd start off by changing the battery even though it registers as full. Also make sure the contacts are clean when you do.

 

[scubadon64]

Thanks Brian!

I got a quick and very polite response from Oceanic support. The tech said it was more than likely a hardware issue. Since the computers are out of warranty being purchased more than 2 years ago, it will cost $120 per unit not counting the initial shipping/insurance to Oceanic. The latest firmware version is 2D, but the tech did not think a simple firmware update would resolve the issue of the computer powering off. They are about to "close down" for the holiday season, so I will probably wait until next year to send them in for service. It's a bit concerning that two of the four VEO 250 computers exhibited this behavior on our recent trip and all four are pretty close to the same age ( 3 years old ). Wonder if any one else has seen this...

We had Oceanic Prodigy computers before we earned our Nitrox certification, and we never needed to have them serviced other than replacing the o-ring for the battery. Still working after 12-13 years.

Thanks again... I'll try cleaning the terminals on mine and recommend my friends do the same to theirs.

don

 

[scubadon64]

Oh... I should mention.. my battery was just replaced before the trip... Unfortunately, I can't tell how old the package was from the store. And we made 9 more dives after this started happening based on the log. It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the dives when we got home that I saw how many had the wrong date time stamp. During the trip I had noticed the
computer powering off... but I didn't catch the date being 2003 until after I had made several more dives. It only appeared to happen between dives a couple times that I noticed. Of course we were driving from one dive site to another, so I'm not sure if it happened more than that or not since my focus was not on the computer at all times.

 

[deepstops]

The Oceanic support rep is probably right especially if two of them are doing the same thing.

 

[NCadiver]

Did you reset the date after you took out the battery? Make sure you did not bend the pin to much after you change the battery.

 

[scubadon64]

Yeah, I set the date when the battery was replaced. My dive log from the trip shows the first 14 dives have the correct date time stamps which matches my written log. I'll check the pin just in case.. My friend who also had the same issue with their unit powering off, had to go on another trip but I'll have him check his wife's computer when he gets back home next week.

When the tech said it was more than likely a hardware issue, I didn't think to ask if it was a "known" hardware issue with this model of computer or if it was some general failure. Both computers owned by separate people appeared to work for days before exhibiting this behavior. Maybe it was only a fluke that it happened to both computers about the same time.. My friends did about 5 more dives than me...

I know on one occassion I had just checked a few of my settings a few minutes before.. and then looked back down and the computer was now off. On another, I was just entering the water and noticed the unit was off and it had been on just minutes before.. Not sure exactly when the date was reset. I know the system will eventually shutoff to save the battery, but
in these two cases, I had pushed the buttons just minutes before. Maybe that doesn't reset the timeout/power down clock. But that would not explain the date being reset to 1/2003.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[lmorin]

I think this is a real problem with at least some Oceanic computers. Mine stopped functioning mid-dive in the Bahamas. I had dropped to 100 fsw and started to ascend. Looked at my Veo250 just as it closed up shop for a few seconds. I continued to ascend and when I reached 89 ft, the computer turned back on. It behaved as if the dive had started at 89 fsw, rather than at 0. My wife was with me, also with a Veo250. Hers has never had this problem. We dove another 3 days with no further issues.

Upon returning home, I took the computer to the LDS and they sent it to Oceanic. It was 3 yrs past warranty, so all they would do was rebuild it for about $120. That probably means that all new electronics were put in. I also posted about this problem on this site. Several other people wrote about similar issues. I think there is an inherent defect in at least some of the Oceanic computers because their is no good reason why they should simply stop, not having sustained some form of damage. Or, if there is, Oceanic is not telling potential customers about it. I received no explanation about why mine failed acutely, recovered, then continued normally.

 

[scubadon64]

Imorin,

Thanks for the reply. I too suspect they just put new electronics in since the tech said they turn them around in a day and it's pretty hard to update solidstate electronics of this size. They also mentioned repairs performed on a non-warranty basis carry a new one year warranty.

The tech didn't offer any other explanation or suggestions other than sending it in for repairs. Could be they bound legally to make such suggestions in case the customer continues to use the
computer which results in an injury. Or maybe that's just their canned response, I'm not sure in either case.

I checked the battery and contacts last night and every thing appeared to be intact and no leaks had occurred. I'm not to fond of the new battery access cover since reseating the o-ring and locking the lid takes two hands whereas the older Prodigy computers, it was a simple screw on lid. But that's another story.

Thanks again for your help. I suspect I will wait until some time next year to have the unit serviced since I don't think I will be using it until next Spring when it warms back up!

 

[knfevg]

I have Veo200 and when I dived in January (last time I dived) it did EXACTLY the same thing. I too replaced the battery one day before the dive....
Just now finished replacing a battery and the o-ring (maybe water got into it)... hope it will help as I'm going to Sinai in 2 weeks.