View Full Version : computer failures.
A few weeks ago my Suunto Vytec showed it had a low battery on start up.
I bought a few batteries mail order, which took time to arrive.
During this time I continued to dive with the computer & it did not show low battery at start up, so thought no more of it, assuming it was perhaps the cold affecting the battery.
Recently I dived again with the same battery, this time the computer indicated the low battery at start up, as I didn’t bring a spare battery with me I still used it.
Worth pointing out I also use a dive timer, which shows ascent rate, depth, time etc. but does not calculate decompression.
While diving I though it odd that my buddy was diving slightly above me while I was diving at the agreed depth.
Eventually I noticed that my dive timer was reading 0.6 meters deeper than my computer.
I checked this against my buddy’s computer to find the same reading.
My computer was out by 0.6 meters & indicating I was shallower than I actually was.
This would of course not be able to calculate the decompression or no stop times accurately & place me on the dangerous side of the reading.
Had I been on a deeper dive the results could have proved to be dangerous.
I never solely rely on my computer; I generally have a back up & a slate for deep dives.
So just a word of warning if you dive solely on a computer, they are not without fault.
Scary stuff really. Glad you spotted it when it wasn't serious, I keep meaning to buy a depth timer myself, used to use a main computer and a back up but went to depth gauge and watch (as back up) when one of them went belly up... :(
I really must extract the digit and sort something out. Thanks for the reminder:o
(edited because I can't spell!)
I have never needed a computer, nor do I want one. What do I use?, a watch, depth guage and deco tables that are firmly implanted in my scull after 30 odd years of diving:D
you'll tend to find that most electronic equipment that uses small batteries, start behaving erratically when the charge drops below 33%
I use a computer, although I always check ndl times before I dive.
In our family we've had not one, not two, but three Aladdins pack up on us this year. My Aladdin Pro just upped and died during a dive in the Sound of Mull in August (feedback was that the circuit had "gone"; and being 6 years old it was no longer under warranty). I bought a new (to me) one on ebay and used it for 3 months before it last month. Helen's Aladdin Pro (new model, 2 years old) died under similarly mysterious circumstances in September. It was replaced though with an Aladdin Tech at no charge ...
strange ... maybe it's my magnetic field ...
This reminds me of a dive I made at the A frames at Finnart. The dive was going well and we had reached 29m and were zig-zagging our way back up the slope and came to some concrete blocks where I checked my Suunto Vyper and it read 5m. So we made our safety stop for 3mins. 'That's odd' I thought. 'I should be able to see the surface', but couldn't. It wasn't until we had surfaced and I spoke to my buddy who told me we were actually at 12m! He thought I was doing a deep safety stop. My computer had not come on until we had reached 7m on our descent and was registering 0m at 7m! This is the only time this has happened. What I think had happened was that I had tightened the strap too tight around my arm and the water sensor on the computer hadn't got wet until at depth. Any other suggestions?
This reminds me of a dive I made at the A frames at Finnart. The dive was going well and we had reached 29m and were zig-zagging our way back up the slope and came to some concrete blocks where I checked my Suunto Vyper and it read 5m. So we made our safety stop for 3mins. 'That's odd' I thought. 'I should be able to see the surface', but couldn't. It wasn't until we had surfaced and I spoke to my buddy who told me we were actually at 12m! He thought I was doing a deep safety stop. My computer had not come on until we had reached 7m on our descent and was registering 0m at 7m! This is the only time this has happened. What I think had happened was that I had tightened the strap too tight around my arm and the water sensor on the computer hadn't got wet until at depth. Any other suggestions?
You should have sent it back to Sunnto for a service check.
This was 2 years ago and the battery has been changed since and it has been serviced. Thanks anyway.
PS I'll vote for you to be moderator on handbagnet when I register!!!
What I think had happened was that I had tightened the strap too tight around my arm and the water sensor on the computer hadn't got wet until at depth. Any other suggestions?
your computer is not solely triggered by a water sensor, but a pressure sensor.
i.e. it does not have to get wet.
you could put it in a pressure pot & dry test it to depth, the computer would respond.
a little like a deco chamber, same effect.
reading 7 meters out is frightning.:eek:
did you have a depth gauge as well to check against or just in the habdit (as i am) of using the computer as a depth gauge?
i dont have a depth gauge, i have a comp & a timer, both show depth.
a good little trick is sticking a small thin depth gauge on the back of a reel, this being the most common place you would need it if sea diving.
p.s. i have no idea what could have happened to your computer to behave like this.
My VR3 which at nearly £700 packed in last year at 18m at the start of a
43m dive it flooded was not happy cost £308 to get it sorted...