Apeks Transmitter Flooded

[FireDiver443]

Has anyone experienced a flooding incident with their Apeks MH-8A transmitter?

Battery was changed and the unit pressure tested at my local dive shop last month when my reg was in for service. I got two salt water dives in on Sunday with no issues, but when I was setting up my gear for my Monday dives, the transmitter wasn’t sending to my computer. Thought (hopefully) it was a firmware issue; I’ve noticed the i770R gets wonky (won’t charge) if there’s a firmware update available. I updated the firmware yesterday, and dove with it today. During set-up, I observed the transmitter still wasn’t sending. found a battery today (I’m in the Cayman Islands) and tried a battery change. the recently installed battery was corroded, which suggests I experienced a flood. No functionality with the new battery.

Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Mod63]

Yes, with the transmitter on our i750TC. As the i750TC was a peace of crap anyway, Aqualung made us an offer for a new i770R including a new transmitter that was more than gracious. I would ask my dealer to try to get a good deal on a new transmitter.

 

[FireDiver443]

Yes, with the transmitter on our i750TC. As the i750TC was a peace of crap anyway, Aqualung made us an offer for a new i770R including a new transmitter that was more than gracious. I would ask my dealer to try to get a good deal on a new transmitter.

Thanks for sharing that experience. My home dive shop has said they’ll fix this, and I have confidence in that statement. I’m glad I have a back-up gauge in my system, so I’m not going to lose any dives. Using the i770R, have you noticed the wonkiness when there’s a firmware update?

 

[scubadada]

All of the MH8A transmitters are produced by Pelagic Pressure Systems and then branded. One fairly common cause of flood is failure of the over pressure valve, OPV. Did you have a failure of your OPV, easy to tell upon observation? Depending on age, perhaps it was under warranty.

Question - Pelagic Pressure Systems or Shearwater (the Swift) transmitter failures

There have been discussions regarding failures of Pelagic Pressure Systems and Shearwater transmitters. For Shearwater, I mean only the Swift. Earlier Shearwater transmitters were manufactured by PPS and should be included in PPS voting in the poll. I would like to get an idea about how these...

scubaboard.com

 

[FireDiver443]

All of the MH8A transmitters are produced by Pelagic Pressure Systems and then branded. One fairly common cause of flood is failure of the over pressure valve, OPV. Did you have a failure of your OPV, easy to tell upon observation? Depending on age, perhaps it was under warranty.

Question - Pelagic Pressure Systems or Shearwater (the Swift) transmitter failures

There have been discussions regarding failures of Pelagic Pressure Systems and Shearwater transmitters. For Shearwater, I mean only the Swift. Earlier Shearwater transmitters were manufactured by PPS and should be included in PPS voting in the poll. I would like to get an idea about how these...

scubaboard.com

Great insight! Thank you. I experienced no OPV failure. I’m 59 and my eyesight isn’t what it once was. As I hotwash this, I think the computer told me there was a problem (one yellow bar warning, one red bar warning) near the end of dive #2 Sunday, but I was unable to read the text included. It wasn’t an ascent alarm and I’d dived a conservative profile, my gas state was fine, and I wasn’t even close to an ascent rate issue. I’ve reviewed the alarms listed in the i770R manual related to the transmitter, and in hindsight, I think the computer was warning me of a low battery issue. thank you for responding!

I’ve had no problems with the computer/xmitter before my shop performed the battery change. I’m leaning to some sort of problem related to that work being performed.

 

[Mod63]

Thanks for sharing that experience. My home dive shop has said they’ll fix this, and I have confidence in that statement. I’m glad I have a back-up gauge in my system, so I’m not going to lose any dives. Using the i770R, have you noticed the wonkiness when there’s a firmware update?

No issues with the i770R or the transmitter since 2019.

 

[Belzelbub]

I’ve had no problems with the computer/xmitter before my shop performed the battery change. I’m leaning to some sort of problem related to that work being performed.

Any dives before those two since the shop changed the battery? If not, I would definitely be expecting the shop to take care of it.

That said, there are not many ways to screw up the battery change on a PPS transmitter. It's ridiculously simple. Assuming the battery cover was tightened fully, about the only thing that could cause this would be an o-ring issue. A nicked, or incorrect o-ring could cause this. Take a look at the o-ring. If you haven't already cleaned, the point of ingress may show via salt. Carefully inspect for the condition of the o-ring. I'd also have a look at the size. It should be an AS568-016 o-ring. A smaller one could be stretched a bit to fit, but won't seal as it should.

 

[FireDiver443]

Any dives before those two since the shop changed the battery? If not, I would definitely be expecting the shop to take care of it.

That said, there are not many ways to screw up the battery change on a PPS transmitter. It's ridiculously simple. Assuming the battery cover was tightened fully, about the only thing that could cause this would be an o-ring issue. A nicked, or incorrect o-ring could cause this. Take a look at the o-ring. If you haven't already cleaned, the point of ingress may show via salt. Carefully inspect for the condition of the o-ring. I'd also have a look at the size. It should be an AS568-016 o-ring. A smaller one could be stretched a bit to fit, but won't seal as it should.

Plenty of dives with no problems prior to the battery change. as stated earlier in the thread, my home dive shop said they’d make it right. I’m not worried about that. posed the question more to find out how widespread this problem is.

I’d agree: battery change in this unit seems pretty straightforward. I was surprised to have a flood.

Thank you for responding.

 

[Jens Bölte]

Well

It happens to the best of us. I once changed the battery on my MH-8A transmitter. Pressure checked it. I must have missed the leak. On the next dive my computer showed erratic pressure readings. I found a couple of water drops in the battery case when I opened the battery case. A new battery, a more thorough clean of the o-ring and the transmitter was working again. However, the battery did not look as bad as your battery does. And yes, it is a really simple procedure.

Best wishes Jens

 

[FireDiver443]

as stated previously, I still carry a gauge. Call me silly, but I’m reluctant to trust anything that contains a replaceable battery 100%. The transmitter failure didn’t stop me from getting a great week of diving in. I understand this is something that can happen when playing in the briny depths.

Thank you again to everyone who’s taken the time to respond to this thread.