Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Dive Computer

[scubafanatic]

Scubatoys said today their batch will be shipping out from Atomic Monday 11/15 and will arrive to them by the end of the week.

 

[scubafanatic]

got a call from Scubatoys this afternoon...the COBALTS have arrived!

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Indian Valley Scuba and ScubaGearPlus have them in stock also! Come on down, call us at 800-825-2452, or go on line and get yours!

 

[Liquivision]

You just oughta be thankful they're not coming out with a slightly smaller wrist mount version!

Have you been to Liquivision lately? Come on in, sit down, click around and spend a few minutes.

-Doug
Liquivision Marketing & Sales Manager

 

[AGoodStart]

I have an Oceanic VT3, which I love, but I would not call it "intuitive" to use. Picked up my Cobalt this afternoon (won it in a raffle at my LDS and got the first production unit to arrive in stock). Brought it home to my fiance, who is waiting to do her OW certification dives. She had it figured out in seconds. She was immediately able to figure out how to navigate through all of the basic modes that would be necessary for diving. She might have to read up on the dive planning and simulation functions, but she could easily set it up, hook it up and dive it without reading the book if she needed to do so. Of course, we would not do that, but it speaks to the added safety that will come along with those brand new divers actually understanding how to use their brand new computers when they go on that first live-aboard trip after getting their C-card.

 

[Scared Silly]

I played with the computer while chatting with the designer who comes a physics and instrumentation background. The menu system is pretty easy to navigate through. A few things will probably take the user's guide but what computer does not. The switches are magnetic which is cool. We chatted some about little things like the algorithm above 150 a modified RGBM while below a full RGBM. Firmware updates are possible and is repair of little thing like the pressure transducer. All in all it seems like a very nice computer.

 

[scubafanatic]

I picked up my new pair of Cobalts on Wed, and did the basic set up (but haven't yet done the dive simulator stuff or hooked them up to full tanks yet) and they do appear to be very nice computers ! I need to figure out exactly how best to attach SS clips to the units so I can clip them off.....and I'll need to order/install some ZAGG screens (which I'll have to custom cut by ordering Oceanic Pro Plus ZAGG screens and trimming them down to size to fit the smaller Cobalts.)

 

[Downing]

My Cobalt came in on Tuesday, and I've been playing with it above water ever since. I almost certainly won't open water dive again until next spring/summer (warm water wussie), so I'm going to spend some time with it at my LDS's pool starting today.

The proprietary hose looks a little short for my taste. I'd like another six to eight inches. I'm going to give it a go this morning, but I'm thinking I'll probably call Atomic Monday to see if/when I can get a longer hose for it.

Otherwise, it's been a blast to play with and as others have said it's very intuitive to use.

Scubafanatic, is there an advantage to using ZAGG screen protectors over the pair of protectors that come with the Cobalt?

I'm surprised, and a little disappointed, that Atomic didn't include some sort of travel bag with it. Good thing I have a drawer full of old socks.

 

[scubafanatic]

My Cobalt came in on Tuesday, and I've been playing with it above water ever since. I almost certainly won't open water dive again until next spring/summer (warm water wussie), so I'm going to spend some time with it at my LDS's pool starting today.

The proprietary hose looks a little short for my taste. I'd like another six to eight inches. I'm going to give it a go this morning, but I'm thinking I'll probably call Atomic Monday to see if/when I can get a longer hose for it.

Otherwise, it's been a blast to play with and as others have said it's very intuitive to use.

Scubafanatic, is there an advantage to using ZAGG screen protectors over the pair of protectors that come with the Cobalt?

I'm surprised, and a little disappointed, that Atomic didn't include some sort of travel bag with it. Good thing I have a drawer full of old socks.

Well, Atomic includes a pair of OEM screen protectors, so when one gets scratched, you can swap it out, Atomic says. It appears Atomic considers their screen protectors a consumable/expendable item. ZAGG, on the other hand, bills their product as almost indestructable/military grade...plus I've got ZAGGs on many of my other computers and they have a good track record with me...other than their installation is a bit tricky and you have to be very careful to not screw up.

I also noticed the Atomic HP hoses being a few inches shorter than say, the OEM Oceanic DataMax Pro Plus II HP hoses I'm using...that being said, that actually might not be a bad thing, as I like to have the hoses 'tight'/streamlined and my Oceanic HP hoses tend to loop out a bit, causing a little bit more of a snag/drag issue, so I think I'll be happy 'losing' a few surplus inches anyway. Additionally, the thin Kevlar HP hoses are more flexible than conventional HP hoses, which makes it easier to bend the hose so the hose can be shorter to achieve the same ease-of-use.

It would have been nice if Atomic had included a 'free' neoprene console cover, so now I need to go shopping for something suitable,.....also, the ATOMIC OEM console clip off attachment 'thingy' is rather cheesy/poorly designed, so I immediately removed those and will now study the units to figure out how to best attach a proper SS clip.....the Atomic OEM 'system' is way too 'recreational (stupid) for my tastes.....so a few interesting shortcomings in a $ 1200 dive computer.

 

[AGoodStart]

Anyone know what software to use for interfacing with the unit? Box did not contain drivers or any kind of interface application. Manual says to check the Atomic website, but nothing there either. Do any log applications support it yet? I'm on a Mac so, hopefully, MacDive will support it, but I can also run Windows on the same Mac or on another laptop. Any thoughts on what application(s) to use for what purposes - particularly downloading the log data?