Galileo Sol: a few questions for users

[Matt S.]

I'm considering picking one up in advance of my Roatan trip in May, but I have a couple of questions that I could not find the answers to in reviews.

Backlight
- Can I leave it on all the time during a night dive?
- Is it bright enough to read the display without messing around with my dive light?

Easy hands-free viewing during night dives is really important to me. I don't have that with my Suunto D6 and it drives me nuts. Since the Sol's battery is easy to replace, I will be more than happy to use it up quickly if it means good visibility.

AI transmitter
- Is the transmitter compatible with other, cheaper computers from the manufacturer?

I may find myself with a new dive buddy, and ideally, I'd be monitoring his air with the Sol's buddy system and he could use the same transmitter on his own, more modest AI computer.

(And if anyone happens to know what happens when you call Scubapro US with a warranty issue on a computer purchased from an authorized dealer in Spain, I would love to know...)

Thanks in advance.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

I'm considering picking one up in advance of my Roatan trip in May, but I have a couple of questions that I could not find the answers to in reviews.

Backlight
- Can I leave it on all the time during a night dive? Yes. You can set it for push on/push off.
- Is it bright enough to read the display without messing around with my dive light? Yes. If you have pretty normal vision.

Easy hands-free viewing during night dives is really important to me. I don't have that with my Suunto D6 and it drives me nuts. Since the Sol's battery is easy to replace, I will be more than happy to use it up quickly if it means good visibility.

AI transmitter
- Is the transmitter compatible with other, cheaper computers from the manufacturer? I believe the Galileo transmitter also works with at least the Uwatec Smart Tec and Smart Z computers. There may be other Uwatec's, but I'm not sure. The Galileo won't work with a non-Uwatec transmitter.

I may find myself with a new dive buddy, and ideally, I'd be monitoring his air with the Sol's buddy system and he could use the same transmitter on his own, more modest AI computer.

(And if anyone happens to know what happens when you call Scubapro US with a warranty issue on a computer purchased from an authorized dealer in Spain, I would love to know...) There's nothing in the Galileo manual's warranty section about them denying a warranty claim based on country of purchase, just whether or not the dealer is an authorized Scubapro/Uwatec dealer. My guess is that they don't care what country it was bought from. They wouldn't know if you were actually in Spain to buy it or had it shipped to the U.S. from Spain.
Thanks in advance.

It was just easier to answer in the quotes.

 

[Matt S.]

Thanks much! Now I have to see how much I can get for my Suunto.

 

[TheMadDane]

I bought my Sol from the same Spanish Co. online (I'm fairly certain) for a great price, and scubapro states that it's under full warranty. I told them I bought it on vacation. The Sol's transmitters will work with any scubapro/uwatec wireless dive CPU as far as I know.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

If the store in Spain you're thinking about buying the Sol from is scubastore.com (the one TheMadDane listed in another thread), Scubapro does list them as an authorized dealer. So I don't believe there would be any issue with the warranty.

A few extra pointers:
1. Buy new battery kits for both the Sol and the transmitter when you purchase the Sol. You never know how long the OEM batteries have been in there and you need back-ups anyway.
2. Buy an extra plastic screen protector. You are going to scratch the crap out of the one that's on there. They scratch easily and the computer is big and picks fights with things.
3. Read the manual. This thing has some cool features. When you first pull the manual out, it looks huge. Don't worry, it's in several different languages, that's why it's so thick. The English portion is pretty small.
4. Get used to other people's jealousy.
5. You Galileo Sol people suck!

BTW: The Sol is my wife's, I normally dive an Oceanic VT3. See what I mean about the haters.:mooner:

 

[Matt S.]

Good tips, thanks.

 

[mikeguerrero]

I own the Sol and love it... I use to have the VT3 and I sold it as soon as I dove with a diver that had the Sol... Much larger display and has so many cool features like the heart monitor for one... The plastic guard does scratch easy so I purchased a backup one.

It also ships with a 3m guard that you can place over the computer screen if you don't want to use the plastic guard. I choose the plastic guard instead since I have heard placing both makes it more difficult to see the screen.

Remember what others have said about this computer being big and yes it's a bully underwater, it really likes to pick fights with what ever it accidently bumps into. Make sure you keep it close to you...

 

[HBO MD]

I dove with the Sol for about a month in Palau : it is a magnificent device.
Some suggestions :
# I totally agree about purchasing spare batteries. I noted that after playing around with it and exploring the settings pre diving, the battery had already begun to lose power.
# I would "de tune" the respiratory effort setting as this is far too sensitive and if left at the default setting constantly sets off alarms and warnings.
# I would also recommend setting it to "mute". If not for your own sanity then out of courtesy for the other divers. This thing almost drove me nuts ; as there are a large number of potential warnings and alarms that can belch, burp and chirp ad nauseam.
# The screen refreshes itself every so often and goes blank for a fraction of a second. This is normal and doesn't demonstrate a fault.
# Error 6 means faulty battery insertion
# The transmitter definitely does NOT have to be on the same side as the wrist console. I was told that it optimizes transmission reception, but in fact I never lost signal and kept wearing the console on my left wrist without any problem the entire trip.
Safe diving !

 

[Specmac]

:
# I totally agree about purchasing spare batteries. I noted that after playing around with it and exploring the settings pre diving, the battery had already begun to lose power.

I agree on the spare batteries. But one thing I've noted after diving a SOL for almost a year. The battery gauge will drop a notch after a dive, but when turned off the battery will recover over night and show full the next day. I've had mine for almost a year and over 80 dives and the battery still shows full when rested.

I'm very pleased with this computer. Now if it had a bright full color LCD it would be almost perfect.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

I dove with the Sol for about a month in Palau : it is a magnificent device.
Some suggestions :

# I would "de tune" the respiratory effort setting as this is far too sensitive and if left at the default setting constantly sets off alarms and warnings.
# I would also recommend setting it to "mute". If not for your own sanity then out of courtesy for the other divers. This thing almost drove me nuts ; as there are a large number of potential warnings and alarms that can belch, burp and chirp ad nauseam.

I had completely repressed the memory of the alarms (thanks for bringing it back up). It truly can drive you, or in my case your buddy, insane.