Need help with an Aqua Lung i550C

[12th Man]

I picked up a new AL i550C dive computer. The owner of the dive shop I got it from in Texas said he'd set it up for me for recreational diving at not charge. I said sure! When I got home I went through the setups. Nothing seemed out of the norm. On my third dive I got a VIOL violation flashing when I got on board. I couldn't clear for 24-hours. My max depth was 92'. Is there a way to factory reset my dive computer? Does someone have a i550C they really know the ins and outs that could reach out to me please. I've tried since Monday to get hold of AL tech support with no luck or call back.

Many thanks

Jeff

 

[wnissen]

Hi, I owned that dive computer (well, the version before without Bluetooth, but otherwise the same). A couple of things. First, it is solidly a recreational computer. While it can calculate decompression stops and switch gasses it's not intended to be used that way. The manual even says "The i550C is intended for use by recreational divers", so I truly don't understand what the shop owner could possibly mean by setting in up for rec diving at no charge. It's not a computer that has multiple tec/rec modes or any significant configuration at all. You can set conservatism and whether it uses deep stops but that's about it.

So, on to your VIOL message. "The i550C enters Violation Mode when a situation exceeds its capacity to predict an ascent procedure. These dives represent gross excursions into decompression that are beyond the boundaries and spirit of the i550C's design. If you are following these dive profiles, Aqua Lung advises that you should not use an i550C."

Your computer thinks you were in decompression and did not follow the stops, putting you at significant risk for DCI (Decompression Illness). Assuming everything was functioning properly, you would have gotten an alert underwater that you were in decompression (which is not really supposed to happen with this computer), another alert when you reached the stop depth, and an alarm when it went into VIOL. They're pretty loud and irritating, I found them hard to miss even with a 7 mm hood.

That said, the computer only has your pressure data to work with. If the pressure sensor is broken the output is meaningless. But I would take the violation indication seriously. At 90 ft. you've got only 19 minutes of bottom time on the default setting, 15 on conservative. Do you think you spent longer than that at depth? If it were me I would either stay out for the 24 hours or keep above 10 m / 33 ft. to reduce your risk. DCS is nothing to play around with.

My i550 bricked itself after 74 dives six days before a dive vacation and I replaced it with a Perdix AI. I thought the i550 was fine but the Perdix is truly a joy to use.

 

[12th Man]

Thank you for your feedback. No, most of the dive was around 75' to 80' except for the goliath grouper that down at 92' I dropped down to get photos and videos of. He's set something screwy, I just need to figure what. I sent you a PM.

 

[wnissen]

Thank you for your feedback. No, most of the dive was around 75' to 80' except for the goliath grouper that down at 92' I dropped down to get photos and videos of. He's set something screwy, I just need to figure what. I sent you a PM.

Hi, to be perfectly honest I don't know how to reset it but even if I did I wouldn't tell you. Either it's busted or you busted your stops. In either case it would be unwise to use it to take on additional nitrogen. Removing the battery, even for an extended time, will not reset it.

I realized you can check the functioning of the pressure sensor yourself. Does it read the correct altitude?

At a minimum, annually check the altitude reading on the ALT 2 screen (p. 19) and Pre-Dive Planner (p. 20, 54) for accuracy. If your i550C is ever out of calibration (incorrect elevation reading, incorrect No Decompression Dive Times in the planner, or showing a depth reading at the surface) or displays an error code message (EEP, ALT, CAL, ERR, CSM, A-D), it must be serviced at the factory before use.

 

[12th Man]

Many thanks for your time. I'm still trying to get hold of tech support at AL. Have a great weekend

 

[scubadada]

Hi @12th Man

I don't think you need tech support, my experience with Aqua Lung has been dismal. Was your computer set for the correct nitrox mix for your dive, air or some %? It certainly sounds as if you missed an obligatory deco stop and went into violation gauge mode. You should have seen NDL very low before going into deco. Then you would have seen a stop at 10 ft for x amount of time. You can easily go back to the log of this dive to see what happened. Let us know what you find.

 

[Belzelbub]

I’m not sure what you are expecting tech support to tell you. If they do respond, it’s highly likely they’ll tell you it’s working as designed.

Start here. https://files.plytix.com/api/v1.1/f...a75802d60cdf6ee06c64/i550C_Owner_s-Manual.pdf

That should take you to the manual for the i550c. I haven’t read it, and it may or may not be of help, but you should really read it and understand how to set up your computer. Relying on the dive shop to set it up for you is asking for trouble. They have no idea what gas you’ll be using or anything. Diving safely with a dive computer is more involved than just strapping it to your wrist. You also need to consult it during the dive and understand what it is trying to tell you. VIOL means you omitted a decompression stop that the computer thought was mandatory.

If you want help from us, a bit more information will be useful. Gas mix you were using would be very helpful. A download of the dive in question would be huge. A screenshot of the profile noting gas mix and conservatism settings would definitely help shed some light on why you went into VIOL

Seriously, though. Don’t dive with that computer until you know how to operate it.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

I picked up a new AL i550C dive computer. The owner of the dive shop I got it from in Texas said he'd set it up for me for recreational diving at not charge. I said sure! When I got home I went through the setups. Nothing seemed out of the norm. On my third dive I got a VIOL violation flashing when I got on board. I couldn't clear for 24-hours. My max depth was 92'. Is there a way to factory reset my dive computer? Does someone have a i550C they really know the ins and outs that could reach out to me please. I've tried since Monday to get hold of AL tech support with no luck or call back.

Many thanks

Jeff

You said “on your third dive.” Was that the third dive ever with that computer or third dive that day?

 

[12th Man]

Third dive of the day.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Third dive of the day.

What depth did you go to on the other dives? How long? How long were your surface intervals? What gas were you using?