Atmos 2 Backlight

Just finished my first dive with my new Atmos 2 wrist unit. It seems to meet my expectations but I've got to ask whether that back-light is broken?

In the ads, and on the Aeris website, the demo shows a pretty bright blue color. I decided that feature would increase the contrast and make it super easy to read in the dark and in low (I'm in Puget Sound) visibility. Alas, no. Its a darkish green not too much lighter than the dark dial and it bleeds through the graphics to wash them out too.

So I'm writing to determine two things. Thing one, is it supposed to be like this? If so then the demo on the Aeris website is not advertising what the customer is buying. There's a term for that but I'm not sure what it is...

If it's broken I'll gladly work within the warranty framework to get it repaired or replaced.

Thing two, was that ad misleading?

Divers that I've talked to like their Atmos 2 units very much and I feel I will too but I really would like an opinion on this back-light issue. I suppose in night-dive conditions it would be fine. I'll be finding out soon, but I'm not too happy with it the way it is.

Thanks for any feedback.

It's not much of a backlight, but more than enough for me at night. Doesn't ruin my night vision at all and I can still read the info easily.

When I "charge up" my SPG dial with my dive light, it is brighter than the backlight of the Atmos2. During daylight, even if in really cruddy water, I usually can't see the backlight.

Hope this helps you evaluate if it's defective.

All the best, James

Thanks for the feedback, James. I'm just a little disappointed that the backlight was rather mis-represented in my research results.

It would be interesting to see if Aeris has an opinion...

Sasquatch:

Thanks for the feedback, James. I'm just a little disappointed that the backlight was rather mis-represented in my research results.

It would be interesting to see if Aeris has an opinion...

Click to expand...

Hi Sasquatch,

The darker the environment, the brighter the light is going to be. Sitting here at my desk, I can barely see it - a dark room or a night dive is a different story. If after trying it on a night dive, or limited viz dive where the backlight is required to view the computer, you are not happy with the performance, I will gladly arrange to either have it inspected for correct operation or replaced.

Doug

This brings up an interesting question I've always had.
How come none of the dive computers out there use
something like SuperLuminous for a background like the SPGs?
rather than using a battery driven backlight?

It would seem that if it is good enough for an SPG that
it would be fine for the Dive computer, especially given that
once charged, it is brighter and doens't draw battery power.

Is there some specific reason I'm missing (other than cost) that
makes a push button nightlight better than a glowing background?

Just real curious.

--- bill

bperrybap,
The screen is made out of different materials than the face of the gauges. This likely impedes making such a glow in the dark LED screen but for now there is back lighting. We might be able to change the background color on future models though. I vote for red if you are monitoring Doug. Red is a good color to keep from ruining one's night vision; plus it would look cool.

Sasquatch,
As for the demo screen it seems pretty close to the Atmos 2 I am holding in the dark under my desk here at AERIS. It is kind of a bluish-green Perhaps all of our computer monitors tint settings are set a little different, or Doug's was a little off when he was setting up the demo. If so I am sure it was not intentional.

Hey, thanks for the discussion on this topic which may seem minor to some.

If I could have handled one prior to purchasing it I would have but frankly every LDS (just three) that I went to didn't have one I could look at!! Yes, I realize they are discontinued and that's probably why I couldn't play with one.

So off to the website and - WOW - nice interactive demo of the unit. I assumed that was what I was ordering from ScubaToys and, but for the back-light and a strange little quirk in the PC interface software (which tech FAQ section on your site helped me correct) it was what I wanted.

Doug and Sting J, thanks for responding. I'm going to photograph the display and let you judge. I'm sure it will be great under total blackout conditions but that bright blue glow would have been AWESOME in some of the twilight soup we day dive in around here.

Sasquatch

I have the same experince with my Atmos 2. I find it more effective to just look at it with my dive light than to fuss with the button and hold it to find contrast.

Pete

I've added a photo to illustrate my point. This is my computer with the backlight on and the demo from the Aeris website. Can you see the difference?

I've corrected the contrast/brightness to make this as real as possible. there may be some variations between your monitor and mine but I don't think it's a subtle difference we're talking about here!

Sasquatch,

Assuming that the actual image is not affected by flash or other ambient light, there is something wrong with your backlight. Contact Scuba Toys to arrange to have this taken care of. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Doug