Atmos Elite Battery Issue

Hi,

I purchased an Atmos Elite back in Sep'06 . It has about 15 dives on it to date when the battery indicator (computer, not transmitter) started indicating that it was below 25% remaining battery power.

I purchased two new CR2450 lith. batteries and installed one. The computer initially displayed the 25% warning but after awhile the indicator went away and all seemed well. I took it on two dives a few days ago and while both dives went well with the DC, during the SI (post 2nd dive), the computer started indicating (again) less that 25% computer battery remaining. 10 minutes later the 25% warning went away, only to return again after the DC had powered down (a day later) and I manually activated it.

Needless to say this is of concern to me. Testing the original battery shows 3.05V so I doubt the battery was run down. Testing the new battery shows 3.07V (Yes, changed it out for yet a third battery)

I also tried the 0101 reset but the symptom continues.

Any idea whats going on? For what its worth, I scanned www.ScubaBoard.com and came across someone else with the same issue with the same model.

I recently purchased a link cable and started to D/L my dive logs. Would this possibly be the cause (I'm thinking a non-powered USB hub causing battery usage during D/L's)?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Info: S/n 3925
Model: Aeris Atmos Elite

I have seen this on one other atmos elite...It may be a firmware issue...You need to have the manufacturer look at it. They may be able to just upgrade it. Check Aeris website for firmware etc...The Company is reliable, one of our best vendors in the industry...ahhhh dive gear...you just got stay on it all the time. There is always something new and some little detail that has to be tweaked or worked through. Stick with it. It will all work out.

Thanks HD. I didn't consider a firmware update but that is a good idea to check. I'll see what Aeris has to say on the subject.

Came across the thread "Erroneous Low-Batt Indicator on Atmos II" and I'm going to assume that this issue is common to the Atmos series on DC's. Looks like I should stock up on Sony batteries?

I see the same thing on mine, I've learned to ignore it and keep spare batteries in case it won't clear the low battery warning before the next dive. It's a real PITA when it thinks it's low on a night dive as the backlight won't come on. Keep that in mind. My Oceanic Versa Pro does the same exact thing although not as bad.

I guess having to keep a spare battery (or two) around isn't the end of the world. They are fairly easy to change once you get the hang of it.

I ordered a 26 lot on eBay of the Sony CR2450's as I have two of the Elites to keep running. It would be interesting to see if there are any newer batteries on the market with better performance characteristics.

Just an update on the battery issue: While waiting for the Sony's to arrive, I purchased a pair of Radio Shack batteries (well, here in Canada, "The Source") and the batteries sucked. I then got a pair of Panasonic CR4250's and they seems to be holding up great.

Also noticed that while the Radio Shack batteries initially seems ok for a few dives,
using the download cable or doing a 0101 (RESET) command on the DC seemed to kill the batteries in short order.

I bought (new) the Atmos Elite in February of 2006 and experienced the same low battery issue as well. I replaced the battery in May of this year (a made in China no name brand) and after only about 15 dives started getting the low battery warning again. I just replaced it today with an "Energizer" and the warning is gone and the DC diags say it is 100% again. Both times I comfirmed there was no water leakage as this can kill a battery fast. I just measured the old battery (with no load) and it reads 3.01 volts. I tried the old battery back in the DC again but the DC still gives the low battery warning. The question is - is there something causing these batteries to drain unsually fast or IS the firmware too sensitive to the minute voltage change that occurs with the batteries after some use. I have had Aeris and Oceanic DC's before but they always went about 2 years/50+ dives before indicating a low battery. Keep me posted. I would like to know what you guys hear from Aeris.

Well, the Panasonics started reporting 'low battery' after 6 dives upon startup. Wait 5-10 min and the low battery indicator goes away until the next shutdown. I finally got the Sony's in (25 from eBay), dropped one in one of the Elites and left the other on the Panasonic. 6 dives later the Sony powered Elite is still looking good (no indicator) while the Panasonic power Elite still behaves the same.

Anybody hear anything from Aeris about the firmware and whether there is an update available that addresses this issue? I'll will be doing 2 dives tomorrow on the new Energizer battery. We'll see how long this one last.