Vyper DIY Interface Kit

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O-ring

Beyond the Pale
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I finally got around to tinkering with my Vyper interface kit that I recently bought from Athens Home Solutions .

Anyway, Jamie was a pleasure to deal with, payment was easy, shipping was fast, and the kit looked as promised when I opened it. I am not an electronics wiz, so I must admit it looked a little daunting at first. To give you some background, I had not had my soldering iron out (other than to burn a hole in a wetsuit hood) in a few years. At any rate, the directions are straightforward and easy to follow and the circuit board is nicely labeled. All the pieces come on an easy to follow sheet with the corresponding part taped under its number. After getting used to soldering again, I was in business...

I was able to muddle through it and in an evening have a working Vyper interface for $30 + shipping. Not bad... If you are horribly frightened by soldering, then order the complete unit for $45 + shipping.

I have never owned a PC interface, but it seems that the computer is limited in the number of dives you can download. It looks like it chopped at least a hundred off the front of the thing and only uploaded 50 to the computer. Is this normal? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that it only saved 36 hours of dive info or something and that is why I cannot download the other dives...any truth to that?
 
O-ring once bubbled...
I have never owned a PC interface, but it seems that the computer is limited in the number of dives you can download. It looks like it chopped at least a hundred off the front of the thing and only uploaded 50 to the computer. Is this normal? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that it only saved 36 hours of dive info or something and that is why I cannot download the other dives...any truth to that?

Correctomundo!
Most Suunto computers, including the Vyper, have an adjustable sampling rate which you can set using the Suunto Dive Log software. The more frequent the samples, the less dives stay in memory.

The default is one sample every 20 secs, but this can be changed to 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds. I am not sure which sampling rate is used for the estimate of 36hrs of dive data. (It may be in the manual, but I couldn't be bothered looking it up right now).

When the memory fills up during a dive, it drops out the oldest dive data, and replaces it with the current dive data.

Note the changing the sampling rate does not have any effect on computer calculations or feedback during the dive, only the period of the data snapshots recorded. You probably want to keep the sample period at 10s if possible. Take this example:

You at, say 50fsw. For whatever reason, you drop down to 60fsw for 20 seconds, then you're back up at 50fsw 30 seconds later. If your sample rate is 60s, there is a chance that the computer missed recording that depth change. The Vyper will show a max depth of 60fsw, but when you download the dive, your profile on the PC will not show the dip.

On a 10s sample rate, I get a good indication on how well I maintain buoyancy on my safety stops (which isn't always pleasing to see..)
 
froop once bubbled...
On a 10s sample rate, I get a good indication on how well I maintain buoyancy on my safety stops (which isn't always pleasing to see..)
Did you notice your safety stop buoyancy improving at all after regularly downloading the dives? Mine were all over the place depth-wise, now I'm very conscious of holding my depth at the end - lest that pesky little graph show I'm a bad diver! :D
 
Scubaroo once bubbled...
Did you notice your safety stop buoyancy improving at all after regularly downloading the dives? Mine were all over the place depth-wise, now I'm very conscious of holding my depth at the end - lest that pesky little graph show I'm a bad diver! :D

No just my safety stops, but all of my profiles have changed from looking like a broken saw to something a little more like steps.

Then again if you lengthen the sample rate it also tends to smooth things out. :wink:

Marc :jester:
 
Most Suuntos, the cobra I know, have the sampling rate initially set at 20 secs and this is where they get their estimates from. I think the cobra is higher than 36, but I can't remember exactly... oh I'll check...
... from suunto The extensive memory functions include lifetime history memory and a 36 hour logbook with dive profile memory. The default 20 second sampling rate can be set to 10, 30 or 60 seconds. When set to the 60 second sampling rate, the diver can increase the logbook memory up to 100 hours. The sampling rate is set by using the optional PC interface unit and Suunto Dive Manager software. The software upgrades are available free of charge at www.suunto.fi.

I guess they're all the same... this was under the cobra info
 
the actual calcualtions go by 1sec intervals, if i remember right.
the samples that the DC keep indecate max-dep during the interval, so if you do a 10 sec dip, it will get recorded regardless of the exact timing.

I actualy make my own interfaces. it's fun, and I've learned a greate deal of electornics and mechancs (the connectors can be a major pain) from doing this.

if you want to make your own, try looking for
Roli's page, his interface setup is simple and very cheap to build. or you can email me, and i'd be glad to send my own layout which wokrs with VR-bards (no nead for espetualy made PCB's).

Roli's suunto interface
 
just to clarify things, my DIY kit is based on Roli's plans. If you live in the U.S., you'll have to order a lot of the parts and often from two or more companies. With this, you end up with $13 or more in shipping alone. I know, I buy from 3 different companies, but I buy in bulk which helps offset the cost of shipping. My point is, with my kit, I save people the hassle of locating these hard to find parts, a lot of S/H, and the hassle of etching a pcb with no experience. My kit is based on Roli's as I said, but I include expanded instructions and easier to use illustrations. A lot of people that wouldn't otherwise be able to build an interface have easily been able to with my kit. What you have to realize is that not everyone is as capable of understanding and building these things. I help bridge the gap between those that can and those that can't. People often have a lot of trouble with setting up the contacts on interfaces. I have a simple, easy to replicate solution. Even though it may be simple for you and I to build an interface on a vero board, there are an aweful lot of people that will and have run into trouble they just can't figure out. My kit is simple. I'm not pushing my kits here and I always encourage people to go out and do it all themselves (and always direct them to Roli's site). I also have been there and had a heck of a lot of trouble because Roli's kit lists parts that aren't easily available here in the U.S. I had to cross reference transistors to finally get mine to work. I spent a lot of time and money building that first one. I would love to been able to buy my kit then. Those people that can easily build one themselves will most likely go out and buy everything themselves, but those that are unsure or "on the fence" will appreciate what I offer. My kit save people the time, effort, and aggravation of locating all the parts, is a great value, and actually saves them money over what they can even purchase locally. Look at my Product Comparison to see how my kit compares to typical U.S. prices. You can go out and buy a pcb and solder the copper holes together (never seen a vero board available locally in the U.S. so there goes more shipping). If you go this route, you don't save money because you spend at least an hour or more extra building it and increase your chances for error greatly. I know, I've done it several times before I saw the light I started etching boards. You're most likely not gonna fry your computer, but it is possible. The price listed for my kit represents the average price between the two kits available: fixed pins and gold-plated, spring-loaded pins. If you look at my picture, that is exactly what your interface can look like with my kit. It's a solid, professional looking product that nearly anyone can make with or without any experience. I try to help everyone, not just those like myself with above average mechanical and electrical abilities and my pins are easily installed and work flawlessly.
 
I just want to tell Jamie publicly (is that spelled right?) that the new spring contacts are schweet. It is so easy to hold the interface on the contacts, now. With my original pins, the connection was tenuous at times and would disconnect if not held perfectly still. Now, I can actually breathe while downloading data.

All you need to do now is design a clip like the original interface so it holds itself on the dive computer. :rolleyes:
 
I'm actualling working on locating a distributor for such a clip I stumbled on. This may or may not pan out depending on if this plug is still in production. I have two such plugs (not for sale). If it does indeed pan out, users who currently have my spring-loaded interface should be able to simply slide this plug over the interface contacts and epoxy it in place.
Until then, I'll sell them like they are cause they work great. I could, and have in the past, used the rubber band method on the interfaces but in order to keep prices down I leave that up to the customer to install if they so choose. Its a simple job that should work great with these new contacts but I just can't justify doing it and not increasing the price which no one wants. I try my best to please everyone with this product and so far I've done a good job.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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