$100 USB Cables??? Shame on You!

[Adgie]

OK, I'm a new diver and I've pretty much accepted now that you really get what you pay for and that to truly enjoy this sport, or any hobby, you have to be willing to make the investment.

But I'm writing to mention something that I really can't understand and that is the $100+ USB cable for the Suunto dive computers. Now if I buy a $200 printer, it comes with a USB cable. My $300 digital camera came with a USB cable. My $400 PDA came with a USB cable. But for some reason, the makers of the Suunto Cobra can't seem to cover the cost of the USB cable with their $600-$800 Cobra! Are the margins really that low?

Now if you look at the Bill of Materials for that cable, it is likely <<$20. Its no wonder various DIY folks have tried to build their own, but we know what happened to them don't we? Is anyone else ticked off by this or have we all resigned ourselves to feeding the machine? Someone HELP ME UNDERSTAND.

(BTW, I put in my order for my cable today. If you can't beat them....LOL)

Cheers,
Adrian

:yourkiddi

[bikefox]

Does the $100 just include the cable or the software as well? $100 for a USB seems crazy!!

[rottielover]

software is free download from the website, it's the cable that costs... I also had to pony up the bucks

[m7scuba]

I bought one of the generic cables from overseas that seems to work great for my mosquito. Of course it is serial (which means that I need a $40 adapter to make it work on my Mac), but still...

[scubamickey]

Mine only cost $80 at my LDS. You should have shopped around.

[ShakaZulu]

It's complete BS if you ask me.........

[CIBDiving]

Someone HELP ME UNDERSTAND.

(BTW, I put in my order for my cable today. If you can't beat them....LOL)

Now you know why - You'll pay it, and enough others will too. If Nobody bought one they'd be dirt cheap.

[SStrecker]

Aeris has a similar strategy for their dive computers but some shops, like ScubaToys, throw it in for free.

[undrwater]

You can do or get a DIY serial adapter, and ebay a $12 serial/usb adapter.

The software's free...the hardware is DIY'able, so it seems to be a better deal than some of the other dive computer manufacturers out there who charge a bit less for the hardware, but more for the software.

Maybe this is a way of eliminating the problem of software piracy.

[Tigern]

same with the Aladin prime I have except mine is Ird. It costs 75-80 at the LDS but includes software. Thing is..the computer comes with the software so I just went to the local comp store and bought an Ird adapter and viola...we have connectivity