Are AI transmitters as accurate as SPG's?

[dmaziuk]

I had my backplate put on the tank upside-down once. They didn't hook up the regs or I expect they'd realize something was wrong but still... You have a crew handle your gear, you better check it very closely before splashing. And be able to reach the knob after splashing too.

 

[BlueTrin]

I'm surprised suunto still has so many problems with their hoseless air integration. Is that normal for suunto or is the OP's computer/transmitter having a problem? I moved from scubapro with hoseless AI to ratio with hoseless AI and I haven't had a lot of problems with either.

Do you have to redo the pairing on a suunto every time you boot the computer? With scubapro or ratio you just do it once. I never got a transmitter for the shearwater I had but I thought it would remember a pairing as well according to the manual.

I have a Suunto and regularly I forget to check the connection and realise mid dive that I won’t have any data ... I use the AI only to have air consumption data in Subsurface, I use a normal SPG to check my air during the dive.

 

[purbeast]

My AI worked great for me on my first real dives with it. I had no connection issues or anything, so hopefully it continues that way. I had my SPG still as a backup and I did check it a few times just to be sure the readout on my computer was working properly.

 

[Diving Dubai]

they had a major recall of transmitters where although they handled the recall exceptionally well they did not put out much information about what the problem was

A user changed just the battery, not buying a kit (battery, o-ring, cap)

The Pod leaked and flooded, so said dim wit took it apart dried it and re assembled - so now the cap had been "re-used" 3 times when pressure was applied it failed - not sure exactly how - did it crack, fly off or something else. Sunnto say only use cap once and don't over torque

I'm surprised suunto still has so many problems with their hoseless air integration. Is that normal for suunto or is the OP's computer/transmitter having a problem?

What I call Gen 1 and Gen 2 tech did have issues, although I think its fair to say a high proportion were user errors. £rd Gen Pods (Eon & D5) you pair for life and are really stable.

I had some early issues with Sunnto pods and it took a while (and numerous replacements) to figure out the issue which they did, and all is fine now

 

[Couv]

Interesting thread.

I don't have any equipment with a transmitter or any AI gear at all, so please pardon the ignorant question. When one uses a short hose to attach the transmitter to the first stage, is a spool with the two very small o-rings required?

 

[RogueClimber]

Interesting thread.

I don't have any equipment with a transmitter or any AI gear at all, so please pardon the ignorant question. When one uses a short hose to attach the transmitter to the first stage, is a spool with the two very small o-rings required?

Yes. My Suunto pod arrived with two spools included, one for direct to first stage, one for use with a short hose.

 

[NAM001]

I got my first AI transmitter this past weekend and tested it out last night.

I noticed that the PSI reading was about 100 - 150 less than my actual SPG appeared to be showing.

Is this normal?

I also as having issues pairing it. It paired perfectly fine as the instructions said the first time, but then I turned the air off of my tank and put it back on, and I could not get it to pair again. I tried like 3 more times and had no luck.

FWIW it's a Suunto AI transmitter and I have a Vyper Novo. It's also the older model of transmitter (without the green light on it) but it was sent to Suunto to fix whatever it was recalled for, before I purchsased it.

NO it is not. there is a problem get a third and forth gage and compare. My AI xmitters have always been spot ( +/- 5-10 psi) on with calibrated gages as well as my spg's. when one went bad it was always the AI unit and it shifted about 300 psi. I think they all went 300 low which is better than being 300 high. I quit using AI because of that. Ive got several AI units around and would gladly give them away except I dont want the liability of a suit crazy person getting them, IMO anyone that uses them are doing so at their own risk with out the SPG to compare with on the dive. I tell people not to use AI other than a computer input for logging and rely on the SPG as plan A. If you find you AI is off a bit it was about 150+ to get it fixed when I did it.

As far as the pairing goes,,, its just a guess.... does your puter provide for multiple AI units. If so does it scan for a live unit if it looses one after x time. check to see who the puter is currently paired with.

 

[Diving Dubai]

When one uses a short hose to attach the transmitter to the first stage, is a spool with the two very small o-rings required?

That's a good question and I suppose determined by the hose, given that a spool is designed to seal while allowing a rotation of a spg

My QD allows such a rotation, and the TX when attached dose not rotate (interdependently of the QD)

However I use a spool anyway because those 2 o-rings give an extra layer of protection from potential water ingress past the single outer o=ring on the hose coupling

Also as part of the Sunnto mod, they supplied restrictior for the TX - for a hose coupling it was a spool - my understanding was that it was just as a restrictor not as a seal (presumably to restrict gas flow if transmitter case failed catastrophically

 

[Zef]

A user changed just the battery, not buying a kit (battery, o-ring, cap)

The Pod leaked and flooded, so said dim wit took it apart dried it and re assembled - so now the cap had been "re-used" 3 times when pressure was applied it failed - not sure exactly how - did it crack, fly off or something else. Sunnto say only use cap once and don't over torque

I don't think this was the issue...changing the cap for a new one was always part of the instructions for changing the battery/removing the cover. I purchased an official Suunto battery kit with new cover about 3 months before the recall just to have as a backup. My transmitter battery was going strong so I had not use the kit yet when the opportunity came to send the transmitter in for the recall inspection. The transmitter cover in my battery kit does not have the white "O" printed on it. I called Suunto about using the non-"O" cover in the future and they said there were no issues with the cover specifically. They did not get into specifics but eluded to a the fast increase in pressure within the transmitter when opening the cylinder valve. I believe when they realized they should have had pressure reducers installed from the start they decided to recall, inspetc, and provide the pressure reducers upon return...for the hassle they also changed the battery, cover, and o-ring at no cost to the owner. I believe it was a recognition that their product had the potential to be dangerous and that by recalling, inspecting, and returning with the additional pieces they substantially lowered the chances of an issue from occurring and substantially reduced their potential liability.

That is just my thoughts/belief...I have no concrete data to back my notion up.

-Z

 

[tursiops]

EVERYONE!!!
Please, when you mention problems, failures, issues, successes with your AI transmitter, PLEASE say what kind of transmitter (i.e., PPS/Oceanic/Shearwater etc, or Suunto and its generation, SP, etc) otherwise you post is NOT helpful.