Mares Icon HD

[NuclearOOPS]

The battery of any device is formed after an initial couple of charge - discharge cycles.

Turn of the power saving feature, and charge the device fully, then let it sit and fiddle with it unitl the battery runs out. Charge it again fully, and then see how long the charge lasts. Declared battery charge is 6-7 dives (4-5 actually).

G

The battery in the IconHD is a Litium Ion battery. These batteries don't build any type of memory. They put out full voltage with a tiny drop in amps as the battery discharges. They do have a proper long term storage requirement, and that is to store the battery at around half charge. If the battery is allowed to drop below a certain voltage, which im unsure on the specs of the icon's battery, but the lItium Ion batteries I use in Rc racing, can't drop below 1.2 volts per cell. If this happens they won't accept a charge afterwards. Luckily, most devices that use Litium Ion batteries have a voltage cutoff that will shut it down so it won't drain the battery past is minimum voltage. This could be the problem with the battery in cfz's Icon. If the battery was stored with low voltage to begin with, then the voltage may have decayed to a point that ruined the battery.

 

[wlucio09]

That's Great!

The problem that I had was that the USB cable was connected to power before the clip was attached to the Icon. This shorted out the USB port. Is it critical that the clip be connected to the Icon before the cable is plugged in on the other end.

Anyway, the initial firmware that came on my Icon caused it to loose about 5% of it's power each day on standby. The new firmware seems to loose less than 1% each 5 days- much better! The unit still drains the built-in rechargeable battery far faster that other computers, but it is now acceptable given that it can be quickly and easily recharged.

I only have 1 dive on the unit as it's now winter and too cold to dive often here in Florida. I think the computer is rated for about 4 typical dives per charge. I bought a solar USB charger and with it, I can charge the computer between dives just by putting it out in the sun

Best of luck!

Hopefully Mares will soon release the air integration option so that I can discontinue use of the hose-mounted tank pressure gauge that I had to buy when I started using the Icon.

-Scott

HI, quick question:

I think I shorted out my USB port to...is the only solution to switch for a new unit? Or is there a way to fix it? If you can only switch for a new one, how did you do that? How much did it cost? Thanks!

Whitley

 

[bsieloff]

Hello All,

Just wondering how long it has been taking everyone to have their old Icon HD switched out with the air integrated one? My dive shop said it would only take a week but now we are 3 weeks in. I called, but they just said they would give me a call when it comes in.

I live in Chicago. The dive shop said they would be sending the computer to New York for the change out.

Couple of other questions;
Does Mares copy over the log onto the new computer?
Is this a brand new computer or do they add new parts to the old one?


just anxious to play with the new one before the next trip,
-B

 

[sleepr]

Your log or settings do not get transferred over. It is a whole new computer as the internal hardware to allow for the air integration is different. Mine took about 2 weeks for the turnaround, however the dive shop I dealt with spoke with the Mares rep directly to confirm they had stock of the new unit.
There is a procedure the dive shop has to go through before the new unit can be shipped, perhaps they have delayed doing this.

 

[TechDeep]

Just used my icon hd (non AI, can't be upgraded) for the first time. Battery was at 97%. I did a 1 hour dive max depth 60 ft. avd depth 30 feet. Afterwrds, battery was 93%. I don't see battery life being an issue at all, as I don't ever see a time when I would be able to get this thing anywhere near even 50% without having more than eneough time to recharge. I have an Oceanic Atom1 that eats batteries for lunch, and they are somewhat hard to find unless you are close to a Radio Shack.

 

[Hatul]

Just used my icon hd (non AI, can't be upgraded) for the first time. Battery was at 97%. I did a 1 hour dive max depth 60 ft. avd depth 30 feet. Afterwrds, battery was 93%. I don't see battery life being an issue at all, as I don't ever see a time when I would be able to get this thing anywhere near even 50% without having more than eneough time to recharge. I have an Oceanic Atom1 that eats batteries for lunch, and they are somewhat hard to find unless you are close to a Radio Shack.

My issue with the battery use is that the Icon AI uses 4-5% battery even when asleep. Practically it means it has to be plugged in all the time when not diving. This may be less of an issue with the non AI one as it does not have to send a signal to the tank module. Does your battery run down when the Icon is not used?

 

[sleepr]

I found my non AI Icon fine in Fiji when I just plugged it in overnight after diving. I'm heading out for a liveaboard trip next month, and am prepared to plug it in over the lunch hour if necessary but will see how it does fully charged for the first day of 5 dives a day on one charge. I think someone mentioned the lithium battery in it needs a full charge cycle a few times before it holds a charge longer.

 

[TechDeep]

My issue with the battery use is that the Icon AI uses 4-5% battery even when asleep. Practically it means it has to be plugged in all the time when not diving. This may be less of an issue with the non AI one as it does not have to send a signal to the tank module. Does your battery run down when the Icon is not used?

Yes I've noticed that there is a battery drain when not in use. It seems to be 2-3% the first couple of days, and then slows down after that. I haven't owned it long enough to see what kind of drain I get on the shelf long term. I do agree with you, it's kind of a pain in the neck, but it's one more thing I will put on my checklist before a trip. Plug this thing in and make sure it's fully charged. Having said that, I was amazed that it only drained 4% after an hour of diving.

The problem I have with my Atom1 is that being a watch, it drains the battery constantly. It needs a new battery religiously every 3 months. Since I don't use it as a watch, I take the battery out. But I have still ended up with a dead battery, and I still feel like I need to always keep a spare, but the Atom1 is now my second backup, so it's not really such an issue now.

 

[Hatul]

2-3 % is about half of the asleep drain we found in our AI units. If you leave the battery off charger it could deep discharge, which is not good for a lithium ion battery. Leaving it on the charger all the time, I'm not sure it that's good for it as well. The manual is not detailed at all and does not mention this problem.

Adam

 

[TechDeep]

For what it's worth, I've noticed that the battery drain on the shelf actually stops at 93%. So it appears to be a characteristic of the battery instead of the computer. Once it gets to 93%, there is no further drain on the battery on the non ai model while sitting on the shelf.