Mares Icon HD Net Ready Reviews and Dive Experiences

[zoranb]

@Para Goon
The time change was supposed to be fixed by FW 3.06, but it is only partially. If left unplugged for a long period, the clock changes (not resets), which I find peculiar.

Re the transmitter, do you have the 1st gen transmitter? (You can recognize it easily as there is no lettering on the bottom of the housing). That one had a problem because it was designed to be paired even without being pressurized (mounted on the tank), so it would send/receive a signal every now and then draining the battery. The newer transmitters (with the text on the bottom) have a new firmware which prevents it from sending/receiving signals all the time. The transmitter is switched on by pressure when mounted on the tank, which prolongs battery life significantly, but prevents the pairing process unless the transmitter is pressurized.

If you have the old transmitter, take it to your Mares dealer. They should be able to change the transmitter with the newer one. (The lettering change is only cosmetic. The new transmitters have a new firmware, but you can't update it yourself.)

I dived this last weekend and I think it is the first time in months I didn't think about the transmitter freezing on me again. That is good news.
I'm going diving this weekend. Maybe Murphy will show up

 

[Para Goon]

@zoranb
The transmitter is a 2nd generation. It has the lettering on the bottom of the housing. The first transmitter had battery issues too, and was replaced with this one. I just checked the version of firmware on the icon, and it is 3.04. What we've been experiencing with the clock is that it would drift by quite a bit overnight. My wife corrected the time at the beginning of the trip and a day or two later she noticed that it was off by almost 12 hours. I'll double check with her to make sure my understanding is correct though. I'll update the firmware to 3.06 and see of the clock still drifts. I'll stop by our LDS and see about sending the transmitter back to mares.

Thanks for the information...

 

[JerryRL]

I just bought my Icon HD Net Ready yesterday. I charged it last night and today I fired it up. It seemed straight forward in operation and after a minute it went into sleep mode. This happened two or three times while I was looking at some tutorials on Youtube. Then it went to sleep(?) and it will not turn on. Battery was at 100% a few minutes prior. Any ideas guys?

Thanks,

Jerry

 

[Ex nihil]

Things I have learned about the HD Icon net ready:
1. Be aware that the pressure transmitter module battery may not give you any low battery warning as the manual claims it will. My transmitter stopped at the bottom of a 65m!! dive and, stupidly, I did not have a backup pressure gauge. There is a similar incident in the thread above. I assumed that, because of the depth, I had drowned it but it was dry inside and a new battery fixed it instantly. I suggest that the Tx cannot be relied upon for tank contents and you must have a non-wireless backup; this is a shame because one attraction of the Tx was one less hose to tangle rummaging around inside wrecks.
2. The date wanders wildly but does not reset if you let the Icon battery run down, which it does very rapidly, it doesn't hold it charge like a mobile phone, there is something always on in there.
3. You must attach the Tx via a short, 4", hose; if you screw it in directly to the first stage it is almost inevitable that one day somebody is going to pick up your gear by the Tx and it will snap off, it is fragile, especially at the plastic base.
4. The non Tx model battery is good for 14 hours underwater at around 29C; the Tx model lasts barely half that, make sure the charger is on the boat. If you do five dives in a day, which is admittedly a bit extreme, it may not start for dive 5.
5. The Tx can be very frustrating to pair up, but it will eventually make it, it is probably not broken. Pressurise it when pairing, the manual does not say to do this and I have no idea if it is actually necessary, but do it anyway because it seems it might be required. Then just be persistent, try over and over again; last time mine made it on try 27, at 30 I was going to take it back to the shop.
6. The software can be very fussy about talking to it, Mares helpdesk will help but it may be quite a long project to get them communicating again. I have lost comms three times and fixed it twice; one day, when I have heaps of time I'll try to get it back again. This is not a simple plug and play device, I have GPSs and all sorts of USB devices that cause me no problems.
7. I have 20/20 distance vision but need reading glasses. The HD Icon is the only dive computer that I can always read and for this reason alone I will be eternally grateful to it and will use it despite its idiosyncrasies. I hope Mare persists with it and makes a great concept totally robust, when they do it will be the King of recreational dive computers.

 

[Para Goon]

I want to give an update for those using or interested in the Mares Icon HD Net Ready. My wife dives with the Mares Icon, and she's on her third transmitter. Each transmitter we've taken on a trip was returned to Mares and we received a newer model every time. The latest model has a button on it, which the previous two did not have. I'm thinking that is for pairing, but I haven't tried using it to pair. We just returned from a Live aboard dive trip where she made four dives each day over five days. The transmitter worked fine all week. I never had to replace the transmitter battery. There was one time where I thought the transmitter battery was dead, but it turned out that there wasn't sufficient air in the tank. Got the tank filled, and the transmitter worked like a champ. At the end of each day (i.e., four dives), the battery level on the Icon computer was typically between 60-65%. We have another trip this September, and if the transmitter works like it did on this last trip, I'll be considering getting an Icon HD for myself this Christmas.

I agree with the #2 recommendation from Ex nihil. I put the transmitter on a six inch hp hose to avoid the situation of someone using the transmitter as a handle. I also used a loose velcro strap to hold the short hose in alignment with the adjacent secondary regulator hose. The short hose also gets the transmitter in a better line of sight with the computer on my wifes wrist. This last trip, she never experienced a lost transmitter signal like she had on our previous two dive trips.

One other recommendation I have is to purchase a backup Icon USB adapter. We're always concerned that one of the prongs is going to break during our trip.

 

[zoranb]

A button on the transmitter?! Are you sure? There's a part that looks like a button, but is not really, or are we talking of different things? Can you post a pic?

Are you talking about the little round thing after the serial number in this pic?

That is not a button. (don't know what it is...)

My transmitter refuses to pair with the icon...

 

[Pumuckel57]

Hi @all Icon NetReady users,

I am still in contact with a Mares employee, whom I met at the BOOT in January, says that at least an update of the firmware for the transmitters in the near future will be available. Unfortunately, the transmitter then must be sent to MARES to perform the update.
Maybe they now produce new transmitters with a button for pairing to reduce power consumption. Mine (2nd edition) has no button. I will ask Mares for that.

Uli

 

[Para Goon]

@zoranb, The transmitter looks exactly like the one in the picture you referenced. I thought it was button, and when I asked a the LDS they thought so too. This newer transmitter is working better the previous two that we had. When I have had trouble getting any of the transmitters to pair, I've always cycled the pressure to the transmitter. It eventually paired. I've had to cycle it numerous times with the first two. During our last dive trip, when I had trouble pairing it was due to the tank not having sufficient air. When we hooked up an SPG to the tank it read 550 psi. After we filled the tank, it paired the first time.

 

[Pumuckel57]

@Para Goon @zoranb
for the second type (with printed serial) you must have pressure in tank to pair. Paring shouldn't be lost while battery in transmitter is OK, also if transmitter is without pressure. May be if you replace the battery you must pair again.
I asked the MARES employee. His response was: we only have actually one type of transmitter (the second one). They are still testing the update for working under different Windows versions. The I hope update will be performed via Icon Net ready main unit without a need to send the transmitter to a reseller or Mares.

Uli

 

[zoranb]

@Pumuckel57
Thanks for the info. From what I found out the firmware in the transmiiter can only be updated when the transmitter itself is connected with a wire to the interface (thus the white port on the backside of the printed board).
I don't think it would be possible to update the transmitter any other way. A wireless update via the icon itself sounds very science fiction, as the data exychange is limited to tank pressure and battery level.

@Para Goon
Thanks for the info. I tried pairing it while breathing on the 2nd stage, freeflowing the reg, asking nicely, but nothing worked. I'm just angry I don't have any way of knowing if the transmitter is working at all...

@mares_tech
Put a power LED on the tranmitter board!