Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Dive Computer

[Zeagle Eagle]

I see that Ron has already answered your question.

 

[whysocold]

Ron,
I hope you are still monitoring this thread. I have a Cobalt 1. A couple of my buttons stopped working so I used the instructions that I go from you some time ago to remove the cover. I cleaned the magnets which were rusty and that seemed to help a little but I still do have use of all the buttons. What does it take to get a new button pad or magnets. I know from reading this forum that this is a known problem. Hope you can help I am going on a trip soon.

It took me a while to get my replacement magnets from atomic. If you happen to be in the Bay Area, I have a spare set of new magnets that you can have.

 

[bractime]

It took me a while to get my replacement magnets from atomic. If you happen to be in the Bay Area, I have a spare set of new magnets that you can have.

Whysocold: Thank you for the offer, not in that part of the country. Ron's contact at Huish Outdoors really came through for me, I got the new magnets today and all is working again. Thank you so much Ron you are a great asset to Atomic and have helped me few times when I have posted.

 

[Johnnye]

I purchased three Colbalt computers. Two used and one new

. My wife insisted that she have a "new out of the box" as she wanted to have confidence the product was defect free. Unfortunately of the three, hers is the only one that has had problems. The other two work great and we very much like the product. All three are Cobalt I's.

We travel often and on two occasions (months apart) her computer would not go on after pushing the select/wake button. Both times it broke the first day of a weeks diving trip and her only option was to use the backup puck and a rented computer. Both times the unit was sent back to Atomic and it was "fixed". This last time when it came back the unit would not 'wake". The dive shop said the unit is probably dead (battery) and I should charge it when I got home. Well when I got home I plugged it in and it "woke up" with 96% battery life. My wife looked at me and said "I want a new computer, I wont dive with this one again"

My wife's confidence is gone with this unit and she is now looking for a "better" option. Frankly I don't blame her as it is disappointing, and a little embarrassing to be on a boat with "the best" only to dive with a puck.

Does anyone have experience with an alternative such as the Aeris 300?

FOLLOW-UP: After working with the Costa Mesa crew we settled on it being a problem that is intermittent. They were great, and replaced my wife's unit with a Cobalt II. If was frustrating working thru the LDS but after seeing the Costa Mesa group face to face at the LB Dive Show things went very well from there. A year later we are very happy. Thanks for your assistance Ron.

 

[jimpeachey]

I have one of the original Atomic Cobalts, must be 9 years old now. I stopped diving for a while (over 5 years) and just started again. I got the cobalt out and, no surprises the battery is flat, it will not charge even from the mains. Any ideas?

 

[drrich2]

Did you use the AC adapter or try from a USB connection? IIRC, if it was fully depleted of charge, you need to charge via AC adapter. If you tried USB, that may have given it a little charge without waking it back up.

 

[RonR]

I have one of the original Atomic Cobalts, must be 9 years old now. I stopped diving for a while (over 5 years) and just started again. I got the cobalt out and, no surprises the battery is flat, it will not charge even from the mains. Any ideas?

I recently set up a manufacturer's page here on ScubaBoard to support the Cobalt / Ocean Concepts designed computers. I have suggestions on "What to do if your Cobalt 1 battery is dead" Here: Cobalt 1 help: What to do if your battery is dead

Option #2 there might provide the quickest results.

It's possible after that much time left flat that the battery itself is damaged- Li-ion batteries like to be stored with some charge. In that case a replacement battery is the only option. But charging it (properly) is worth a try- in my experience these batteries are pretty durable.

Ron

 

[RonR]

I have one of the original Atomic Cobalts, must be 9 years old now. I stopped diving for a while (over 5 years) and just started again. I got the cobalt out and, no surprises the battery is flat, it will not charge even from the mains. Any ideas?

And, as I should have said above, definitely after that much time go to Atomic's page and update the firmware to the most current version.
For the firmware: Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Updates
For the PC/ Mac software need to update a Cobalt 1: Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Software

 

[jimpeachey]

RonR, thank you. i have been using the AC adaptor. I cant update the device yet as it isnt even holding enough charge (even after an all night charge) for me to plug in via USB, ill try the link that you sent and see how i get on

 

[RonR]

You can update the Cobalt without a charge in the battery, or without a battery installed, for that matter. When you connect via USB the Cobalt draws power from the USB connection. You won't see the screen, but it should still show up in the software as ready for update.
If you are not holding a charge I'd suspect the battery has died from sitting so long with no charge. It should only take a few hours to charge fully with the A/C adapter. The newer firmware contains diagnostics for the battery that will help determine where the issue is. There is an instruction sheet on physically checking the battery linked to in the "Cobalt 1 Help" link above.

-Ron