A300CS OLED Dive Computer

[FyshEye]

JPDunc,

I was having the same issue with short battery life when i first got my A300 CS, however when I finally was able to upgrade the firmware it seed to solve the issue with short battery time. The screen, I know what you mean, hard to read in bright light, or underwater in a clear water that is well lit. I am not sure if the latest firmware upgrade addressed screen issue. I did make and adjustment to auto dim @ 70% and that seemed to help slightly, but that could just be me getting used to the hard to see data.

The real test will be in a few days when I am in Belize. But thanks for the reminder... Need to pick extra batteries before I leave.

 

[jpdunc]

If I can ever get either of my computers--PC or MAC--to recognize the dive computer, perhaps I can update the firmware. My unit is a very early production model so it probably needs help.

Congratulations on getting your firmware updated...I keep trying.

 

[FyshEye]

If I can ever get either of my computers--PC or MAC--to recognize the dive computer, perhaps I can update the firmware. My unit is a very early production model so it probably needs help.

Congratulations on getting your firmware updated...I keep trying.

If you read the entire thread you will find that it wasn't an easy process for me. I ended up contact PelagicNet, the developer of the software to help out. It was either that or I was going to return the dive computer to my LDS and have them RTV as a defective until.

 

[jpdunc]

Another follow-up...I called AERIS this afternoon to discuss some issues with the menus, buttons, etc. and the tech immediately gave me a return authorization number to send my unit back for "evaluation." It had started to react very strangely at start up. It opened in Dive Mode and would only go from there to Compass mode. My unit has a very low serial number so, perhaps, it simply was not ready for prime time.

Shipping it out tomorrow and she assured me that it would get "top priority" whatever that means.

More to follow...

 

[FyshEye]

My unit has a very low serial number

I think mine is 171

 

[absoffthewake]

JPDunc,
I was having the same issue with short battery life when i first got my A300 CS, however when I finally was able to upgrade the firmware it seed to solve the issue with short battery time. The screen, I know what you mean, hard to read in bright light, or underwater in a clear water that is well lit. I am not sure if the latest firmware upgrade addressed screen issue. I did make and adjustment to auto dim @ 70% and that seemed to help slightly, but that could just be me getting used to the hard to see data.

So how many dives could you get with the new firmware set to autodim 70%?

 

[jpdunc]

So how many dives could you get with the new firmware set to autodim 70%?

That's hard to estimate because I started the week with setting at 100% with Auto Dim and changed to 70% with Auto Dim about halfway through the week. I did a total of 10 dives of approximately an hour each plus the time the unit was on awaiting the automatic shut off during the surface interval.

 

[txpi239]

10 dives in, brightness turned down to 50%. Overall no major problems. Mainly the last 3 dives the computer kept losing the transmitter. And the compass seemed off again. I've re calibrated it 5 times so far. My serial is 500. My lds owner is taking his to the bahamas this weekend. I'll update with any changes. So far I really like the conputer, but I wished it had a lot less issues. I also have a oceanic pro plus and it's been flawless through 150 plus dives over 3 years

 

[orfreediver]

I am in with everyone else here, tried two windows computers with a bluetooth dongle, the USB and got nothing. Dive computer part seems to be working though, took it diving this past weekend and it seemed fine. Still working on my dives for starting dive master and this is my only computer so I don't want to send the dang thing back in! I have looked back in the thread and haven't seen any real answers coming out, did I miss anything?

 

[Roatan Joe]

I just spent the past hour reading this thread. Thanks to everyone for the contributions. Earlier today I told my LDS that I wanted an A300CS OLED when available. After putting in the order I stumbled across this thread! After reading it I quickly changed my mind. I will probably buy one of the Oceanic watch/computers instead.

Here are the reasons for changing my mind, based on what I just read.

1. Short battery life & issues with the battery running down when not being used.
2. Loss of logged dive data.
3. Hard to read in bright sunlight.
4. SOFTWARE BUGS and ISSUES.
5. Product is going to be re-branded in a few months and possibly undergo appearance changes. I'm not in love with the polished stainless look. I don't like the idea of spending $1000+ and then have a computer that is outdated (no longer made) a few months later.
6. I really wanted a watch/computer before changing my mind anyway.

Good luck to everyone who's still trying to get the computers to work. It looks like it will be a very cool product once all the bugs are worked out.

Joe - -