A300CS OLED Dive Computer

[Siljesyl]

Hi
We are a diving family of four, so bought 4 of the computers. Did unfortunately not test the equipment before traveling on a diving holiday. This was not wise. All computers on 1D firmware.
Connectivity with transmitter:
The good thing about having 4 computers and Transmitters is that you can play around a bit. Have also put in new batteries in all computers/ transmitters while testing. It also means that you get 4 times the frustration...
Only one of the computers has a stable connection with the transmitters. 1 of the transmitters was dead, and will not be picked up by any of the computers. One of the computers connected for the first dive and then would not connect at all afterwards. The 2 last computers connects on and off, but often drops off for more than 5 minutes. I would expect a bit more stability than this.

Installing USB drivers Win 8.1:
Unsure if its best to use the process from inside the ACI Software 2.3.8 or to use the strange process including unsigned drivers as described in the help process. Have tried both, sometimes the computers connects, more often not. Any good suggestions from the Forum?

---------- Post added August 11th, 2014 at 05:35 PM ----------

ACI 2.3.8: when trying to update the ACI software from the inside the ACI 2.3.8 to ACI 2.3.9 the software freezes and the software closes down. Happens even after fresh install. Not possible to upgrade to 2.3.9. Any direct link to 2.3.9 available?

Not able to download new firmware 1E. The program freezes and closes down.

Still 4 days left of my diving holiday so any help will be appreciated!

---------- Post added August 11th, 2014 at 08:50 PM ----------

Hi
We are a diving family of four, so bought 4 of the computers. Did unfortunately not test the equipment before traveling on a diving holiday. This was not wise. All computers on 1D firmware.
Connectivity with transmitter:
The good thing about having 4 computers and Transmitters is that you can play around a bit. Have also put in new batteries in all computers/ transmitters while testing. It also means that you get 4 times the frustration...
Only one of the computers has a stable connection with the transmitters. 1 of the transmitters was dead, and will not be picked up by any of the computers. One of the computers connected for the first dive and then would not connect at all afterwards. The 2 last computers connects on and off, but often drops off for more than 5 minutes. I would expect a bit more stability than this.

Installing USB drivers Win 8.1:
Unsure if its best to use the process from inside the ACI Software 2.3.8 or to use the strange process including unsigned drivers as described in the help process. Have tried both, sometimes the computers connects, more often not. Any good suggestions from the Forum?

---------- Post added August 11th, 2014 at 05:35 PM ----------

ACI 2.3.8: when trying to update the ACI software from the inside the ACI 2.3.8 to ACI 2.3.9 the software freezes and the software closes down. Happens even after fresh install. Not possible to upgrade to 2.3.9. Any direct link to 2.3.9 available?

Not able to download new firmware 1E. The program freezes and closes down.

Still 4 days left of my diving holiday so any help will be appreciated!

Update: after another reinstall of drivers and software, suddenly I could update to ACI 2.3.9. Go figure. Or maybe it was something wrong with servers at Aeris. When trying to read from DC, the system tells me that USB Interface FOUND and DC is Connected. Pressing start button gives me message Retriving settings, Status download 0%. Then the whole process stops with the following error message: Time Until Dim (min:sec). Have restarted PC and tried again, same result.

The firmware auto update stays grayed out at all times. So cannot update firmware directly.

 

[slimrn]

Send them all back to Aeris. Hardware update in progress. I did that with my two. I'm on my 3rd set of computers.

 

[Siljesyl]

Send them all back to Aeris. Hardware update in progress. I did that with my two. I'm on my 3rd set of computers.

seems to be the best solution. Very promising computer so i hope they will get it fixed!

 

[victorzamora]

What shocks me is that with all of these computers failing at an incredible rate, people are still flocking to them! It says one of two things, one being that the computer really shines when it works right.

 

[James R]

People are something like 20 times more likely to complain about something than give praise, so you are probably seeing a very small cross section of overall sales of this computer.

 

[jd950]

Has anyone had issues with the fit of this computer? I played with one yesterday and it is a very tight fit when worn sideways on my forearm and absolutely does not fit flat on my wrist, not that I would wear it that way. The curvature on the back of the computer seems too extreme. Also, sometimes I like to strap a computer to one of the float arms on my camera housing and this one would not work well for that. I actually started wondering if there is a lady’s version and a men’s version and the one I was messing with was the lady’s model.

The strap is a close fit on my bare arm, and I would probably need the extension even for a 3mm wetsuit. Those add-on strap extenders are a hassle. What was wrong with the “old” method of offering a longer strap that could be cut down by the user to the desired length? Maybe the bungee will solve the problem, but I am one of those that actually prefers a good wristband to a bungee and a guy with big arms should be able to use the included strap, shouldn't he?

 

[rwkosh]

I like the current system. With the standard band, I can wear it without a wetsuit during vacations in the tropics, instead of having a lot of loose floppy band hanging off. When I return home, and need to dive dry, I simply add the extension. I'd rather have the "hassle" of the band extension than have to buy two different bands for warm and cold water.

Given a choice, I'd opt for the bungee mount too, but in the mean time, this system works great for me.

 

[slimrn]

I don't have any issues with the shape of the DC or the included band. I am 6'2'' 175lbs.

 

[jd950]

I wasn't actually advocating that a user should have to own two bands. I like the method Oceanic used to use or perhaps still uses on their larger computers like the VT. The band is quite long but can easily be cut down. I generally found it easy to cut the strap to a length that worked for everything from a bare wrist to a 7mm (not sure how well it would have worked on a dry suit). The current band on the A300CS could be about 3 inches longer before I would have any issue with it flopping around. I guess it is just a question of who it is designed for. You may have smaller wrists than me. I just ordered the A300CS for my wife, and I am sure it will work fine on her little wrist.

On the Atom or Geo, using the velcro sport band worked well for me..

 

[MT2001]

The A300CS fits well on my wrist, and no one has ever commented that I have the wrists of a woman
I upgraded from a 750GT, and the form fit was one of the things that sold me on this computer as I did not like the 750GT rotating on my wrist unless I tightened down like a tourniquet.
The extension makes it much longer than the standard long wrist band, and it is adjustable so you probably don't need to cut it down.