Atomic Aquatics Cobalt Dive Computer

[Dr. Lecter]

So any cases out there made just for the Cobalt?

Pelican 1120 case with pick 'n pluck foam is what I went with. Amazon has them cheap, and the fit looks custom with some time, care, and a sharp knife. If you want a single case for both computers I'm sure there's a Pelican out there that would work, too.

 

[RonR]

This... do this. Far simpler system and the firmware can vet the new uploaded firmware before an overwrite. The Cobalt may have this already but a lot of BIOS MBs now have a stored factory flash that can be reloaded at any time in case a flashing goes bad. Basically the store the factory flash on a completely separate chip.

The advantage to this approach is that it takes the OS involvement to a minimum, as almost all have drivers that recognize and work with flash drives. But we're working at an embedded system/ bare metal level, and there just isn't room to load the new program in the Cobalt while leaving the old one intact. There is a boot code we factory load in the processor, that is always there and is what we switch to in the flashing process. When that process is interrupted the Cobalt is still running, just not with a user accessible interface. The recovery procedures are intended to reestablish desktop communication with that boot code.

I suggest setting up a series of VMs for internal testing before sending out a beta. Our test bench has 21 OS variations including Mac and Linux as well as most Windows flavors at a variety of Service Pack levels. It is time consuming to setup, but once done pretty easy to run a regression test. Using an MSDN subscription and Oracles VirtualBox the costs are relatively cheap.

Thanks for this suggestion. We have tried to do something similar, but without quite so many variations. What we have found is that many of the issues (particularly with new Macs) seem to lead back to the actual hardware- Lion systems with identical OS versions work on some models of Mac, but not on others.

Ron

 

[scubafanatic]

Still no case. I've been told that Atomic's "looking into it" for what that's worth.

I use a Blue Reef neoprene generic computer cover. It's almost twice as long as it needs to be but is a reasonable fit otherwise and provides plenty of padding. Blue Reef, if you don't know, is Leisure Pro's housebrand. The price, I think it was $8, was certainly right but it's like parking a Ferrari inside a Greyhound Bus Station.

I'll gladly toss them in the trash if Atomic ever produces a case or even just a custom cover.

You might want to consider using a Zagg screen protector, too. The supplied Atomic screen protector isn't bad, but nothing beats a Zagg and you can get one specifically for the Cobalt.

The Blue Reef neoprene cover went out of production a few months ago and are long gone......

 

[staggsSevin]

The Blue Reef neoprene cover went out of production a few months ago and are long gone......

I was just fixing to ask if someone could PM me a link to one because I couldn't find it on their website anywhere..... I guess after they come in...I'll find some type of camera bag or something for them.

 

[Downing]

Oops, sorry for steering you towards a product that no longer exists. My bad.

Just for kicks, I just searched through LP's computer accessories and saw only one computer cover: a Suunto Cobra cover. Ironically, I got rid of my Cobra2 and the cover that came with it when I bought my Cobalt.

Although I'm a huge fan of Atomic in general and the Cobalt in particular, I continue to be amazed that no one there thought to include a custom soft cover and/or sell a hard case for it. For a company that otherwise prides itself on design and detail they totally dropped the ball on this one. I mean what diver isn't going to want to protect a $1200 investment? And it seems like such an easy fix, too.

Amazing.

 

[staggsSevin]

Pelican 1120 case with pick 'n pluck foam is what I went with. Amazon has them cheap, and the fit looks custom with some time, care, and a sharp knife. If you want a single case for both computers I'm sure there's a Pelican out there that would work, too.

Thanks for the ideal Lector, I use some similar cases for some of my handguns, this would work perfect for local diving my only concern is the wonderful airlines. I typically have a backpack I take as a carry on and i put everything I can in it (regulators, dive computer) you know the expensive stuff. I could probably get a single pelican case to fit the dive computers and possibly one that could hold my regulators as well.

 

[citycountryguy]

Ron--
A question about the latest firmware update and the leap year issue...I was traveling when leap year came around...didn't do the new firmware update, didn't change my date manually. When I pulled my Cobalt out last night to change the date and figure out whether to do the new update (given my last challenge with Mac OS Lion), I saw that the Cobalt was showing the correct date. Not sure why that is. Any explanation? Anything I need to do now? I'm assuming if the screen shows the correct date all is well for now, except for whatever other features you put into the update in the last couple of weeks. Could you clarify if I really need to do anything?

 

[RonR]

Ron--
A question about the latest firmware update and the leap year issue...I was traveling when leap year came around...didn't do the new firmware update, didn't change my date manually. When I pulled my Cobalt out last night to change the date and figure out whether to do the new update (given my last challenge with Mac OS Lion), I saw that the Cobalt was showing the correct date. Not sure why that is. Any explanation? Anything I need to do now? I'm assuming if the screen shows the correct date all is well for now, except for whatever other features you put into the update in the last couple of weeks. Could you clarify if I really need to do anything?

No, you're fine. What version do you have? There are some enhancements in the newest, like better scaling and continuous scrolling in the dive log, but nothing that is critical. The bug fixes and corrections that are in this version are for relatively minor things that affect only specific situations, and that only relating to how things are stored in the log, not to actual diving. We still don't have an updater that works an all Lion systems. If you want to wait till we have the Lion updater ready, I'm sure you will be fine.

Ron

 

[Downing]

Ron, I use a first-generation MacBook Pro, the model that was introduced when Apple switched to Intel. Unfortunately, Lion won't run on it so I'm stuck at the Snow Leopard ceiling.

When Atomic releases a Lion updater, are they going to keep a Snow Leopard updater around for us old fogeys? I'd hate to have to buy a new laptop just to keep my dive computers current.

 

[RonR]

Ron, I use a first-generation MacBook Pro, the model that was introduced when Apple switched to Intel. Unfortunately, Lion won't run on it so I'm stuck at the Snow Leopard ceiling.

Some might call you lucky for that. I've been using Macs since '85, and Lion is not my favorite upgrade.

When Atomic releases a Lion updater, are they going to keep a Snow Leopard updater around for us old fogeys? I'd hate to have to buy a new laptop just to keep my dive computers current.

Emphatic yes. It should be able to be the same program, but if not, we will maintain both.