Atomic COBALT : WORST DIVE COMPUTER EVER !

[Eff]

One of the members of our research team uses a Cobalt - while on the TT4, at around 170 feet, it failed on her and started showing nonsense depths and a temperature of 33*F or something (water was closer to 45*F).

Glad we all carry backup computers and tables for the dive!

She called Atomic, and they immediately accepted it back under warranty for replacement.

MY only personal experience with Atomic is my set of M1 doubles regs - LOVE em!

 

[Captain Bil]

I use tables and two bottom timers. No problema.

I had to read all the way to the end before someone came up with the solution to OP's original dilemma. He was going to miss trip or dives on a trip for lack of a computer? Astounding.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mikeycanuk]

We've had issues with our Cobalts (3) but the longer we dive the more issues we have with all our equipment. My wife's Zoop backup is currently still on after her 2 minute aborted dive last SATURDAY. wtf??? It's stuck and no amour of button pressing will fix. No time to mess around as we fly south in a few days so we just replaced all our Zoops with the Oceanic BUD.

 

[Laurens Parsons]

I have just return from a weeks diving in Greece sadly to find that my atomic cobalt 2 dive computer has failed after approximalty only 100 dives, the dive computer does not turn on and despite me using the AC wall charger and also holding the left and right button to reset it, it still does not work, I'm devastated as i always took such great care of the unit and washed it very carefully after each dive and also used it within operating spec, I believe that it has slightly flooded as i can see small droplets of water inside the screen and it is slightly fogged, I have read online that a huge number of people are suffering problems like this, i payed a large sum for this dive computer and am really concerned that it is totally ruined and to no fault of my own, please can you let me know how i can send this to be repaired?

 

[RonR]

Laurens,
If any water has gotten into the Cobalt interior the electronics will not be repairable. Even if they could be brought back up, they would no longer be reliable. Your Cobalt sounds like a candidate for replacement.

You don’t say when or where you purchased the Cobalt or how old it is, but this would be a case for warranty replacement. I believe you will find Atomic to be extremely responsive for service and warranty. If you purchased the Cobalt through Atomic Europe that would be the place to go for warranty service. Kontaktieren Sie Atomic Aquatics A problem like this would not be prevented by good care, it’s a problem with a faulty seal.

Note that the last post on this thread (one of several you posted the same message to) is over three years old. There were case issues causing leaks with the Cobalt 1 a number of years ago, when the product was first introduced, those mostly involved water getting into the battery compartment. There was a problem with some high pressure seals that actually resulted in a recall, also early i the product life. Atomic has for some time tested each Cobalt 2 prior to shipping with at least 10 wet dives to 50m, and leaks in the Cobalt 2 have been rare. That’s not to say the Cobalt 2 has been trouble free- the first couple of months production suffered a great deal from a batch of depth sensors that were defective from the manufacturer and did not fail until after some period of use- so they got through factory testing and were sold. Cobalts were removed from production for several months until this issue was identified and solved. There were also issues with corrosion in the buttons, these have been definitively corrected. A great many changes were made to the design of the case internally nearly two years ago to go after any identified weak points.

While the earlier Cobalts had more problems than acceptable, I believe what you see with recent Cobalt production- in the last two years or so- is a company that is very open about any problems and very proactive about fixing them, and engages fully on forums like this, rather than a computer than has an unusual number of problems. No product is going to be without some issues, but Atomic has in my view- based on 35+ years in the field- been excellent in dealing with them.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

-Ron

 

[BoltSnap]

I have just return from a weeks diving in Greece sadly to find that my atomic cobalt 2 dive computer has failed after approximalty only 100 dives, the dive computer does not turn on and despite me using the AC wall charger and also holding the left and right button to reset it, it still does not work, I'm devastated as i always took such great care of the unit and washed it very carefully after each dive and also used it within operating spec, I believe that it has slightly flooded as i can see small droplets of water inside the screen and it is slightly fogged, I have read online that a huge number of people are suffering problems like this, i payed a large sum for this dive computer and am really concerned that it is totally ruined and to no fault of my own, please can you let me know how i can send this to be repaired?

Did you get in touch with Atomic or your LDS where you bought your Cobalt concerning this matter before you started wailing here?

 

[Bloubum]

I have been thinking how I am going to start this post all the way back from the boat dive. So much rage inside and thinking about all the post I would place to hurt your reputation as you have hurt me. As a person who can only go diving 2 or 3 days a day year at this time in my life, I am so god damn f))$&& tired of dealing with this god damn crap failure of a computer. This is the third computer, the third failure. I am so sick of having to quit my dive because it failed and then pay and rent to another computer I am not familiar with. Then when I return home have box up, pay for shipping again and again. When I received the third unit I was so nervous I had my dive shop install it and I always left the quick disconnect attached. I was not going to take a chance but that would not help when dealing with sub par quality controls. This time I could see my screen building up condensation and a few minutes later it just died. The first unit stopped reading depth, second unit just showed zero air from about 2k psi. I have loved the concept of this computer and tried to love it even after it broke twice but not on my third unit, not on my third trip. I hate it. I want to throw it in the floor and stomp on it. So the question is, can I get a total refund. I actually wish I could sue for damages and frustration. If I cannot get a refund then I guess I will sell what ever replacement you send. I just hope there are some out there that did not read these posts. I have a read responses to people with similar problems that all computers fail. To you I say I have never seen a computer fail this many multiple times. since I only go diving once a year I am always nervous that atomic aquatics will replace the unit. My scenario is I'll get a new unit won't be able to go diving for year, and then I'll find out if it's defective again.

 

[Downing]

Wow, that sucks.

My wife and I were early adopters of the Cobalt 1 and have several hundred problem-free dives on them. Actually, the hard rubber sleeve on mine kind of rotted off last year and I'm having it replaced now while it's being serviced. And come to think of it, we've gotten used to the temperature reading to be about 4 degrees high. We love our 1s and have no plans to upgrade.

But I think if we were on our third computer, yeah, I'd ask for a refund and move on. Apparently The Force doesn't want you to have a functioning Cobalt.

 

[Kharon]

I've never had a single problem with my Mares Icon AI. Scrap the Atomic and buy a decent computer. The Icon isn't the only one out there.

 

[Wookie]

I've never had a single problem with my Mares Icon AI. Scrap the Atomic and buy a decent computer. The Icon isn't the only one out there.

Atomic Cobalt - $1,395
Perdix AI - $1,195
Mares Icon AI - $999

That's not even a valid comparison. I love my Atomic regulators, but the cobalt is a disaster.