Cobra 3 sucks?

[emeshuris]

I have a cobra 3 with 10 dives on it, this is garbage. I purchased this as a primary as this is a mechanical unit with a lcd. From a company such as suunto I expected better, the backlight is weak, in bad conditions you can't see anything, i end up using two hands to read my tank pressure. All that would be fine, I can deal, but the compass. So the compass is fiddly as all hell. It has to be at a specific angle for it to actually work. If it deviates a few degrees from the 'sweet spot' it just points to north. It will jump from south to north and back, just by me moving the unit 2 centimeters. Which leads me to second guess my bearing, which.... well it sucks. Anyone else with this? I read the instruction manual and its calibrated, it says nothing about any kind of 'sweet spot'. I heard the cobra 2 had this compass issue and it was fixed with the 3. If this is the fixed version, I can only imagine what the broken version was like. Its not looking like I will make another suunto purchase.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

I have a cobra 3, over 3 years old and 100 dives. Only problem I've had is had to change to battery after 2 years. No compass problem. Always been able to see it and use the button with one hand.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I have had my Cobra 3 since 2010 and have never had any real issues with the console, I have never had any problems with the intensity of the display and I have been in crystal clear waters to only 6 in of vis. With lower vis of course it becomes harder to see the display and have to bring it close depending on how bad conditions are and turn on the back light. My students who I loan this computer to have never said it was hard to read.

In terms of digital compasses I have them on my D9tx and Vyper Air as well but I have found they are slower to show the heading right away and take 1 or 2 sec to lock in, but even holding them 90 degrees from horizontal plane I can still get a reading but I have found it does loose 1 or 2 degrees depending on how far it is tilted off plane. I prefer a traditional compass so I added the compass adapter to my Cobra 3 or I use a wrist compass attached to my BC or wrist, and I also do not have to go in and wait for the compass to show or go away. The other issue I did notice when I first had the unit was when traveling in different hemispheres I did need to recalibrate my compass as it would sometimes not be accurate, I have been told b y a few others they have had this issue as well.

I think the Cobra 3 is a great unit and can handle quite a bit of abuse as well, also I like the fact I can change out my own battery unlike the smaller watch style units which need to be sent out.

 

[cb5150]

I bought a Cobra 3 QD in 2013, used it for about 10 dives and decided I hated it. It stays in my closet or in my gear bag as a backup if my simple SPG ever fails.

I absolutely hate my Cobra 3, but oddly enough I love my Zoops.

 

[emeshuris]

I have had my Cobra 3 since 2010 and have never had any real issues with the console, I have never had any problems with the intensity of the display and I have been in crystal clear waters to only 6 in of vis. With lower vis of course it becomes harder to see the display and have to bring it close depending on how bad conditions are and turn on the back light. My students who I loan this computer to have never said it was hard to read.

In terms of digital compasses I have them on my D9tx and Vyper Air as well but I have found they are slower to show the heading right away and take 1 or 2 sec to lock in, but even holding them 90 degrees from horizontal plane I can still get a reading but I have found it does loose 1 or 2 degrees depending on how far it is tilted off plane. I prefer a traditional compass so I added the compass adapter to my Cobra 3 or I use a wrist compass attached to my BC or wrist, and I also do not have to go in and wait for the compass to show or go away. The other issue I did notice when I first had the unit was when traveling in different hemispheres I did need to recalibrate my compass as it would sometimes not be accurate, I have been told b y a few others they have had this issue as well.

I think the Cobra 3 is a great unit and can handle quite a bit of abuse as well, also I like the fact I can change out my own battery unlike the smaller watch style units which need to be sent out.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Maybe different units have different compasses in them, if mine is a few degrees too vertical, it shows north. the strength of the light is subjective, imho it is weak, takes a long time to start, and doesn't let me set it to on, much like the compass.
I agree, it's built like a tank, however I bought this for the air, light and compass. Two of those things are a let down.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

Have you contacted Suunto about this? I have always had good dealings with Suunto, you can also talk to the shop you bought it from but they may refer you to Suunto for this. I had a D4 a few years ago and had a problem with the transducer twice and they were very quick to replace it and send it back out to me without any hassle. I just had to pay for shipping there, and since I needed it quickly and my location outside of the US at the time I ended up having to pay the difference for 2 day air over USPS.

 

[emeshuris]

I have yet to call them, as a nob I orchard online at leisure pro, suunto will probably not honor this. But I'm going to call on Monday.

 

[dmoore19]

I had one and thought it was OK. I don't recall having the problems mentioned. I got rid of mine because I didn't want the console hanging off the hose. I wanted wireless AI. Otherwise it was a great computer, just not exactly what I wanted.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have a Suunto D6, and the compass works well enough for a digital compass, but my wife has a Cobra 3 and has always liked it. She doesn't use the compass much, but from what I've seen it seems to work properly--again, it's a digital compass and will never work as smoothly as a traditional analog one. She rarely uses the backlight. The Cobra 3 was a gift from me, and I didn't choose it over other computers because the compass or backlight appealed to me--in my thinking, those were just added features that I figured she may or may not use. A digital compass that's built into a dive computer is okay for occasional use, but if you plan to do lots of compass navigation, then just buy a traditional analog compass.

If your unit really is defective, LeisurePro will take your issues seriously. Their in-house warranty is as good or better than Suunto's.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I have yet to call them, as a nob I orchard online at leisure pro, suunto will probably not honor this. But I'm going to call on Monday.

Both Leisure Pro and Suunto are good with their warranties, I think Suunto is 2 years.