Electronics problems with PRISM?

[hornetplt]

Original post completely removed edited due to post of personal opinion that does not belong in this type of public forum. Sorry for the problems, this was meant to be constructive discussion, I chose poorly. PM me if you have any personal opinions on the PRISM.

 

[Crazyduck]

This is a very touchy and sensitive subject. I cannot speak to what Mr. Dituri has mentioned. If you are seeking training and buying a unit from him then you have your answer. I respect Mr. Dituri and have always heard excellent things about his training.


What I am about to talk about is my experience with the Prism rebreather.
I spent 3 days in Tennessee in early May at the new Steam Machines facility and spent almost all of that time with the PRISM unit. I spent the better part of my first hour with Peter Readey the Designer/Owner of Steam Machines in the lab. We went through the design aspects and the generational development of the machine. I found it to be a truly special machine and have been thrilled with the design and thoughtfulness of the unit. I have to say that the unit has been designed with the diver’s safety in mind (in my opinion.) The first day I spent going through the lab, meeting the staff, and trying to hold up my head at dinner after a solid couple of hours with the Peter. The second day was spent going over the unit and getting it ready to dive. We spent 2-1/2 hours during a pool dive and I after I exited I was walking on the clouds. One of the nice features is that you can shut down the on board electronics and we ran the unit manually. The sensors are ready directly by a handset and no batteries are required. At first switching off the unit is hair raising experience but after a few minutes life is good and you move on. When practiced so long and switched the unit back on; heard the solenoid click in and I knew the set point was holding. We went back to the facility after the dive did a tear down of the unit (post dive) and then broke for lunch. I felt amazing compared to a scuba dive for 2.5hrs.
The electronics are potted in a clear material that is helium proof. The system has Heads up Display- very nice, and the direct read information from the sensors in the handset. The unit was very nice and much lighter than my doubles.

For a unit specifics I would check out this article
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=13

If you are interested in the unit I would seriously recommend contacting Steam Machines directly. They have a number of people that you can chat with. A lot of their customers are the quiet type. They want the machine, the training and they go about there business. Steam Machines can go into specific with you.
Web site- http://www.steammachines.com/

In closing I would like to say that the other two units mentioned seem to be fine units and I am sure other people have their reason for going that way. For me I choose the PRISM for the electronics, the mounting of the hoses-directly to the counterlung chest, weight integrated into the DSV, the radial flow scrubber and some personal research. In the end this market is buyer beware- that goes for all units and you have to be willing to accept the good with the bad. Do your research and understand what you are buying. I would suggest doing a few “rebreather introductions.” But those are my reasons.

Good luck with your decision.

Regards, Andrew

 

[silent running]

Hi Brian, I have had my Prism for 2 plus years now and have had no major issues. My electronics in particular have preformed flawlessly. There's not much that can go wrong. The electronics are fully potted and they are very simple as they are dedicated to controlling the set point, which according to the USN, it does better than any other unit they tested. There is no deco computer or ability to change the computer's SP during the dive, just an on/off switch. If you need to change the SP during the dive you just turn off the electronics/power and fly it manually by the passive secondary. I only find the need to do this for a short while, at the very end of a multi level dive. So the Prism is the most simple ECCR available. I'm not sure what your friend is refering to. You should ask him to be more specific. It sounds like he may want to sell you another unit. As for support, I have gotten great support from SMI, never had a problem getting them on the phone or getting the few issues I've had resolved. Again, I don't know what he's talking about. Considering all the work SMI have done for the US Navy, I can't imagine they would have been able to maintain such a relationship without great tech/customer support. The more you know about the different designs of the other ECCRs(do your homework!), the more you'll appreciate all the thought that went into the Prism, it is a highly evolved design. I don't think anybody has been designing RBs longer or knows more about them than Peter Ready.
I am not a fan of the Inspiration, it's heavy, has an old, inefficient scrubber design can't be flown manually without power and has a number of other drawbacks-expensive battery in the loop at ambient pressure, leaky handset controllers and more. The Optima is so far unproven and largely cobbled together from other existing parts and designs. I would wait a good long while to see how it works if you really are interested in it. Good luck-Andy

 

[prismdiver]

Brian,
No there are no persistant problems with the PRISM electronics. We had a file corrupted that was a minor issue on the last batch out, this affected a handful of users. A great deal of effort has gone into verifying this issue and resolving it. When SMI became aware of this no more units were shipped until the problem was tested and is now resolved. Affected customers have been informed and they will be repaired. This is the first issue SMI has had in years with hundreds of units in the field, I'm actually surprised that this has been the first and only "hiccup" they have had since moving their company across country. As for customer service, I would recomend you give SMI a call and chat with them about the PRISM, I'm sure they would welcome a call from a potential client. Check and see if they have a "try out" day, either in TN or CA. before you spend anything.

Joe,
It's really dissapointing to have a member of IANTD's board of directors say such drivel, "I would stay away from the PRISM", "Electronics problems plague that unit and support is non-existent". I don't understand how you would know anything about the reliability or support of the product since you are neither a user nor an instructor on it. I $u$pect it ha$ $omething to do with $elling a competing product. I've worked with SMI for over 6 years and I've had them bend over backwards for me and other customers. The customer support is second to none.

Too many times I've seen them stop everything to support a single client or group that was "going out" with spare parts, MSDS sheets for 'sorb, extra sensors or just a "good place to dive report" to have you get on a public forum and say such nonsense about support. You are just plain wrong about the reliability and the support.

Steven

I've been looking into stepping up to a PRISM from my mCCR Azimuth for some time now but recently got an e-mail from a friend and I value his opinion in particular. Please read below:

I will be in Maui for a month doing research in March of 2005. You should consider coming over at that time for a week. We can get you rock solid on an inspiration or Optima. I would stay away from the prism. Electronics problems plague that unit and support is non-existent.
Hope all is well with you and yours and good luck on command screening.

Warm Regards from California
Joseph Dituri

Does anyone know if there have been persistent electronics issues with PRISM?
thanks,
Brian

 

[oxyhacker]

Did Joe give you permission to post his private email to a public forum? It's incredibly uncool to have done so if he did not.

At the very least, if you felt you had to broadcast what appears to be his private opinion, you might have removed his name.

I've been looking into stepping up to a PRISM from my mCCR Azimuth for some time now but recently got an e-mail from a friend and I value his opinion in particular. Please read below:SNIPPED

 

[DiveTub]

Did Joe give you permission to post his private email to a public forum? It's incredibly uncool to have done so if he did not.

At the very least, if you felt you had to broadcast what appears to be his private opinion, you might have removed his name.

Why? I am interested in Joes opinion!

Diving a PRISM myself I believe the Electronics are fantastic, holds setpoint like a rock, SMI's support is great, never had a problem with them.

Cheers
Chris

 

[hornetplt]

Thank you all very much for the informative OPINIONS. There is no question, this is a touchy subject, especially when dealing with the PERSONAL opinions of well respected dive professional. I value the personal experiences you all have shared with me as they have certainly influenced my decision on whether or not to purchase a PRISM. Please put this thread to rest! I made a mistake.

 

[DiveTek Sydney]

Hi Guys,

I'm one of the divers with the defective heads.

I believe a little candour and some information is called for here. I originally imported the 10 PRISMS 9 of which suffered from the corrupt file error. Initially all was good and everyone was happy........ Then we noticed the set point deflection.
This manifested itself as a 0.1 deflection over the set point selected at calibration/pre dive. This is not a major issue and certainly not a "plague of issues" with the electronics. Anyone who suggests otherwise is quite honestly talking BS.

SMI have stripped two of the heads and exhaustively tested them over the last three to four weeks to establish not only what the problem is, but exactly how to remedy the issue. They then proactively called me (I'm the Importer) and reported their findings along with a warranty recall on all heads to reflash the ROM and resolve the issue. All units have been diveable/dived during this time and SMI have continously monitored the situation and maintained contact not only with myself but also with all divers involved.

Once I have all the heads returned I'm sure SMI will expeditiously repair and return them to us down under. For Mr Dituri to suggest these units are plagued with issues is in fact a plain lie.

I'm very happy with my unit and have persitent good feed back from the other owners of the units in Australia. In all the time I have been dealing with SMI I have been very happy with their support and will continue to distribute their products.
Should anyone wish to discuss this on/off forum please feel free to pm me.