Erroneous Low-Batt Indicator on Atmos II

[Hoosier]

I think in another thread the Aeris/Oceanic guys said
they ship the dive computers with Sony batteries.

So I'd be willing bet the battery indicator probably works
pretty well for Sony batteries.


--- bill

Great.. I hope so, too.

Mine is only 3 dives and less than one month old. So, I am not sure what brand battery is inside. It might be sony based on your post. Thanks to the great customer service from the seller (we know very well), I received the spare battery, but it isn't a sony brand, but "Varta."

Of course, I am talking to Aeris/Oceanic, not a battery company. I don't care about the gasoline company when I buy a car.

 

[Go Deep]

Are you referring to Aeris/Oceanic or the Battery manufacturer?

<deleted>

So I'd be willing bet the battery indicator probably works
pretty well for Sony batteries.


--- bill

Thanks for all the info Bill.

I still have a complaint though because my Atmos II is exhibiting the problem with
the ORIGINAL battery that is only 6 months old with 22 dives (probably 10
power cycles). Normally, the computer shows the battery is full.

Also, my computer had the problem not on initial power-up but between
repetitive dives after a 3 hour surface interval. During the dive after
I noticed this condition, the back light didn't work.

If I had changed the battery or if it had been used enough to be near the
end of its service life, I could accept the problem is battery related. But
this still seems like a problem with the computer to me.

 

[crpntr133]

Hey Wally. I forgot to mention this at the time, but my Atmos 2 did this for the 1st time when we were at Blue Springs on Saturday. I think I'll blame you!

Battery light flashed upon initial start-up. Having heard of this issue from WT (hoosier) and others, I just let it sit and didn't worry about it. By the time we suited up for our first dive it had stopped flashing. I had actually pretty much forgotten about it by then. I have 35 dives on mine since last March and other than this recently, no issues.

I passed it on to you Jim. I did water activation on both dives and didn't have a problem. However after WT's post about no back light I will try that next time.

The really crazy part is that I have also downloaded twice to my PC and the battery indicator doesn't flash at all. For what it is worth I have a Sony battery.
I guess we need to come up with a way to fry our Atmos II and send them back in for a XR2.

 

[b2kat]

I just want to say I never cease to be impressed by the information on SB. I too have an AERIS ATMOS 2 and I was starting to think I had a defective product. My computer has the factory battery, is 9 dives old, but I do use it in cooler environments (New England). Like many of you have stated it is a little unnerving and I dread the day that the battery actually dies and I am left with no depth capability. But I think I feel a little better now.....

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

yeah I get this problem too have had the computer on probably 5 dives got it on the 1st

 

[TravisD]

I bought two Atmos II's last year for my wife and I. As of December 2007, the both had 28-30 dives on then. Getting ready for our January trip this year I started checking things over, and after retrieving them from the (cold) garage, hers would show a low battery when manually activated. Thought it might have been a temperature issue (low temps will weaken many kinds of batteries) but even after warming up it continued to do that.

Replaced hers with the generic (non duracell/sony) LDS-sourced battery and it's been fine. Might have been weak from the beginning, or could have gotten activated in transit at some point. Either way, a new battery was an easy fix. Mine is still going strong on the original, but there's a spare in the save-a-dive kit just waiting. One thing with batteries, there's not normally much way to tell just how long they've been sitting in storage before use, and under what conditions. Fortunately, they're easily replaceable.

And on that subject, if you intend to ever replace this yourself, I would recommend trying it once in the comfort of your home. Get used to the procedure so that if/when the time comes you can make a field repair without breaking new territory. And keep the necessary tool(s) in your save-a-dive kit, along with a spare battery (or two).

 

[HowDidIGetIntoThis?]

Are you referring to Aeris/Oceanic or the Battery manufacturer?



I think in another thread the Aeris/Oceanic guys said
they ship the dive computers with Sony batteries.

So I'd be willing bet the battery indicator probably works
pretty well for Sony batteries.


--- bill

Your post is very helpful, except for those of us who have the low battery signal upon startup when we are still using the factory-installed battery. One would think that the system should at least work properly in that situation. Alternatively, Aeris could put a note in the manual that the low battery indicator is a normal part of the start-up sequence, if that indeed is the case. It's hard on the nerves to be prepping for a long-anticipated dive trip only to discover that the 'puter may not be happy with its battery.

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

alright my atmos 2 usually does the low batter indicator for the 1st 5 min now its doing all the time so i called up aeris tech support and they said remove the battery and touch both feeds with a paper clip simultaneously so i will need to try it and see if it works

have only had the comp on like 10 dives and since december so... battery shouldnt be dead

 

[TravisD]

Original battery? And don't forget that they have a clock in them that's always running, so even "off" the battery is still going to deplete. Also, there's no way (for you and I, Aeris might know differently) to tell how long it sat on a shelf before you bought it. I purchased our two units from Scubatoys for Xmas of 2006 when they were on clearance, so I suspect that the last of these were boxed up to sell sometime before that.

Replace the battery with the one in your save-a-dive box and replenish that one with a new one.

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

hmmm good point i may have to just get a new battery then