Mosquito depth error

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Bob - 31 Oct 2004 22:36 GMT

On a recent dive trip to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, I ran into a
problem on my Suunto Mosquito: It was off by 16 ft in depth.

On one of the dives I noticed my buddy was going about 15' deeper than plan.
I didn't realize that the problem was with my Mosquito until I was ascending
and noticed that the Mosquito said 26' and had not entered the safety stop,
while I could tell I was within 10' of the surface. I descended to ~15' and
self timed my stop. As I completed the dive, the computer continued to show
a depth of 16' when I was on the surface and thought the dive was still in
progress an hour later.

I finally decided to see if I could reset things by removing the battery.
The lid did not easily pop out as it usually does and I had to release
pressure with a jeweler's screwdriver before it would open. After opening,
the condition reset. Subsequent dives were normal, although the computer
lost that dive from memory.

Has anyone else run into this problem? My theory is that I somehow put
physical pressure on the case, squeezing air out of the internal cavity and
confusing the pressure sensor.

Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
Bob Abbott

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ajtessier - 01 Nov 2004 02:22 GMT

I had the opposite problem with my "EON", I was in 98 feet of water and my
computer said I was in 16 feet. I thought the computer was dead but two
shops told me it was just the battery. I changed the battery and have had no
problems since.
BTW, my low battery warning hadn't come on prior to the dive, but the water
temperature was only 37 degrees and if the battery is borderline the cold
will kill it (although it will work fine once its warmed up again).

Al

> On a recent dive trip to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, I ran into
> a problem on my Suunto Mosquito: It was off by 16 ft in depth.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
> Bob Abbott

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Loony Tunes - 01 Nov 2004 14:22 GMT

Many battery sizes are available with different internal construction
depending upon the planned application. It is possible that the battery
size your computer uses is available in a low temperature version. A
perusal of battery sites may provide you with a better power source for
your needs.

dave

> I had the opposite problem with my "EON", I was in 98 feet of water and my
> computer said I was in 16 feet. I thought the computer was dead but two
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>>Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
>>Bob Abbott

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ajtessier - 02 Nov 2004 00:09 GMT

Thanks, I'll check into that.

> Many battery sizes are available with different internal construction
> depending upon the planned application. It is possible that the battery
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
>>>Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
>>>Bob Abbott

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George Cathcart - 01 Nov 2004 14:47 GMT

> On a recent dive trip to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, I ran into a
> problem on my Suunto Mosquito: It was off by 16 ft in depth.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
> Bob Abbott

Bob, you might want to check with Suunto about this.

I had the opposite problem last year with my Vyper. It didn't start
"descending" until I was down about 15', and it reported a depth 15'
less than actual throughout the dive (I use my Citizen watch as a backup).

It was my last dive of the day anyway, so I e-mailed Suunto tech support
and described the problem. They wrote back that I might have crap (my
word, not theirs) on the contacts. They suggested swabbing with white
vinegar, which I did, and I haven't had any problems since. I use the
white vinegar from time to time still.

The dive where this happened was in a quarry, but it was my first dive
after coming back from a week on Blackbeards. As any of you who've been
on Blackbeards (or some other liveaboards) know, gear generally doesn't
get rinsed. Unless it rains, which it does occasionally, it pretty much
just bakes between dives. Since my Vyper is on the console, even rain
wouldn't get inside to rinse off the contacts, so I'm pretty sure that
what happened was just enough salt got left on the contacts to screw
them up. The white vinegar cleaned it up.

White vinegar would be in your first aid kit anyway, for stings and
stuff. I little for your computer might be a good prophylactic as well.

gc

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bullshark - 01 Nov 2004 19:36 GMT

>Has anyone else run into this problem? My theory is that I somehow put
>physical pressure on the case, squeezing air out of the internal cavity and
>confusing the pressure sensor.

Your theory is wrong, unless Suunto is using horribly inadequate pressure transducers.
The appropriate transducers have a sealed vacuum inside for reference. There is no other
way to determine atmospheric pressure and altitude changes. Squeezing air out of the
case has no effect.

Chances are, you just didn't buy a very good computer. I'd put it up for sale on
EBay and try again.

safe diving,

bullshark

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Joe R - 05 Nov 2004 11:28 GMT

bullshark,
actually most computers use differential sensors not absolute sensors.
calculating the slope is part of teh calibration procedure

> >Has anyone else run into this problem? My theory is that I somehow put
> >physical pressure on the case, squeezing air out of the internal cavity and
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> bullshark

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Jerome Meekings - 02 Nov 2004 03:51 GMT

> On a recent dive trip to the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, I ran into a
> problem on my Suunto Mosquito: It was off by 16 ft in depth.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> a depth of 16' when I was on the surface and thought the dive was still in
> progress an hour later.

I have had a similar problem once on my Cobra. After about dive 50 on
the unit (about 2 to 3 weeks of use) it would not reset from a dive.
Took it back, they did as you did, took the battery out and replaced the
same battery. and I have had no problems since (about 250 dives and 2
years later)

> I finally decided to see if I could reset things by removing the battery.
> The lid did not easily pop out as it usually does and I had to release
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Thanks in advance for any inputs on this problem.
> Bob Abbott

>replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me

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