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jim frei - 09 Aug 2006 19:50 GMT

The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist mount
with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto D9 or the
Uwatec Smart Z.

Any comments from the peanut gallery?

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nitespark - 09 Aug 2006 21:19 GMT

> The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist mount
> with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto D9 or the
> Uwatec Smart Z.
>
> Any comments from the peanut gallery?

Jim,
I have the Uwatec Air-Z Nitrox (Not smart Z) and am quite satisfied
with performance. One thing I like about the Smart Z over what I have
is the constant temperature display. I do have to use the MemoMouse to
d/l data which requires a serial port, but that is not a problem for me.

You going to have the battery replaced in the Pro Nitrox and use it as a
backup? I have a Pro Nitrox also which I use in that capacity.

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jim frei - 09 Aug 2006 22:38 GMT

>> The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist
>> mount with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> performance. One thing I like about the Smart Z over what I have is the
> constant temperature display.

I would like the temp display feature too.

I do have to use the MemoMouse to

> d/l data which requires a serial port, but that is not a problem for me.

No USB connection?

> You going to have the battery replaced in the Pro Nitrox and use it as a
> backup? I have a Pro Nitrox also which I use in that capacity.

Maybe. One thing I don't like about my Pro Nitrox is its heavy and is the
console model. I hope to eliminate one hose, so I need to rig a good way to
carry the spare computer.

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nitespark - 09 Aug 2006 22:58 GMT

> I do have to use the MemoMouse to
>
>>d/l data which requires a serial port, but that is not a problem for me.
>
> No USB connection?

Nope...serial only. Most of the laptop computers I see now a days do
not have a serial port. I bought a Pentium III Compaq which I use as my
"travel" PC. I made certain it had a serial port on it, not only for
dive data, but I have an HP GPS frequency standard on my test bench and
it uses a serial port to communicate with a PC to monitor unit health.

I also have some USB ports on the laptop which make it nice for
downloading digital pictures.

>>You going to have the battery replaced in the Pro Nitrox and use it as a
>>backup? I have a Pro Nitrox also which I use in that capacity.
>
> Maybe. One thing I don't like about my Pro Nitrox is its heavy and is the
> console model. I hope to eliminate one hose, so I need to rig a good way to
> carry the spare computer.

My Pro Nitrox is a wrist mount.

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Greg Mossman - 09 Aug 2006 21:27 GMT

> The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist mount
> with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto D9 or
> the Uwatec Smart Z.
>
> Any comments from the peanut gallery?

I'm quite happy with my D9, at least until they recalled it and now I have
to find some shop that wants to send it in for me.

One issue I have is that it will occasionally lose the signal "pairing" if
separated from the transmitter for too long and won't find it again until
you fiddle with it, often having to turn the air off and on while holding
your hand behind your head as you're bobbing at the surface watching the
rest of the dive group head to the deep. I quickly learned to make sure
it's reading the pressure before I hit the water to avoid discovering at 20'
that my pressure reading is a couple of dashes.

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jim frei - 09 Aug 2006 22:41 GMT

>> The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist
>> mount with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I'm quite happy with my D9, at least until they recalled it and now I have
> to find some shop that wants to send it in for me.

I assume the new ones being sold today have the software bug fixed?

> One issue I have is that it will occasionally lose the signal "pairing" if
> separated from the transmitter for too long and won't find it again until
> you fiddle with it, often having to turn the air off and on while holding

Separated by what distance for what time period? Is this a frequent
problem?

Does turning on the air "turn on" the transmitter? or is it always
transmitting and expecting a handshake from the computer?

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Greg Mossman - 10 Aug 2006 00:24 GMT

>> I'm quite happy with my D9, at least until they recalled it and now I
>> have to find some shop that wants to send it in for me.
>
> I assume the new ones being sold today have the software bug fixed?

That would be correct.

> Separated by what distance for what time period? Is this a frequent
> problem?

Now that I think about it, it's not just when separated. It's when the Dive
mode times out and reverts to the Time display. That's when I've noticed
that, sometimes, the pairing will be lost. For instance, I'll check my air
and make sure it's reading out prior to a dive. Then the skiff driver
misses the site and has to look around for it for a few minutes. If I
forget to make sure that it's back in dive mode before I finally get wet, it
might not be paired when I start to descend. I've gotten in the habit of
keeping it Dive mode by pushing buttons at random intervals if we're forced
to sit all geared up for a while.

> Does turning on the air "turn on" the transmitter? or is it always
> transmitting and expecting a handshake from the computer?

I believe it only starts to transmit when pressurized. It's only a minor
nuisance, and maybe it's just my "grey market" unit, some defective POS they
tried to pawn off in Mexico before Leisure Pro diverted it here. The only
couple times it's been a pain is when the skiff driver wants to do a count
of 3 so everyone can backroll simultaneously and I have to interrupt him
mid-count when I look down and notice my watch is telling the time instead
of the pressure. I've only had to re-ascend twice since I've bought it.

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nitespark - 09 Aug 2006 22:52 GMT

>>The battery in my Aladin Pro Nitrox is dead...and I want a new wrist mount
>>with wireless comm to the first stage. I'm considering the Suunto D9 or
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> it's reading the pressure before I hit the water to avoid discovering at 20'
> that my pressure reading is a couple of dashes.

Greg,
I have never lost "pairing" with my Uwatec but have lost signal from the
1st stage to the unit. Don't know about the Suunto, but on my Uwatec,
to pair it, you need to hold it very close (1" or so) to the
transmitter, then turn on the air. The display will read "pair".

I have found that strobes will cause my unit to stop reading tank
pressure for a few seconds. Holding my arm with the computer near my
head brings it back quickly.

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