Suunto D3

Rick · January 17th, 2006, 10:25 PM

Does anyone know how to reset the dive timer whilst in gauge mode on the above depth timer?

I can see that the dive timer continues to clock up on the bottom right of the screen, but apparenlty the central dive timer can be reset by the diver.....just can't find how to in the instructions....

Thanks in advance

davy · January 18th, 2006, 10:54 AM

IIRC by pushing the top left button...
It's the same as inserting a bookmark which should be mentioned in the manual.

Great timer, however fragile in cold weather...
I broke 3 of them before buying a used stinger...

Rick · January 18th, 2006, 12:29 PM

Thanks Davy

boomx5 · January 18th, 2006, 06:37 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by davy)

IIRC by pushing the top left button...
It's the same as inserting a bookmark which should be mentioned in the manual.

Great timer, however fragile in cold weather...
I broke 3 of them before buying a used stinger...

Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading.

K Ripley · January 18th, 2006, 06:52 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by boomx5)

Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading.

It should turn on automatically when in gauge mode. Typically this is first sign that the pressure sensor is starting to fail. We run ours all year round in the St. Lawrence river and Great Lakes. The failures we've had aren't specific to water temp as I've had a couple of failures in the middle of summer. I went through 3 of them in 2 years b4 I upgraded to a stinger, but I work for a dealer. I've also had my stinger replaced once under warranty for the same problem and my dive buddies D3 is starting to exhibit the same conditions. I'll keep using them as long as Suunto keeps warrantying them, but if I have to pay for a new one, I'm gonna take a hard look at the new Alladin Tech.

rjack · January 18th, 2006, 08:43 PM

Is there a warranty limit (like a year) or are they replacing them as "defective" at any time?

Richard

davy · January 19th, 2006, 11:24 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by K Ripley)

It should turn on automatically when in gauge mode. Typically this is first sign that the pressure sensor is starting to fail. We run ours all year round in the St. Lawrence river and Great Lakes. The failures we've had aren't specific to water temp as I've had a couple of failures in the middle of summer. I went through 3 of them in 2 years b4 I upgraded to a stinger, but I work for a dealer. I've also had my stinger replaced once under warranty for the same problem and my dive buddies D3 is starting to exhibit the same conditions. I'll keep using them as long as Suunto keeps warrantying them, but if I have to pay for a new one, I'm gonna take a hard look at the new Alladin Tech.

I had the same problems on all of the D3's...
false depth readings...

At the time suunto admitted that they where aware of this problem (mine was the first version/run, and they claim to have fixed it in the newer versions...
This was ~3 years? ago. and when my last one failed outside the warranty period, I searched for something more reliable; and got a used Stinger...

That said, I also wrecked the pressure sensor of my stinger too :D
which was about 75 euro to ship to suunto and have it replaced which is not too bad...

Never had any problems with the bigger units like vyper, vytec, uwatec digital or aladin tec though... so I'm not sure if it's just me or there is a pattern with these small wrist units

Edit: mine were replaced within the warranty periode of 1 year...
After that I had to pay...

K Ripley · January 19th, 2006, 06:51 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by rjack)

Is there a warranty limit (like a year) or are they replacing them as "defective" at any time?

Richard

I believe the Canadian distributor i spoke with said the stinger is 2 years. Not sure what it is for the D3. This may be different in Europe too.

Kevin

Joe Hesketh · January 20th, 2006, 12:41 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by boomx5)

Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading.

I have heard of a potential problem on some Suunto units, whereby the pressure sensor (being on the reverse of the case) can be trapped against your arm by the pressure exerted by the strap. In the first metre or so of descent the sensor may still be dry and doesn’t sense the hydrostatic pressure and turn on, but the slight increase in air pressure in the bubble trapped around the sensor might cause the unit to recalibrate its sense of atmospheric pressure and thus, from the point at which it does finally kick in, the depth readings will all be skewed.

Then again, I’m no expert and this may well be horseshit

Joe

davy · January 20th, 2006, 01:11 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Joe Hesketh)

I have heard of a potential problem on some Suunto units, whereby the pressure sensor (being on the reverse of the case) can be trapped against your arm by the pressure exerted by the strap. In the first metre or so of descent the sensor may still be dry and doesn’t sense the hydrostatic pressure and turn on, but the slight increase in air pressure in the bubble trapped around the sensor might cause the unit to recalibrate its sense of atmospheric pressure and thus, from the point at which it does finally kick in, the depth readings will all be skewed.

Then again, I’m no expert and this may well be horseshit

Joe

That could explain something...
The depth errors I got were always consistent... for example reading 6m shallower at all depths...

IIRC almost every manual of depth gauges say you can't use it out of the water as it can damage the pressure sensor.
There is also a dedicated bucket of water for them when you visit a hyperbaric chamber...

Therefor a trapped bubble could be the cause... but there are more units with the sensor on the back right?

Another thing I noticed back then was that "every" free diver I knew had problems while "few" scuba divers had problems...
Since I also free dove back then it might have to do with trapped air bubbles and repeated rapid descents?

January 17th, 2006, 10:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rick(Offline) Jock Exley Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Falkirk/Stratford UK Posts: 730	Suunto D3 Does anyone know how to reset the dive timer whilst in gauge mode on the above depth timer? I can see that the dive timer continues to clock up on the bottom right of the screen, but apparenlty the central dive timer can be reset by the diver.....just can't find how to in the instructions.... Thanks in advance __________________ Forget Everything And Remember http://phreaticzone.thedeepstop.com/ http://www.dublinbaydiving.com/

January 18th, 2006, 12:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rick(Offline) Jock Exley Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Falkirk/Stratford UK Posts: 730	Thanks Davy __________________ Forget Everything And Remember http://phreaticzone.thedeepstop.com/ http://www.dublinbaydiving.com/

January 18th, 2006, 10:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
davy (Online) DIveR Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 275	IIRC by pushing the top left button... It's the same as inserting a bookmark which should be mentioned in the manual. Great timer, however fragile in cold weather... I broke 3 of them before buying a used stinger...

January 18th, 2006, 06:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
boomx5(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: California Posts: 45	Quote: (Originally Posted by davy) IIRC by pushing the top left button... It's the same as inserting a bookmark which should be mentioned in the manual. Great timer, however fragile in cold weather... I broke 3 of them before buying a used stinger... Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading.

January 18th, 2006, 06:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
K Ripley(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 43	Quote: (Originally Posted by boomx5) Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading. It should turn on automatically when in gauge mode. Typically this is first sign that the pressure sensor is starting to fail. We run ours all year round in the St. Lawrence river and Great Lakes. The failures we've had aren't specific to water temp as I've had a couple of failures in the middle of summer. I went through 3 of them in 2 years b4 I upgraded to a stinger, but I work for a dealer. I've also had my stinger replaced once under warranty for the same problem and my dive buddies D3 is starting to exhibit the same conditions. I'll keep using them as long as Suunto keeps warrantying them, but if I have to pay for a new one, I'm gonna take a hard look at the new Alladin Tech.

January 18th, 2006, 08:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
rjack(Offline) wet behind the ears Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 860	Is there a warranty limit (like a year) or are they replacing them as "defective" at any time? Richard

January 19th, 2006, 11:24 AM	#7 (permalink)
davy (Online) DIveR Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 275	Quote: (Originally Posted by K Ripley) It should turn on automatically when in gauge mode. Typically this is first sign that the pressure sensor is starting to fail. We run ours all year round in the St. Lawrence river and Great Lakes. The failures we've had aren't specific to water temp as I've had a couple of failures in the middle of summer. I went through 3 of them in 2 years b4 I upgraded to a stinger, but I work for a dealer. I've also had my stinger replaced once under warranty for the same problem and my dive buddies D3 is starting to exhibit the same conditions. I'll keep using them as long as Suunto keeps warrantying them, but if I have to pay for a new one, I'm gonna take a hard look at the new Alladin Tech. I had the same problems on all of the D3's... false depth readings... At the time suunto admitted that they where aware of this problem (mine was the first version/run, and they claim to have fixed it in the newer versions... This was ~3 years? ago. and when my last one failed outside the warranty period, I searched for something more reliable; and got a used Stinger... That said, I also wrecked the pressure sensor of my stinger too :D which was about 75 euro to ship to suunto and have it replaced which is not too bad... Never had any problems with the bigger units like vyper, vytec, uwatec digital or aladin tec though... so I'm not sure if it's just me or there is a pattern with these small wrist units Edit: mine were replaced within the warranty periode of 1 year... After that I had to pay...

January 19th, 2006, 06:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
K Ripley(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 43	Quote: (Originally Posted by rjack) Is there a warranty limit (like a year) or are they replacing them as "defective" at any time? Richard I believe the Canadian distributor i spoke with said the stinger is 2 years. Not sure what it is for the D3. This may be different in Europe too. Kevin

January 20th, 2006, 12:41 PM	#9 (permalink)
Joe Hesketh (Online) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 657	Quote: (Originally Posted by boomx5) Also, make sure to activate the thing (put it in gauge mode) before descending or it may lock up and give a false depth reading. I have heard of a potential problem on some Suunto units, whereby the pressure sensor (being on the reverse of the case) can be trapped against your arm by the pressure exerted by the strap. In the first metre or so of descent the sensor may still be dry and doesn’t sense the hydrostatic pressure and turn on, but the slight increase in air pressure in the bubble trapped around the sensor might cause the unit to recalibrate its sense of atmospheric pressure and thus, from the point at which it does finally kick in, the depth readings will all be skewed. Then again, I’m no expert and this may well be horseshit Joe

January 20th, 2006, 01:11 PM	#10 (permalink)
davy (Online) DIveR Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 275	Quote: (Originally Posted by Joe Hesketh) I have heard of a potential problem on some Suunto units, whereby the pressure sensor (being on the reverse of the case) can be trapped against your arm by the pressure exerted by the strap. In the first metre or so of descent the sensor may still be dry and doesn’t sense the hydrostatic pressure and turn on, but the slight increase in air pressure in the bubble trapped around the sensor might cause the unit to recalibrate its sense of atmospheric pressure and thus, from the point at which it does finally kick in, the depth readings will all be skewed. Then again, I’m no expert and this may well be horseshit Joe That could explain something... The depth errors I got were always consistent... for example reading 6m shallower at all depths... IIRC almost every manual of depth gauges say you can't use it out of the water as it can damage the pressure sensor. There is also a dedicated bucket of water for them when you visit a hyperbaric chamber... Therefor a trapped bubble could be the cause... but there are more units with the sensor on the back right? Another thing I noticed back then was that "every" free diver I knew had problems while "few" scuba divers had problems... Since I also free dove back then it might have to do with trapped air bubbles and repeated rapid descents?