Odd Hammerhead Problem

c5vette13

I was on the way out of a cave at 280-300ft deep. I looked down to notice that the primary handset was completely dead without warning. It didn't fire the solenoid and reboot or anything, just dead. This didn't make me happy because all my decompression info was gone and I was looking at a pretty solid hang. Oh well I figured at least I had the secondary and a Vr3 with 4th cell. So getting to the point ready to start deco, the secondary completely goes dead. Well It tries to restart but only flashes the HUD read and vibrates no cell reading. So at this point I really am not happy. All Hammerhead controllers are dead and the Vr3 is on it's own. Since the Vr3 was still working and I had the 4th cell, I was able to stay on the loop, but had to reconcile the deco time it gave me with back up tables. The Vr3 just calculated way to much deco. The odd thing is that around 50ft both handsets miracously came back to life and worked as if they had all along. The primary of course lost all the deco/dive info, but they worked. I am stumped. When I took everything apart, everything seems fine. No water in the head/handsets or anything. Batteries still reading 1.47v (Duracell 1.5v bats). Any ideas or suggestions? I just don't want to send the head back and be told that nothing is wrong.

Thanks,
Nick

jradomski

Metal or Delrin handsets?? If metal when was the last time you cleaned the contacts (stripped off the al oxide)?? Also do you use a conductive r lubricant??

What was the depth at which they died?? From past reports and the 2 times I had my units reset, if this was a contact, most reports have been about 100 fsw give or take on the way up..

__________________
Joe Radomski
CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer
ANDI Instructor Trainer Director #10

All posts are personal opinions and DO NOT reflect any affiliated agency unless specifically stated.

c5vette13

They are the metal handsets. I clean the springs and battery cap with deoxit everytime I change the bats, so this was done just this morning prior to the dive. The primary handset gave up at around 250ft, with the secondary at about 150ft. I run the unit manually all the time, so the O2 solenoid didn't fire once during the dive. I had it set at 1.0, but was running the unit at about 1.2 to 1.4. When I first received the unit, I did have the primary controller reboot problem, but only in cold water and it would just constantly reboot, not die like it did this time. Once I started using the deoxit and I also roughed up the threads a tiny bit it all went away. This was when the unit was new (original Optima not FX).

Thanks,
Nick

jradomski

Hi nick,
cleaning the battery cap and threads is important but its MUCH more important to clean the btootm contact and the threads on the handsets **this is the part that becomes non conductive thats why I asked when was the last time they were cleaned.. The cap is SS and the springs are either SS or beryllium and generally will have good conductiivity and only have to be cleaned occasionally (spring more than cap).. A rought thread helps scape off the al oxide, but eventually you will have to make the threads courser..

The symptoms describe non contact rather than poor contact.. a onetime reboot is usually a momentary contact loss, constant rebooting is poor contact or marhinal battery, dead is either dead cell or no contact at all (dead spot).. People don't realize whow much pressure can distort the handsets..

for the AL handsets I cant recommend NOALOX strong enough.. You can get a lifetime supply from home depot for less than $10.. This is designed specifically for al electrical contacts.

NOALOX has zinc particles which act as the sacrificial metal (and add conductivity) since there are dissimiliar metals in contact with each other..

__________________
Joe Radomski
CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer
ANDI Instructor Trainer Director #10

All posts are personal opinions and DO NOT reflect any affiliated agency unless specifically stated.

diverreb

Kevin also suggested taking a wire brush to the inside threads every once in a while to remove any deposits.

Richie

SiscoKid

I have had similar problems with my batteries. Frequently I clean the bottom of the housing where the battery touches + end, I clean spring and in side the cap, I clean threads in side cap and housing, and every time I put Batteries in I clean both ends of the battery with contact cleaner. Have had no problems since I started this prosidure Just finish my normox and Trimix course 3 dive to 250 ft. and two dives to 300 ft. with no problem.

ScubaDadMiami

The delrin handsets are well worth the upgrade. However, if that is not your cup of tea, let me add that, during the time that I had the aluminum handsets, I followed the cleaning procedure outlined above every ten to fifteen hours of use. I also used conductive lubricant. Never a problem.

I did see some people have issues that did not tighten the battery cap sufficiently on the handsets. I purchased a boat deck key (used for fuel caps on boats), and I made sure to use this to tighten down the battery cap when installing new batteries.

I can't say if either of the above procedures contributed to keeping my sets trouble free. However, I never had an issue.

__________________
Howard Packer
IANTD CCR Instructor
Miami Beach, Florida
CCRDiveTraining.com

diverklondike

It's amazing the problems that regular proper maintenance prevent and solve!