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Hi fellow divers,

> If it is still at 80 % capacity could it be that a new battery after a=
 =

> equal period of usage in equal circumstances (water at 8 degrees C) wi=
ll
> still produce BAT ?
> If that is the case we should ask the SUUNTO folks why we get that
> disturbing "false" alarm.

>Electrical devices measure the voltage of the battery and when
>the result is lower than predefined level the alarm will be given.
>Reason for that is that when the battery is loaded (your computer is
>switched on) the voltage starts slowly to drop. If you turn the thing
>off the voltage will slightly increase because of the chemical
>behavior of the battery. Same thing you can see with your lamp.
>When the batteries are about empty your light will get very dim,
>when you keep the lamp switched off for a while and turn it
>on again the light will be bright for a moment.
>The alarm is no false, because the computer tries to tell you that
>there is no energy left for proper operation at the moment. If the
>temperature rises the chemical thing will be kind of refreshed and
>gives more energy to your computer. Therefore the alarm
>disappears. The question is "how long it will last this time, longer
>than your dive time ?". This effect is the same for all battery
>powered devices !
>Terho


Bingo again !

I just called suunto (+358-0-847033) and the temperature issue also
came up. According to them there may be three reasons for the
"phantom" BAT :

1) battery voltage low due to temperature influence
   (BAT disappearing when temperature raises and BAT appearing
    when temperature drops)

2) bad contacts (battery?/bat indicator?)

3) wrong type of battery (should be lithium 3.6v)
   type SAFT LS3 used to be a baddy now they use
   SAFT LS14250

You get BAT when the voltage drops below 3.2 voltage.

If you measure the battery you should deduct 0.1 volt (power used when
turning the computer on) So a readout of 3.4 / 3.5 volt is OKAY.

Apart from the side i only had 60 dives with it (+-33 hours diving)
they asked me to replace the batteries.

I will just do that.

PS : when i get my battery changed i will keep you posted about my
	findings.

Happy SAFE diving wherever you are .

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  Xavier Merlin                             ####   ###########
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  Tel +32 (2) 422 7487 Fax +32 (2) 422 8106 E-mail u18218@kb*.be*
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