Neptune reset itself in the plane

[idlewild70 0]

I was in the plane yesturday and at 10K i looked at my neptune, and it had reset itself. The screen said press any key to continue and listed my s/n number if i remember correctly. After i pressed the button, it reset but showed my altitude at 200 feet instead of 10,000 feet. afterwards i checked the neptune on the ground and it the battery half full. i think i have the most up to date software. has this happened to anyone else?

-Fish


Blue skies, Soft landings

[bigway 4]

Just curious with your level of experience.... Did you go down with the plane or did you jump anyway?

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[idlewild70 0]

i borrowed an alti. but i think i would have jumped anyway, trusting my eyes and my dytter.

-Fish


Blue skies, Soft landings

[DontPanic 0]

Neptune's have a reputation for acting funny when the battery gets low. Check your Neptune software release to confirm it is the latest and greatest. They have supposedly made improvements in the battery indication.

However, if your Neptune battery indicator was showing only half-full, I'm tempted to conclude the battery needs replacing. A 'half-full' indication may be as good as it gets for indicating a low battery on a Neptune.

[Waldschrat 0]

A borrowed Neptune from a friend, freezing in on exit and have problems to display the logs after landing and reset.

"....hmm why are the trees so big? OH SHIT!"

...pull at 1500 ft

[idlewild70 0]

I am going to replace the battery and make sure i have the most up to date software. i think my next couple of jumps i am bringing my galaxy as well.

-Fish


Blue skies, Soft landings

[AggieDave 6]

Hmm...change your battery.

When you have an electronic device, be prepaired to do some upkeep on it like change the batteries. I've only had my neptune crap out once (when I had a really old firmware and the battery meter didn't work, besides the time I cracked the LCD somehow, but I could still read the altitude when that happened) in the 1000+ jumps I put on it. I change the batteries when it gets to about 1/2 way. The batteries are cheap and its no big deal.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[fluffcake 0]

Fun, mine did the same thing while in freefall and then again when I landed yesterday. Battery levels looked alright, kept going back and forth between 1/2 and full all day.

[MarkM 0]

I think the type of battery the Neptune uses goes from full voltage to dead in almost no time, so the battery indicator doesn't work too well. They did some recent updates to make the indicator more accurate, but your best bet is to just change the battery every now and then.

Change them especially if you're going to do a night jump. The backlight really drains it and it sucks when the thing dies on you at 5k on a HAHO.

[idlewild70 0]

i just ordered 3 batteries and am going to check for software updates

-Fish


Blue skies, Soft landings

[IanHarrop 41]

Quote

I think the type of battery the Neptune uses goes from full voltage to dead in almost no time, so the battery indicator doesn't work too well. They did some recent updates to make the indicator more accurate, but your best bet is to just change the battery every now and then.

Change them especially if you're going to do a night jump. The backlight really drains it and it sucks when the thing dies on you at 5k on a HAHO.

See this page regarding Battery life in a Neptune
http://www.alti-2.com/Neptune_Owners_Pages/battery.htm

Last software update for Neptunes was last August
http://www.alti-2.com/Neptune_Owners_Pages/neptune_version_history.htm

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[jdog 0]

Neptunes are simply no good. Mine didn't work brand new out of the box.

[ntacfreefly 0]

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Neptunes are simply no good

While I don't doubt you had a problem with yours, that's a pretty BS statement considering the number of WORKING neptunes I see out there.

Blues,
Ian

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu

It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

[ntrprnr 0]

Quote

Neptunes are simply no good. Mine didn't work brand new out of the box.

Mine's been fine since I bought it...

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[RMURRAY 1]

Quote

Quote

Neptunes are simply no good. Mine didn't work brand new out of the box.

Mine's been fine since I bought it...

mine also. don't they reset themselves if at altitude too long. I think I read this in the instructions.

rm

[Samurai136 0]

Push the "I'm on a Jump" button.

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[IanHarrop 41]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Neptunes are simply no good. Mine didn't work brand new out of the box.

Mine's been fine since I bought it...

mine also. don't they reset themselves if at altitude too long. I think I read this in the instructions.

rm

Check the software revision

http://www.alti-2.com/Neptune_Owners_Pages/neptune_version_history.htm

In version 2.6 released last August one of the updates is:

"The timeout function that zeros Neptune to current ground level has been modified. This should eliminate the problem the some users have experienced with Neptune getting stuck in aircraft mode after driving uphill. Also, it should significantly reduce the possibility of Neptune zeroing prematurely if a jumper is circling at very low altitude. The timeout value (in minutes) is shown on the status screen."

and

"IM On A Jmp" menu item has been added (under DZ Setup), the menu item can be selected if you are involved in a jump with an odd profile, e.g. a low altitude demo where you may be holding for a long period. Selecting this option will stop Neptune from zeroing the altitude and going back to ground mode. This is automatically cancelled after a normal jump. If you need to cancel this option under other conditions, select "IM on GND".

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[Tonto 1]

Mine works.

Sometimes it logs a dive when I ride the palne down.
(Looks like a wingsuit dive with a 300 ft deployment.)

Sometimes it starts logging when the King Air throttles back and I'm last out.

As far as an alti goes though, it works well for me. I don't "see how long the batteries last" and I update the software when it's released.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[idlewild70 0]

mine worked great until this happened. i am replacing the battery and updating the software and i will continue to jump it.

-Fish


Blue skies, Soft landings

[brianfry713 0]

Quote

A borrowed Neptune from a friend, freezing in on exit and have problems to display the logs after landing and reset.

"....hmm why are the trees so big? OH SHIT!"

...pull at 1500 ft

The regular Neptune is designed to function normally in temperatures from -20 deg C to +60 deg C, if that's the kind of freezing you're referring to. I don't personally know how cold it gets in Germany in the winter.

I have noticed when jumping in low temperatures that the Neptune seems a little more sensitive to battery level, so make sure you have a good battery at all times, but especially when doing a night jump or a jump in colder climates.

If by freezing you mean failure to accurately display altitude or going blank, then also make sure your battery is good and the software is up to date. If you're still having problems, have someone look at it or send it in to Alti-2 for inspection.

[brianfry713 0]

The original post does sound like a bad battery. I've had my Neptune reset during the climb to altitude once when the battery was really dead. If you have time and want to mess with it, you can look at someone else's altimeter to set the altitude into the manual mode on your Neptune if whatever is left of the battery will stay alive that long.

So replace your battery before it goes completely dead and keep the software current.