Mares Blue Link

[jeff]

Hi,

any tricks about using this BT device with a Windows PC ?

My old USB interface is nearly dead ; USB socket = bad contact, and pogo pins not springy anymore... Discontinued product.

So I got this crappy BT thing, and was able to get it to work "flawlessly" with my Android phone, but not with Windows. It is deseperately slooooowwww (like 50 dives/hour). But at least it works...

Could a virtual Linux machine be an option ? In other words, does it work under Linux ? (I take an old Surface Pro 3 on journeys)

Downloading from a phone, then uploading to the cloud, and finally re-downloading to the PC is a pain ! (znd a reliable Internet connexion is not always available)

Oh ! In the Subsurface Windows app, how to remove the buttons that were created while attempting to connect to the dive computer ?

I'm a SSI diver and don't want to use their app. I have two Mares computers (Puck Pro and Quad, it is really ennoying). Maybe time to buy something else.

[Dirk Hohndel]

You are experiencing the combination of two "weakest options"...

What I mean is that BLE support is best on iOS and Android, pretty good on Linux, fair on macOS (except for the random case where on the latest version for some it doesn't work at all), and pretty sketchy on Windows.

And of all the BLE dive computers / adapters, the Mares is the least stable and most problematic. If it works "flawlessly" for you on Android you should consider yourself lucky...

I agree that the detour via the cloud is a bit annoying. But full disclosure - that's how I do things myself. I usually dive with my three favorite dive computers.
A Garmin Descent mk2i (which I love for the GPS information - otherwise it's the backup and I never look at it)
A Suunto Eon Steel (huge, reliable, can be used to knock out an attacking sea creature if necessary, does what I need)
A Shearwater Teric (the computer I usually look at while diving... I love everything about this one)

The Garmin ONLY works over cable with my computer (in my case an m1 MacBookPro)
The Suunto is reasonably fast when downloading via cable, insanely slow over BLE, but works with both the Mac and my Android phone if necessary
The Shearwater works smoothly (if not especially fast) with the Android phone and fairly unreliably with the Mac

So here are my two workflows:

(A) regular day, nothing interesting happened
Subsurface on the Mac, sync with the cloud
Connect the Garmin via cable, download all the dives, set the dive site names, maybe add additional information on my computer (where I have a real keyboard).
Usually (but not always) download from the Suunto as well using the cable (that way it gets charged)
Sync with the cloud
Sync the Android phone
Download the Teric
Sync
back to the Mac
Sync

(B) something interesting on the dive, something I'm curious about
Sync the Android phone
download from the Teric
if there's really something I need to edit right then... sure. Ugh - hate editing on mobile
sync
sync on the Mac
download from Garmin so I get the GPS - if I had set the dive site name on Android (almost never) make sure that gets merged correctly
maybe download from Suunto
actually fill in all the missing data
sync

Once you've done this a few times it really doesn't feel all that clunky. Or maybe I just have Stockholm Syndrom :)

/D

PS: yes. I hear the comment about reliable Internet. That really was a problem a decade ago. These days I tend to find a decent connection in the craziest places. And the cloud protocol is very low bandwidth and very forgiving for slow connections...

[John July]

Good morning Jeff
I have a Mares Quad and use the Dive Link 2 USB.  I just looked online and found a number of vendors who stock it.
I don't know about the Bluetooth unit.  I like personally like wired connections ... yes wires break, but pretty simple technology. (I'm a musician)
Going from the Mares QUAD to Subsurface is a chore.  I go from QUAD to Dive Organizer, export the file and change the extension, import to divelogs.de, and finally into Subsurface.  I copied all the applicable instructions from the different products and made a text file so I could follow the necessary instructions.
Perhaps there is an easier way, but this works.
Based on what you said about it being obsolete (Dive Link 2 USB) , I might buy one  just so I have a spare.

Saludos,
John

[jeff]

Thanks for your answers. I'm a bit late because I got no notifications and was on a (dive) journey...

Had zero problems (except speed) with this setup :

- Quad

- Mares BlueLink

- Samsung S22

- Subsurface Mobile

The dive computer was *always* properly detected ; dowloading dives at the end of the day does not take that much time : a couple of minutes (until now, I was downloading all dives at once the last day...). It is slow, but it definitely works. Kudos to the devs !

Internet can be a problem if it is a public WiFi (don't like that)

Will experiment with Windows10/VirtualBox/Ubuntu and a port redirection. Because why not !

Was aware of the Dive Link 2 USB, but it was out of stock at the time I needed one (chipageddon ?) ; my Mares reseller had BlueLinks only (a pile ! took two as they also were out of stock everywhere else) ; they told me it will work with Android / Subsurface and were offering a refund if I had problems.

I was unable to get the BlueLink working with the Mares dive log app ! (wich is crap BTW).

The Dive Link USB v1 cannot be clamped on the Quad. But the v2 electronics are most likely the same (based on the Serial/USB chip : Silicon Labs CP2102). I cracked the thing open, and just pushing the PCB (pogo pins) against the Quad contacts worked fine ; until the USB socket got some bad contacts ; will attempt a reflow with the hotair station just in case it is related with some dry solder joint (who knows...). The pogo pins are difficult to replace (surface mounted, not through hole). The extremely expensive Mares interface was hacked long ago (https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/mares-puck-pc-cable.381796/) ; searching among my Arduino modules, I found a Serial/TTL/RS485/USB universal adaptor with a CP2102 ; got this years ago for 1 USD inc P&P from Aliexpress when I was playing with RS485/MODBUS ; also have some Schmitt triggers in the drawers. I will *NEVER* purchase Mares computers and accessories again ! Will soom be looking for a OLED computer with large coloured digits, air pressure sensor, 2 gases, wireless connection, and maybe wireless charging ! But it will *not* be Mares branded !