Conflict between Scooter and VT3

[PsychDiver]

I used my new Seadoo Explorer scooter on Sat and found that the electric motor interfered with my wireless VT3 causing it to continuosly lose the link. Anyone have or hear of similar problems?

[cummings66]

I think the owners manual said something about things like that possibly causing problems. I don't use one and nobody I dive with uses a scooter so I can't say I've seen the issue first hand. I have heard others say it's happened to them though.

I'd suggest trying to check and verify the transmitter is line of sight to the computer, I'm thinking it's possible you may be blocking the signal with your body or perhaps your arm is turned in a manner that puts the vt3 at an angle.

[PsychDiver]

I have been using the VT3 for a year without any problems. I love the large dial. No link problems. First time with the scooter and I couldn't keep a link. If I stopped the scooter the VT3 relinked with no problem. The battery is a year old so I will try changing it to see if a stronger battery helps.

[Hollywood703]

Must be the motor of the scooter operates very closely to the frequency of the vt3. I am not familiar with the VT3, does it have the ability to chose between 2 sets of Frequencies...if it does, you might try the other.

[cummings66]

No, the VT3 can't do that. The issue is one of broadband noise and it's typically caused by strobes.

[Flatliner]

In the hospital environment I have seen the same type of interference with a cardiac telemetry system produced by anything from a bad ballast in a florescent light to a brush on a floor buffer. If the manufacturer of the scooter is calling this a "known issue" I am afraid there is very little chance that you are going to be able do do anything to fix it. The problem isn't that the transmitter is not powerful enough, but rather that the scooter is raising the ambient noise level enough in the spectrum it uses to prevent the receiver from being able to sort out what it is seeing. If you want, I would be willing to pose the problem to one of my RF engineers from work and see if they have any useful suggestions. Of course you always have the option that the "macho man" with less than 24 dives who is "in the navy" proposes which is use tables and learn to swim at 3 knots for an hour which is of course is REAL practical.

[Flatliner]

One option I did think of would be checking with Oceanic to see if there are other channels available for the transmitter. If you are currently on one end of the band they use and could switch to the other end that might take care of the problem. I read the VT3 manual on Oceanic's website and wasn't able to determine what the bandwidth they are operating on.