Disable the beeping from transmitter on the Descent MK2i

Is there any way to disable the transmitter from beeping? Its a deal breaker for me, I hate the constant beep every 5sec or so. I sure hope if there is not currently a way to do this that there soon will be or I wont be using this computer. Everything else about it is awesome and I dont really care about the ability to read your dive buddy's pressure so it seems that it should be an option we can select "no" to and not have to listen to that beep during a dive.

  • The beeping is the transmitter sending data to the computer.  Sure, you can turn it off, but what is the point of having a transmitter than doesn't transmit?

  • My other computer has a transmitter and doesnt beep. My understanding is that the beeping is the sonar connection for the your buddy's computer air reading. Maybe I am wrong. Either way, none of the other transmitter systems beep this way so I am hoping there is a way to turn it off. Why does it need sound to transmit data is the better question.

  • Your other computer doesn't use Garmin's proprietary sonar connection.  Garmin is the only dive computer that does this.

    Sonar uses sound.  This is the way Garmin chose to do it.  You'd have to ask them why they choose something different from the virtually industry standard PPS transmitters.

  • https://buy.garmin.com/en-AU/AU/p/pn/010-12811-00#specs

    • Surface transmission range (ANT wireless technology): Up to 10 m
    • Underwater transmission range (sonar): Up to 10 m

  • Just run the transmitter through a long HP hose and put it through or clip it to you bcd under your arm in similar fashion to the spg, then put it on the lowest power setting.  The distance from your head means you wont hear it and itll be in perfect position for your watch to recieve.

  • It is really annoying if you are diving in warm water without hood. We really hope Garmin to do something about it because this a big turn off for such a product with such a high price tag

  • Well there is a way to disable the "sound" (ok I am about to get a bunch of eye rolling and maybe some nasty comments) but you could simply skip using the AI.

    Now you would in essence have a Mk2 but with nice blue buttons and that has to be worth a premium! Yes I like the color of the buttons, yes I have the transmitter and no I have not yet tried it as I can't get to anywhere I want to dive (but hoping to in Jan).

    But to atj777's point sonar is sound based and just like submarines, dolphins and whales you are about to make noise, the frequency selected could have been moved out of human's hearing range but that causes other issues and honestly not sure how feasible it even is, I suspect this will be refined in future versions and hopefully Garmin will offer an upgrade path but until then either turn down the transmission power, route the cables, hope you don't hear, don't use the transmitter, live with it, or return the unit.

  • It can use bluetooth. So technically you could use bluetooth just like the other systems do and allow us to disable the sonar pinging if you dont want to know the pressure in your dive buddies tanks. It seems logical to me to allow this as an option. 

  • It can use bluetooth. So technically you could use bluetooth just like the other systems do and allow us to disable the sonar pinging if you dont want to know the pressure in your dive buddies tanks. It seems logical to me to allow this as an option. 

    Bluetooth can't be used.  Bluetooth (and ANT+ and WiFi) all use 2.4Ghz which has very low transmission in water.  The range would be millimetres to perhaps a centimetre or two.  Certainly not practical for wireless air integration.  Other systems do not use Bluetooth.

    PPS transmitters (Oceanic, Shearwater, etc.) use 38kHz which has sufficient range for what the vast majority of users want or need.

    Garmin decided they wanted to build a "better mouse trap" to service a tiny use case of divers wanting to monitor the gas of other divers.  I can't imagine diving with another diver that is not capable of monitoring their own gas.

    The problem is that Garmin have built a potentially less reliable system with multiple points of failure.  As the transmitter switches from ANT+ above water to sonar below water, it has to have some way to detect that the transmitter is underwater and then switch transmission methods.  I guess this is some kind of wet sensor.  So, the wet sensor could fail, the switching could fail or the sonar itself could fail.

    As a diver, you have no way of knowing before you descend if the system will actually be working.  We've already seen reports of people with transmitters that work fine above water but do not transmit underwater.  There have been some with the reverse where it works underwater but they can't connect above water.

    The transmitter also has updatable firmware.  This means that any update could introduce bugs - and anyone that has owned a Garmin device would be familiar with how often that happens.

    After owning a Mk1 for over 3 years I am firmly of the opinion that Garmin do not know much about diving.

  • It's been discussed

    https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/descent-mk2-mk2i/269418/disable-the-beeping-from-transmitter-on-the-descent-mk2i

    As a frequently solo warm water diver, it bugged me during my first few dives. After >50 dives I seemed to have unconsciously filtered it out as there are many other competing sounds: dolphin clicks, whales, dpv, and expelled air bubbles. When diving with others, no one has ever said they can hear it. Gratefully it's not like an untweaked alladin that annoys everyone.

    Dive safe