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Don't forget to remove magnets from M5 Stick C Plus!

A project log for "Mercator Origins": Sat Nav & Telemetry for Divers

Want to map your dive? Want to navigate like a pro? Even if you are vision-impaired, this will empower you to navigate our underwater world.

mark-b-jonesMark B Jones 05/07/2023 at 06:360 Comments

I've had a lot of progress these last few days, mostly to do with internet integration but also some final upgrading of non-silicone wires in the enclosure. I've also had the console operating undocked from the cable and mothership/float and working using a hefty onboard battery (had to take Tiger M5 Stick out to do this for space reasons).

However, long story short - at one point yesterday I ended up swapping out the Mako M5 Stick (used for navigation display purposes in the console) with a new replacement. I thought I'd damaged the original one. I was trying to solve another problem at the time, so didn't notice the digital compass got stuck showing the same number 187 degrees.


And the reason why the compass got stuck was because there are two small but quite powerful magnets inside every M5 Stick case. These need to be carefully removed from both Mako (navigation unit) and Tiger M5 Stick cases otherwise the compass is effectively broken.

I'd forgotten all about this when I swapped in a replacement for Mako. Instead of opening up the new stick and taking out the batts, I replaced the original one as I'd subsequently found out that there was nothing wrong with it.

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