How to Reset a Suunto Cobra
By Dan Howard
The Suunto Cobra is an advanced dive computer system that can provide you with important information while you are scuba diving, including information about dive times, air supply information and dive altitude. The Cobra's internal memory keeps records of all dive information for up to 36 hours of dives. One limitation of the Cobra's internal software is that it features circular memory; this means that you can't delete any information stored in the Cobra until you have overwritten it with new information. If you want to delete dive information from your Cobra you will need to purchase a special USB PC interface kit to connect your Cobra to a computer, and then you'll need to download a free utility designed to manually delete Suunto dive information.
Step 1
Purchase the Suunto PC Download Kit. The download kit includes software that can keep track of your dive information; more important for current purposes, it includes a special cable for connecting your Suunto Cobra to your computer via USB port. The kit cost is $75 to $90 as of September 2010.
Step 2
Download the free Suunto Eraser utility (see Resources). This is a program that can be used to erase dive history on several Suunto units, including the Cobra.
Step 3
Double-click the downloaded ZIP file and extract the SuuntoEraser.exe file to your hard drive.
Step 4
Plug your Suunto Cobra into a free USB port on your computer using the PC interface cable included in your PC download kit.
Step 5
Run the Suunto Eraser utility. This will open the Eraser program in a small program window.
Step 6
Choose "USB" from the dropdown menu under the heading "Comm Port Select".
Step 7
Specify the information that you would like to delete from your Cobra using the checkboxes located under the "Options" heading. You can delete your Cobra's dive history, delete all personal information, clear all diver profiles, or reset the entire Cobra device to factory settings.
Step 8
Choose the device type under the "Device Type" heading. If you own a Cobra2 or Cobra3 then choose "Type 3"; if you own an original model Cobra then choose "Type 1."
Step 9
Click the "Do It" button. The Suunto Eraser program will delete the specified information from your Suunto Cobra.
Writer Bio
Dan Howard is a sports and fitness aficionado who holds a master's degree in psychology. Howard's postgraduate research on the brain and learning has appeared in several academic books and peer-reviewed psychology journals.