Is my Suunto Vector altimeter watch broken?

[Jonathan S.]

Yes, I know, if I'm asking, then it must be broken, right?
But just wondering if I might be overlooking something.
(And yes, I already changed the battery.)
The elevation reads about 15,000 feet *below* sea level and the atmospheric pressure is 1571 millibar. (By contrast, the reality is that I'm 240 feet above sea level, and the air pressure must be a wee bit lower than 1571 since I appear to still be alive.)
The sea level air pressure is set correctly.
The only explanation seems to be that the air pressure sensor is broken, but figured I'd ask just in case I might be overlooking something.
(And while I'm asking, am I the only owner of four altimeter watches, only one of which is fully functional?)

[mntlion]

call suunto and ask them. I have found the customer service guys to be great....

[Jonathan S.]

Based on the website RA form, the total cost (including shipping) just to have them do anything with it is $46.
I called up customer service, which said that the typical offer is something like $100 for a replacement watch.
Oh well, was good while it lasted ... which was much longer than all the Avocet watches I've had previously.

[mntlion]

$100 for a new watch sounds like a good deal. My wife was a heli guide and went thru a few of the vectors, once she upgraded to a observer (all metal) the problems went away. Might ask how much to upgrade?

[skimaxpower]

http://www.suunto.com/en-US/Support/...y-information/

Suunto altimeters have a two year warranty. After that, your options are limited. What was the retailer you bought it from?

[Jonathan S.]

I bought it from Sierra Tradingpost for a little over $100 almost four years ago.
The ~$100 replacement offer is pretty good, but I still have a freebie Altimax from a friend. (Thanks again Rick for being so generous and for not wanting to bother using your father-in-law's rejected altimeter watch!) Plus I can still use the altimeter-less Vector as a plain old . . . watch. (Meanwhile, one old Avocet has so many broken buttons that it is used only to record time-of-day results at the finish of the rando races I organize -- the only way to change the time is to replace the battery at noon! Another old Avocet can record accumulated vertical but can't change the elevation, so it gets used for rando race practice, but with no light, not very practical in many situations as a regular, well, watch. I've had one or two other Avocets that I eventually discarded since they could no longer so anything.)

[time2clmb]

Look at the manual (available online) and see if you can recaliberate it...you should be able to. My Vector has been going strong for over 10 years now.

[skimaxpower]

Sierra Trading Post has a generous return policy. If recalibrating it doesn't work, you could always return it to STP for a refund.

[Jonathan S.]

Thanks, but recalibration isn't the problem -- the air pressure sensor is definitely just plain-old broken.
STP website says six months for returns. (I think even Return Every Item might balk at a return of a nearly four-year-old watch.)

[moose pit]

Last year I hit the $100 option on an 8 year old vector, not a bad deal at all.

[GeezerSteve]

Maybe bad sensor, maybe bad circuitry. Plastic alti watches last only so long cuz moisture gets in. As Mntlion says, metal case watches last longer. My Suunto Alu Core (Alu case) has outlasted my plastic Suuntos 3-fold and counting.