OnlineScubaLessons.com is a SCAM!!!

[pasley]

Shall we rehash the agencies... please feel free to add to the list...

SDI/TDI
PADI
SSI
NAUI
BSAC
PDIC
ACUC
IANTD
PSAI
CMAS
YMCA
NASDS (no longer around but the cards are)

Need to add
HSA - Handicapped SCUBA Association
Established in 1981 right here in Southern California. Early promotional video stared Jacques Cousteau and his son Jean Michel Cousteau appears in both videos. The HSA has classes conducted around the world. It targets a specific group of divers, those who wish to be certified as a HSA Dive buddy (as I am) or instructor or the handicapped who wish to be certified by instructors specially trained to do so. The usual drill is for the HSA instructor to issue both a HSA certification card and one another major agency such as PADI, NAUI, YMCA etc. The HSA card is often accepted when dive shops will not take the PADI or NAUI card as the shop can see the training is post handicap versus pre-handicap.

 

[Doc]

el linko clicko: Yet Another Stupid Dive Organization

and whatever happened to P.U.S.I.? (Professional Underwater SCUBA Instructors)

At least I waited to post #52. Dave Holt... are you reading this?

 

[sweatfrog]

Why not just skip the classes and buy the card? Professional

You can learn the academics from a scuba for dummies book, but this is doing nothing to enhance the sport.

I know that with PADI, there are additional hurdles to jump over, before you accept a referral from another agency. This is a prime example of why that process is in place.

 

[mspg8]

I am the student that Off the Wall Scuba accepted as a crossover. At the time I took the class I didn't know that Ken offered online classes (or anyone else for that matter). As previously posted, when you search, OnlineScubaLessons is the first to pop up and thanks to google, not too many options come up for online classes. With my job as a police officer, the online classes worked best for my schedule. I honestly thought the online program that OnlineScubaLessons.com offered didn't cover everything. It covered the basics for safety and not much more. The one thing it did cover that I later found out most classes don't cover anymore is dive tables. While I am no wizard with them, I know the basics and am comfortable using them for 2 dives in one day.

Ken did make me take his test before he even let me get in the pool. He made sure I knew more than just the answers, he explained why and how different things occur in the water. I was lucky enough to have a brother-in-law that dives, who showed me some of the basics before I had to get in a pool in the "learning enviroment" with someone I had just met. Once in the pool, Ken was great. He made sure I was comfortable and gave me more than just "One way" to complete a task if I had difficulty (mask clearing). He even worked around my schedule, squeezing me into his schedule (which is as busy as mine).

The day of the open water check outs, he paired me up with another student from one of his regular classes. I didn't feel like I was 1 in a group of 10 that an instructor and assistant had to watch along with everyone else. The instructor he put me with (Dave) that weekend was also a great instructor. He made sure we were comfortable and didn't push us to get through the tasks. After completing my OW, I felt comfortable that I knew the basic skills and had a good foundation to build on (by know means am I done learning).

Would I recommend onlinescubalessons.com? Knowing what I know now, no. Did it teach me a base foundation, yes that was elaborated on by another instructor. It was convenient for my schedule, but if I had known that other associations offer online I would have taken theirs.

I know Off the Wall Scuba has appeared to have "been bashed and bashed" other dive shops. I can't tell you what has happened first hand between Off the Wall and other dive shops in the area, but I can tell you of my experience and that as a student and new customer he never bashed the competition. He even told me they carry items that he doesn't and told me not to feel obligated to buy from him.

Off the Wall was willing to work around my schedule for the same price he charges others. Several other local dive shops wanted between $500 and $1000 to work "one on one" around my schedule. Ken was never pushy. I did buy some of my gear from him, but he did explain my other options of gear I could purchase that he doesn't sell and can't get for me. As far as pricing goes, I have spent more time than you can imagine on the internet and a local dive shops looking at prices for gear. Their prices are better than anything I can find on the internet, including Leisure Pro.

I think my time as a cop has made me a harsh critic (I don't like that many people anymore). I am also certified as a police instructor by two different organizations and teach regularly (both old generation and the "new generation"). Scuba and police are different topics, but teaching is teaching. I know personalities clash and there is nothing that can be done about that. In my opinion Ken and Dave are both excellent instructors and can adjust to the student when necessary, but they don't forget there fundamentals and just "let you slide through". If you can't do the tasks at hand they won't just certify you like some do. I would definately recommend Off the Wall Scuba for lessons and equipment.

 

[Hoomi]

el linko clicko: Yet Another Stupid Dive Organization

and whatever happened to P.U.S.I.? (Professional Underwater SCUBA Instructors)

At least I waited to post #52. Dave Holt... are you reading this?

You mean, if it's still around I could be a card-carrying P.U.S.I. diver?

That would certainly be better than affiliating with the Professional Above The Surface Scuba Instructors, or P.A.T.S.S.I. They may cost more, but listen, I've got a friend that owes me a favor, and while they're normally VERY exclusive, I might be able to get you in...

Or the Amateur Scuba Schools Education System, aka A.S.S.E.S. It would sure seem to explain where some people pull their credentials from.

How about the Concise Open Water Professional Independent Educaters, lovingly referred to as C.O.W.P.I.E.? Who wouldn't want a COWPIE Dive Cert Card?

The Divers' Regional Open Water Network, D.R.O.W.N. didn't last too long. For some reason, it just failed to attract much of a following.

(Acronyms... they're not just for bureaucrats anymore...)

 

[sweatfrog]

when you search, OnlineScubaLessons is the first to pop up and thanks to google, not too many options come up for online classes.

I'm sorry sir, there are pages and pages that come up for online scuba certifications.

The one thing it did cover that I later found out most classes don't cover anymore is dive tables. While I am no wizard with them, I know the basics and am comfortable using them for 2 dives in one day.

I don't know where you got that idea. Out of most of the agencies listed in this thread, there is only one that doesn't teach the dive tables. That should tell you something.

I was lucky enough to have a brother-in-law that dives, who showed me some of the basics before I had to get in a pool in the "learning enviroment" with someone I had just met.

Insturctors teach people they have just met on a daily basis. You need to reflect on what you're saying here and revise your thinking. As a police trainer, you know it's a lot easier to instill good habits from the beginning, instead of breaking bad habits.

Once in the pool, Ken was great. He made sure I was comfortable and gave me more than just "One way" to complete a task if I had difficulty (mask clearing). He even worked around my schedule, squeezing me into his schedule (which is as busy as mine).

That just comes with the job (kudos to ken).

However, you should have been charged more to do a private. That's one way Instructor burn out occurs.

(by know means am I done learning).

Good for you.

Would I recommend onlinescubalessons.com? Knowing what I know now, no.

That's another feather in your cap!

if I had known that other associations offer online I would have taken theirs.

No one's fault but your own.

Off the Wall was willing to work around my schedule for the same price he charges others.

That's not fair to his other customers.

Several other local dive shops wanted between $500 and $1000 to work "one on one" around my schedule.

That's a fair price, for the time, effort, rental, gas, paperwork and the other amenities.

Their prices are better than anything I can find on the internet, including Leisure Pro.

I wonder how long they'll stay in business, doing that?

In my opinion Ken and Dave are both excellent instructors and can adjust to the student when necessary, but they don't forget there fundamentals and just "let you slide through". If you can't do the tasks at hand they won't just certify you like some do.

I don't know how you know you were taught what you needed to know, when you have no experience in this realm. Take a continuing education class from another Instructor, to see if you're right.

You definitely don't know if an instructor will breeze through a skill and certify you without accomplishing it. That's contrary to every standard ever written.

 

[DHMO Diver]

Remember D.T.B.W.S.H.: Established 1958?

(Divers Trained By Watching Sea Hunt)

 

[Diver Kat]

You mean, if it's still around I could be a card-carrying P.U.S.I. diver?

That would certainly be better than affiliating with the Professional Above The Surface Scuba Instructors, or P.A.T.S.S.I. They may cost more, but listen, I've got a friend that owes me a favor, and while they're normally VERY exclusive, I might be able to get you in...

Or the Amateur Scuba Schools Education System, aka A.S.S.E.S. It would sure seem to explain where some people pull their credentials from.

How about the Concise Open Water Professional Independent Educaters, lovingly referred to as C.O.W.P.I.E.? Who wouldn't want a COWPIE Dive Cert Card?

The Divers' Regional Open Water Network, D.R.O.W.N. didn't last too long. For some reason, it just failed to attract much of a following.

(Acronyms... they're not just for bureaucrats anymore...)

Hey - I thought C.O.W.P.I.E. was only available in Texas???? Or is it 'spreading' everywhere???

 

[Hoomi]

We may not have as many as Texas, but I assure you, we have ample C.O.W.P.I.E.'s here in Arizona.

 

[Jack'sDivingLocker]

Sorry this happened to you. A couple of years ago, we received a student who had taken this same "class". We were unable to complete her training. She had not participated in an RSTC approved program. Our insurance does not allow us to participate in unauthorized training programs. It was unfortunate. There is no reason why a scuba shop would necessarily agree to finish this course. (Though they might certainly choose to do so.) Just because this guy "promises" the course can be completed anywhere does not mean it is true. It is a scam and it is unfortunate.