Bar vs PSI

[Marek K]

The only thing I request of my US divers is that they signal me showing ALL the zeroes.....because a diver with PSI signalling "1 0 0" ...

I can't remember from diving with the Germans last year... what's the "standard" way of signalling BAR pressure? I do seem to remember that they were signalling each digit in the number...

Yours is a good idea. But it seems like there could still be some confusion, because it's so similar to the signals for BAR.

The "standard" way for psi, as I remember from long ago, is to hold up fingers for each 100 psi. 2,000 psi would be all ten fingers, shown two times. 1,300 psi would be all ten fingers, followed by three fingers. I believe that was different enough that there couldn't be any confusion as to whether a diver were signalling in BAR or in psi.

In either case, we're assuming a DM who's knowledgeable about psi, which you obviously are. The Germans I was diving with, weren't... but they seemed to know that I was watching out for my dive-buddy son, and trusted me to watch out for myself.

Turns out one of them...and then the other...BOTH read their COMPASSES (180 degrees) rather than their SPGs! Anyhow, I'm glad they were facing south at the time...if they had faced north (0 degrees) they might have panicked when they saw they had "empty" tanks!

Great story!

--Marek

 

[Helipilot]

The DM I was with was fairly new (2 or 3 years) and had never seen a gauge in PSI. So she would have been very confused if I signaled her in PSI. It was easier for me to convert, I just kept the conversion for 100 bar and 50 bar in my head and questimated anything up or down from those. Worked out OK. Great story about the compass!!! Any way hopefully my stickers will stay on, will let you know after the next trip.

 

[Marek K]

The DM I was with was fairly new (2 or 3 years) and had never seen a gauge in PSI.

Yeah, it's pretty funny when you've got a "metric" DM that just wants to take a look at your gauge him/herself, instead of even trusting you to signal your pressure. They're expecting to see BAR, and they see...

...something else.

Their eyes get wide... then they look at you... then back at the gauge...

Then I show them how deep we are on my computer...

--Marek

 

[aquaoren]

100 BAR are pretty much exactly half full tank everywhere in the world beside North America (I'm talking a regular tank and not 300BAR tanks). I was taught to show the half-time signal for 100 BAR (Ya know, when you form a T with your hands)

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

100 BAR are pretty much exactly half full tank everywhere in the world beside North America (I'm talking a regular tank and not 300BAR tanks). I was taught to show the half-time signal for 100 BAR (Ya know, when you form a T with your hands)

Hey, what's IRREGULAR 'bout 300 bar tanks?!

And yeah, "time out" signals 100 bar left, or half empty with the 200 bar divers. My spouse and I use it all the time (1/3 left for us), but lately I can't seem to get that low before time's up...