console or computer. Configuration enquire.

[Doc]

I dive with a wrist computer which is NOT air integrated, and an analog SPG.

Me three. The best reason for an analog SPG is the instantaneous response from the pre-dive "suck check". Just before jumping in, look at that gauge and watch it as you suck deeply. Did the needle bobble and rise, or did it just sink and stay down from the 3000psi ? Either reaction will allow you to recognize and diagnose one of the two most likely potential problems with air supply. I do not know of any digital gauge that will portray these situations accurately.

If you have logged your dives as you did them, you can use tables to assess your status, and if the tables clear you, there is no need to stay out of the water for 24 hours.

The mention of the 24 hour rules dictates that this is a repetitive dive week- Then to begin anew with a fresh computer, right? Here we go again on that never ending topic. So, it opens the door for me to ask: if you do follow that method, how do you dope your new computer with your pre-existing pressure group? (as low as it might have fallen) Or do you just assume that close enough is good enough?

 

[ignacioblanch]

Hello guys. Thanks a lot to you all for your time and words.

Well TSandM/LowVizWiz, I actually did most of my diving working as a DM for a company overseas, and I used to take some gear from them including a computer. They dive wrecks between 25 and 38 mt so a computer was a must.

Now that I can afford some new gear I'm swapping my old used gear for some brand new and a computer, as I intend to take diving as a full time job

I do agree with all of you in some way or another. I could not agree more with Spectrum

For that matter if know what you are doing all of the integration you WANT may be between your ears.

I consider myself a person with enough common sense and sticked to the rules (divingwise...). But is for this reason I like asking ppl like you for your opinion and point of view.

For this, a big THANKS! to you all.

Anything else to be said, will be very welcome!!

Nacho

 

[kadleck]

...The mention of the 24 hour rules dictates that this is a repetitive dive week- Then to begin anew with a fresh computer, right? Here we go again on that never ending topic. So, it opens the door for me to ask: if you do follow that method, how do you dope your new computer with your pre-existing pressure group? (as low as it might have fallen) Or do you just assume that close enough is good enough?

I would suggest that, for repetitive dives, a fresh computer is not used (or only used in gauge mode), for the very reasons you describe. Clearly you must revert to using tables until clear of the water for a day or so.

 

[nereas]

I'll disagree a little with the prior post. If you have logged your dives as you did them, you can use tables to assess your status, and if the tables clear you, there is no need to stay out of the water for 24 hours.

One more good reason to log your dives!

Also a good reason to bring some kind of backup with you. And if the backup is electronic, then dive with it together with the primary computer.

Although with SUUNTO, I do not know of a single failure ever, anywhere, as long as you keep the battery fresh. Thus, for NDL, this may be the only single computer that you would ever need.

 

[Doc Harry]

I'll disagree a little with the prior post. If you have logged your dives as you did them, you can use tables to assess your status, and if the tables clear you, there is no need to stay out of the water for 24 hours.

You cannot always use tables to assess your status if you are diving your computer.

If you are diving a square profile, then you can use tables to assess your pressure group after a computer failure.

But try to assess you status after a complex multi-level dive (like a drift dive). The tables can sometimes indicate a significant decompression obligation even when you knew your computer indicated that you were still within NDL. The computer manufacturers always recommed remaining out of the water for 24 hours before resuming.

(Personally, if I knew my computer indicated that I was within NDL, I just presume that I left the water with pressure group Z and start again using tables. But I couldn't recommend this course of action to anyone else.)

 

[don Francisco]

First let me tell you that I have a personal bias to analog vs digital for almost everything, so consider the source.

As others have said, there are a number of issues involved. IMO the most critical bit of data is air supply. This has to come from a reliable source since there is rarely any redundancy. The next two bits are depth and time. Losing these is annoying but either can be pulled from a buddy, and though it may not be ultra precise, it's workable for dive management.

For this reason, I am a firm believer in a traditional mechanical SPG on a hose. What they lack in precision, they make up for in consistancy and reliability. Since I'm commited to a high pressure hose anyway, I don't bother with wireless air integration.

There is also the issue of digital error vs analog error. While it's impossible to get precise info off a dial gauge, you get a reliable source of approximate info with little chance of a reading error. For example, you might read that you have about 1,000#s of air left, in fact it might be 1,100 or 900, but certainly isn't 500, or 1,500#s.

Compare this with a digital reading. Digital info presented in such a way that it possible to misread any of the digits at first glance. If this happens with the last 2 digits no problem, but a misread of the 3rd digit could result in a reading error of several hundred pounds, and seriously effect your dive management. Under stress the likelihood of a digital reading error increases significantly (was that a 3 or a 5 or an 8) possibly contributing to poor decisions.

In the end, since I already have the SPG, I add an analog depth gauge, and find the console a perfect parking place for a compass, which then is taken on every dive. I carry a computer on my wrist. Generally I'll use the wrist computer for depth readings, but if I need to closely manage depth in zero viz, as at a zero viz safety stop, I use the mechanical gauge since it reads instantaneously and makes the task easier.

So there's the view of an analog man. Combine it with the other opinions, weigh the pros and cons, and make what seems like the best decision for yourself.

 

[--tom--]

And don't forget the purpose of your dive along with the configuration. About the time you get your hand stuck in a hole grabbing for lobster, you may think that there might be a better place for your computer than the wrist. But that is neither every place nor every dive. It just means think of your next dive, and apply the knowledge you have.

 

[gypsyjim]

I trained in pre SPG era. Would not give up that gauge or risk it's loss of info for any price! That gauge and the BCD changed diving forever.

After a computer problem recently in Bonaire I am going back to an analog depth gauge in my cosole and moving my computer to my wrist. Redundant sources of vital information such as depth and time are important.

 

[ClayJar]

Although with SUUNTO, I do not know of a single failure ever, anywhere, as long as you keep the battery fresh. Thus, for NDL, this may be the only single computer that you would ever need.

Just recently, I got to lead a small trip down to Bonaire for a week. After flying the Continental red-eye from Houston (which was delayed an hour thanks to an indiscreet alcohol-related comment by a would-have-been passenger) and making it through the mandatory orientation, everyone else in my group decided to take a nap. Naturally, I took that as my opportunity to get in one relaxing solo dive with my pony before shifting into divemaster mode.

I analyzed my gas, set my Vyper2 and Gekko computers, and splashed. Immediately, my start-of-dive sanity check threw a red flag. My Gekko was showing 21%. I returned to the surface, waited the requisite few minutes for it to shift back into surface mode, and reset the oxygen percentage to 32%. I *knew* I'd set it, but I figured maybe I fat-fingered something, being a bit sleep deprived, although I knew of no method with which to have had it revert to 21%.

With the Gekko properly set and doubly verified, I made a second entry. This time, I was watching the computer as it blinked, beeped, and returned to 21%. It seemed to happen when it shifted into dive mode from standby mode. Needless to say, I returned to the surface again.

Again, I reset it to 32%, and this time, I made sure it was on and waiting (not in standby mode or anything) as I made a beach entry. (I used the opportunity to do three different entries -- the original giant stride, a subsequent stair entry, and finally this beach entry.) This time, it didn't lose its head. It remained at 32% and passed the start-of-dive sanity check along with the rest of my gear.

I had my Vyper2, which never showed a glitch, and I decided to treat the Gekko as an auxiliary computer (i.e. if it agreed with the Vyper2, consider it redundant, but if the Vyper2 failed, abort as if they both had). The Gekko, however, did not manifest any additional glitches for the entire 30-dive week. During the glitching, it had apparently lost its clock setting, but other than that, I could find no discrepancies. Since it worked perfectly on the dive, and since the two computers matched when I downloaded and compared the logs, I promoted it back to fully-qualified computer (although I had one or more other divers with me on every subsequent dive I made, so I had additional data redundancy). The battery display still shows full bars.

Anyway, so long story short, my Gekko went fritzy at the beginning of the first dive of vacation, but after two false starts, it regained its head and worked by the book. It may not justify being called a "computer failure", however, it was an "incident" that made me quite happy to have redundancy. (Without a computer, the dives we made that week would not have been possible. They were very table-unfriendly, given the type of diving one does on Bonaire -- deep leg for half the dive, shallow leg for half, and long "safety stops".)