Yeesh. I realize there are a lot of idiots out there, but banning an entire class of good tools (ie, wireless AI dive computers) because of those idiots is lowering the entire sport to the lowest common denomenator. Who appointed you people (this is absurd to ask, but please use common sense in trying to figure out whether or not I am addressing YOU, dear reader, with this statement) to be our protector?
Everyone has an opinion on the internet, but some of you are speaking as though your opinion is the only right one. Get a grip on how much you rate in this world, for goodness sakes. You're not the scuba police, or Big Brother, protecting us from ourselves.
AI computers are handy. Don't depend 100% on them, learn about the tools you use, and you'll be just fine. Seriously consider a backup analog SPG in case of failure. Hmm... for those diving ONLY analog gear, what sort of secondary backup mechanism do YOU have in place? Or are you 100% dependant on one tool to give you your gas levels, the same accusation levels against AI comps? If something happened to it would you scrub the dive? Gee, someone with a computer could and probably should do the same thing.... even if they do have a backup.
If I was diving wireless AI (only) and my comp crapped out, you can be damn sure I'd thumb the dive, whether or not I had a backup SPG. I've been diving more than long enough to remember how to ascend at a safe rate without a computer (which didn't really exist in any meaningful way when I was first certified in '87). Should many of the people out there be more careful than they are with their diving? Absolutely. Should we remind them, gentley, from time to time, of this fact? Sure. Does this topic really warrant 7 pages of posts? Absolutely not.
Let Darwin do his work to the people who choose to dive and entrust their lives to tools they do not understand. Maybe they'll be lucky, maybe they won't. And the OP, incidentally, does NOT seem like the type to take things lightly, else he would not have started this discussion. Kudos to him, I'm sure he'll do fine with whichever decision he chooses.
Rant over.
Everyone has an opinion on the internet, but some of you are speaking as though your opinion is the only right one. Get a grip on how much you rate in this world, for goodness sakes. You're not the scuba police, or Big Brother, protecting us from ourselves.
AI computers are handy. Don't depend 100% on them, learn about the tools you use, and you'll be just fine. Seriously consider a backup analog SPG in case of failure. Hmm... for those diving ONLY analog gear, what sort of secondary backup mechanism do YOU have in place? Or are you 100% dependant on one tool to give you your gas levels, the same accusation levels against AI comps? If something happened to it would you scrub the dive? Gee, someone with a computer could and probably should do the same thing.... even if they do have a backup.
If I was diving wireless AI (only) and my comp crapped out, you can be damn sure I'd thumb the dive, whether or not I had a backup SPG. I've been diving more than long enough to remember how to ascend at a safe rate without a computer (which didn't really exist in any meaningful way when I was first certified in '87). Should many of the people out there be more careful than they are with their diving? Absolutely. Should we remind them, gentley, from time to time, of this fact? Sure. Does this topic really warrant 7 pages of posts? Absolutely not.
Let Darwin do his work to the people who choose to dive and entrust their lives to tools they do not understand. Maybe they'll be lucky, maybe they won't. And the OP, incidentally, does NOT seem like the type to take things lightly, else he would not have started this discussion. Kudos to him, I'm sure he'll do fine with whichever decision he chooses.
Rant over.
