How liberal is ZH-L8 ADT (Uwatec Aladin Tec 2G)?

[Snotax]

Hi

I've been looking for a new computer for a while now and have found two models that I like, mostly because of the handy BT functions and the ability to switch gas, the Suunto Vytec and the Uwatec Aladin Tec 2G.

Now I really need your help, this is a hard decision, which one should I choose?
From my point of view the Tec 2G has three advantages: the price, IR-connection and native support for Mac OSX.

So why don't I just buy it? People I've talked to warns me about the algorithm, it's said to be old and liberal (I don't know if it's true). So how liberal is it? Is it more liberal than the Oceanic VT3 (Modified Haldanean / DSAT)?

I know you can compensate with the microbubble levels but then you hide the no decompression time and when you do repetitive dives I've heard that it gets too conservative (is that correct?).

It has also been a lot of talk about the number of tissue compartments... 8 vs. 9 vs. 12 (Uwatec, Suunto, Oceanic). From my understanding the number of compartments is less important than how the algorithm uses them, as long as there isn't too few of them of course (I assume that 8 is enough). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Best Regards... Daniel

 

[DiverLaura]

There must be something new going on, cause I have yet to get my Tek 2G to communicate with my mac despite reading all 7,526 threads on it.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

If the algorithm is too old and liberal for your taste you can always add as much decompression time as you feel is prudent. There is really nothing stopping you from spending extra time if you feel tired, stressed or cold or have done repetitive dives that day. And no computer is going to know your status with respect to most of those risk factors. Take a look at the differences between the liberal algorithms and the conservative ones and decide for yourself how much padding you want to do. Of course a problem with your question is that UWATEC does not share how their algorithm works. I’d suggest that trusting your safety entirely to an unknown algorithm is a bad idea. You should have some sort of plan beyond the computer.

Personally I would get the Tec 2G.

 

[drbill]

Shouldn't this thread with its talk about liberal and conservative be in The Pub? Just teasing...

I have the Tec 2G and have had little trouble getting it to talk to my laptop (to paraphrase some of my friends, ScooterGirl, "Get a PC" Tee hee). . I use it as a back-up computer with a Dive Rite Nitek Duo as my primary... mainly because the numbers on that one are large enough for me to read easily.

I only use my computer's suggested deco time as a guideline. I almost always double or even triple it since my body is of an older model. That is easy for me to do here on Catalina where most of my dives are not square profile but involve slowly working my way upslope from maximum depth and filming the critters I encounter along the way.

 

[NETim]

Death before PC's!

Long live OS/X (and any other *nix!)

 

[n618ft]

I just got the Tec 2G and haven't used it yet but from what everyone's told me it's neither very conservative nor very liberal - somewhere in the middle. Also, you can get a generic IRDA off ebay for less than $10 to work with it.


Mac is The Man... overpriced, proprietary, and cult-ish. Made in China too :shocked2:

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have use the Tec 2G and have noted that at level 2 is it very close to the VR3 and Nitec Duo computers in terms of over all run times.

It is adjustable from 0-4 so 2 is pretty middle of the road. At 45 with a fair amount of bioprene, I am not exactly a poster child for liberal computers, yet I have never had any issues with the Tec 2 G being too liberal.

It also has a tissue loading bar graph so you can still use it to add some extra time to your last deco stop, and the computer is very tolerant of doing your stops deeper than the minimum depth. For exampel I almost always do my 10 ft stops at 20' as it works better in most of the cave systems I dive in.

In terms of profiles, it has also worked very well in caves where you often have very limited control of the dive profile.

 

[Snotax]

Thanks for all the comments, it seems like it's not as dangerous as I've been told As you said... nothing stops the user from adding some safety on his own. And for that price I have to try it.