is gas switching on vytec useful?

[mossym]

The Vytec is excellent. I love mine.

I am a big fan of:
Plan the dive by the tables.
Dive the dive by the computer (but making the deep stops).
Take the table along in a pocket with a bottom timer just in case.

But don't do what I say -- let your conscience, and your training, be your guide.

Dive safe,
theskull

thats my method now, and hopefully it will continue..the computer chould just be a guide, almost a sanity check to your plan, but if anything goes strange, follow the plan, not the computer

 

[DA Aquamaster]

There is nothing wrong with using a dive computer, even on a deco dive as long as you have proper planning and awareness to detect when something is out of tolerance, redundancy in the form of a bottom timer (or watch and depth gauge) and a contingency plan outlining a safe eco procedure is the computer fails.

Another approach used by some computer carrying tech divers is to just take two computers along. The odds of them both failing on the dive are remote.

And again the advantage of haivng the cmputer along on the intial deep dive, even if you never look at it on that dive, is that on subsequent rec dives that day, you can use the computer for multilevel diving like any other rec diver.

 

[mossym]

hence my question, is the extra cost of the vytec worth getting it over the vyper if you're considering learning deco diving, or is the mixed gas mode on the vytec just a gimmick that isn't worth the money?

 

[Padipro]

Relying on the computer on a deco dive is a bad idea...

What would you call it when you plan a dive on your desk top and print out a set custom decompression tables? Isn't that relying on a computer? Having a computer that is compatable with the type of diving that you are doing whether it's recreational single gas diving, nitrox diving or multigas decompression diving and not using it is like a pilot having GPS installed on the aircraft and using a map to navigate. A computer can be a valuable tool when it's used properly.

...the computer does not eliminate the need for careful and thorough planning....

I do agree with you 100% on this though.

Personally, I print out a set of tables on the desk top and wear my Nitek HE in full dive mode with gas switching. I not only have a set of tables printed out for the exact profile I'm planning on diving but have the computer as a back up and refer to during the dive to see exactly what my deco obligation is at any given point. I know it's not DIR to dive with a computer but it's a tool so why not use it?

 

[Quarrior]

IMO, the Vytec is a worthwhile investment. I dive with a Vytec on one wrist and an Aladin Pro on the other. I use the Aladin predomenantly as a bottom timer. I picked the Vytec because of the gas switching ability which I plan to use once I have my tech training.

I will use tables and carry them with me on my dives, but, it's handy to have the computer right there just to take a look at and see how things are going. There are those that say you should be able to do everything in your head. Well, that works for them. For me, I'll have my reminders, thank you very much.

 

[mossym]

thanks quarrior

i didn't want this to slide into another are computers good or bad debate, but it looks like that can't happen..ah well, strong opinions lead to strong arguements..

 

[JasonH20]

i didn't want this to slide into another are computers good or bad debate, but it looks like that can't happen..ah well, strong opinions lead to strong arguements..

Sorry Mossym, but I gotta ask.

I am a big fan of:
Plan the dive by the tables.
Dive the dive by the computer (but making the deep stops).
Take the table along in a pocket with a bottom timer just in case.

Ok, I keep hearing this, but then what is the point of having the computer? Isn't the whole point of a computer to get longer bottom times than with tables? Otherwise you're just using it as a fancy (and expensive) bottom timer?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[DA Aquamaster]

What would you call it when you plan a dive on your desk top and print out a set custom decompression tables? Isn't that relying on a computer?

Yes you do rely on the accuracy of the computer and software when cutting tables with deco software on a desktop, laptop or PDA, but you do not have to worry about the computer dying during the middle of a dive.

Having a computer that is compatable with the type of diving that you are doing whether it's recreational single gas diving, nitrox diving or multigas decompression diving and not using it is like a pilot having GPS installed on the aircraft and using a map to navigate. A computer can be a valuable tool when it's used properly.

I agree with you here. The concern would be that the diver has to have the skills needed to complete the dive without the computer, just like a pilot has to be able to navigate by dead reckoning with a map and compass if the GPS and other radio equipment dies in flight. I learned to fly in a no radio 1952 Supercub where a map and compass were all you had and those skills became second nature. I am still amazed at how many pilots trained in modern aircraft with a VOR, or even worse a GPS with a map display, cannot navigate via dead reckoning. When the eqiupment fails they get lost and sometimes they run out of fuel before they find themselves. I have the same concern about divers who become too reliant on dive computers too soon in their careers and either do not fully learn the basics in the first place or do not practice the basics long enough to ingrain them into their memory.

Personally, I print out a set of tables on the desk top and wear my Nitek HE in full dive mode with gas switching. I not only have a set of tables printed out for the exact profile I'm planning on diving but have the computer as a back up and refer to during the dive to see exactly what my deco obligation is at any given point. I know it's not DIR to dive with a computer but it's a tool so why not use it?

I agree with you on this also. I think that is exactly how a computer should be used for deco diving as it requires the planning to be done independently and ensures you always have a contigency plan along if the computer fails.

The dive planning and gas planning needs to be done first as a computer suggested deco schedule does you no good at all if you do not have the gas to complete the schedule. The computer in essence, should serve as the backup and really only comes into play in situations where you deviate from the plan by shortening the dive. The computer, assuming it is functioning properly, then allows you to avoid the uneeded deco required for the shorter/shallower dive. But if you are using accellerated deco procedures, this advantage is lost if the computer is not capable of gas switching.

 

[mossym]

Sorry Mossym, but I gotta ask.

Ok, I keep hearing this, but then what is the point of having the computer? Isn't the whole point of a computer to get longer bottom times than with tables? Otherwise you're just using it as a fancy (and expensive) bottom timer?

Thanks,
Jason

i'll follow the computer, and follow it's limits, but if it suddenly starts showing me i have 45mins of no deco time at 130ft then i'll know it's gone wrong, if i know my limits, i can use my back up timer and depth guage, like i did before i had a computer. I trust computers, but i don't want to be deep, have it die on me and wonder what the hell i do now. I do my stops regardless of what my computer tells me, even on a 40 ft dive, so in that regard the computer is only a backup to my plan, but for multilevel dives if i don't use all my ndl at the deepest point i'll trust my computer to get me some extra time at a shallower depth, unless it shows something really screwy.


it's pretty obvious that the question i asked can't be answered , so if this is going to turn into a computer war then have away guys, i trust the way i dive, I'll dive with people who dive with computers and people who don't, however you plan your dives is fine with me as long as it's safe...if you use your head good for you, if you don't then good for you as well!!I've made the choice to use a computer, i think it makes my diving better and safer, but i also believe in knowing the limits as well, just in case. To each their own.

 

[theskull]

Sorry Mossym, but I gotta ask.

Ok, I keep hearing this, but then what is the point of having the computer? Isn't the whole point of a computer to get longer bottom times than with tables? Otherwise you're just using it as a fancy (and expensive) bottom timer?

Thanks,
Jason

No. The question asked was about using a multi-gas computer for deco diving. And when I'm deco diving I am not looking for longer bottom times. I am planning a dive that will be well within the limits of the amount of gas I am carrying and the amount of time I wish to spend diving and making deco stops.

Now on making the dive--I most often end up spending less time at depth than I had planned for and had sufficient gas for. In these cases, the computer allows me to make shorter deco stops on the way up since I spent less time than planned for initially. The multi-gas capability lets me know how much time I must spend at each stop after switching to the different deco gases I am using and credits me both for the shortened bottom time and for the time spent on deep stops. Thus the computer is allowing for shorter time-to-surface for the exact same reasons as it allows more bottom time on recreational diving.

theskull