Most and least useful computer functions?

[freedc]

I am in the early stages of dive computer shopping where I try to assess my needs and just figure out what features I'll want/need. I'm new to diving, but figure I want to splurge on something if it will suit me well.

What features have you gotten and felt you didn't need?
What features did you pass up but wish you had gotten?

wrist vs. console
air integration (wrist)
integrated compass (wrist)
ascent alarm
other alarms
graphical display
data download to PC w/software
memory
gauge mode
number display size
number of buttons
good looks for everyday watch
algorithm
tissue groups
battery type and user-replaceable or not
nitrox
other fancy gas settings
warranty
what other features? I'm sure I've left off many.


I know where I'm leaning, which is to splurge for watch type with air integration because I love the idea of one less thing (gauge) hanging off me and one less thing to look at. Is it crazy to try to go console-free?

Don't want to wear it as a watch. I will get mugged and regret it.
Do want large numbers in case my eyesight goes downhill (it's ok now at 40, but soon...).
Do want data download.
Do want to be able to replace battery without going to a pro.
Do want nitrox capability.
Do not care about fancy technical gas switching as I don't see myself going there.
Will not stress about the algorithm or number of tissue groups.

These are all preliminary thoughts based on reading here. Before I shell out many hundreds of bucks, would love more advice from wonderful scubaboard people. THanks in advance.

By the way, if you want to recommend a brand and model, go ahead too!

 

[vixtor]

wrist vs. console
- wrist, console is too bulky

air integration (wrist)
- not really needed, and very expensive; a plain SPG will do the job

integrated compass (wrist)
- never saw a computer compass working like the Suunto SK-7 (not even the Galileo's); the only advantage of a integrated compass is that it will make calculations for 90 and 120 degrees of heading; not needed

ascent alarm
- ascent speed indication either as numbers or a progress bar with enough pixels (not only alarm, because the alarm shows when it's too late) is useful when there's no rope around.

other alarms
- depends on you; mine are disabled

graphical display
- i like matrix displays, the letters look better

data download to PC w/software
- very nice to have

memory
- enough for the sampling rate that you need and the number of dives you'll do before having access to the computer again

gauge mode
- useful

number display size
- depends on your eyes

number of buttons
- not number, but the logic behind the user interface (how easily is to learn and remember); i like the new vyper approach - up/down/select/menu

good looks for everyday watch
- not needed; many good computers are big and bulky

algorithm
tissue groups
- your choice of conservative/permissive

battery type and user-replaceable or not
- user replaceable makes things easier

nitrox
- usually useful

other fancy gas settings
- depends on your diving

- maybe a freediving mode if you do that from time to time; using a suunto as a gauge for that will lock it in gauge mode for 48 hours, so you'll not be able to return to diving immediately

 

[Hatul]

One rarely mentioned feature I like in my Suunto Vyper is the simulation mode, which allows you to see the display as you make a "dive" without getting wet.

Adam

 

[Colliam7]

What features have you gotten and felt you didn't need?
What features did you pass up but wish you had gotten?

I second just about every comment that vixtor made! Very sound advice.

I know where I'm leaning, which is to splurge for watch type with air integration because I love the idea of one less thing (gauge) hanging off me and one less thing to look at. Is it crazy to try to go console-free?

It is not 'crazy', and a number of people do it. For recreational diving it is not unreasonable. Keep in mind that AI is not perfect, and you will have the occasional synchronization problem. I use an AI wrist mount as a convenience, but keep the SPG.

Don't want to wear it as a watch. I will get mugged and regret it. Or, lose it, or drop it, or ... I agree with your thinking. After all, it is a dive computer, not a fashion statement. A wrist-mounted unit is great - convenient, low-profile, etc. - in the water.
Do want large numbers in case my eyesight goes downhill (it's ok now at 40, but soon...). Very wise. I was OK at 50, now at 59 it is another story.
Do want data download. Nice to have, although I don't find it essential. I thought I would use that feature a lot more than I actually have.
Do want to be able to replace battery without going to a pro. There are a number of units that supposedly do not have 'user-replaceable' batteries which are, in fact 'user-replaceable'. I would not rule out a computer on that basis alone.
Do want nitrox capability. Very wise.
Do not care about fancy technical gas switching as I don't see myself going there. In general, the multi-gas units are a little more expensive (and the helium-capable units are a lot more expensive). I used a 3 gas-capable Vytec for many years before technical dive training, and seldom had the need for the gas-switching capability, other than to periodically practice gas-switching (e.g. air to nitrox to air) in preparation for future technical dive training.
Will not stress about the algorithm or number of tissue groups. Good for you. Much of that discussion is a bit arcane anyway.

As for features I wish I had gotten, but didn't, there are few, if any. I would like to have a computer that displays seconds as well as minutes, but that isn't a significiant concern.

 

[gcbryan]

My advice would more or less be the same as Vixtor. I'll just add that large numbers, ablility to change the battery easily, and a logical menu are the main things to look at in my opinion.

Most computers are nitrox capable, most have gauge mode, most have alarms and many people (including me) turn them off.

I wouldn't buy a one button computer (harder and more irritating to navigate the menus). I would only buy a wrist model. The rest just depends on you. I don't care about data download although most of them do that (often for an additional cost for the cable). I do like it if the computer can replay the dive in the dive computer itself but I don't use that feature often. I like it if it logs your average depth but I don't have to have that either.

Regarding data download (my opinion only) after a while most of your profiles will start to look the same so it may be fun to play with but after while you already know what the profile is going to look like before you print it out.

Air integration is not something I want even if it were free and certainly not at the price that you have to pay. Clipping a spg off it not a big deal. Having display space taken up by info that you don't need that often and don't necessarily need calculated for you is the downside to AI.

Sometimes people spend more for a computer than necessary thinking that they're getting something that can "grow with their diving". This rarely works. Computers are simple in the first place so why pay a lot for a simple devise. Secondly if you really care about cutting edge technology what you buy now will not be cutting edge in the future even if you can upgrade via software (the hardware will still be the same). Also, many people go the tech route so when their diving "grows" they move to trimix so unless you have a trimix computer this logic doesn't make sense. Otherwise, they just use gauge mode and the cheapest computer (for the most part) has gauge mode.

Also, consider if you lose the computer either in the water or on land. Diving in the ocean is a harsh environment...things do happen...why have to replace a $1,000 computer when it could be a $300 computer?

Really, it all depends on you. There are some people who like everything I don't like and whose favorite features are my least favorite so it just depends...

 

[ozziworld]

You're asking for opinions but this may not be in synch with others on this board.

Basically, I find a computer to a be more a luxury than a necessity. For a recreational diver it is quite convenient on live aboards, multiple dives to be computer based.

Specialty divers often opt to just plan their dives from tables which are more specific to their needs.

My first computer was an ORCA skinny dipper from 1988 which I still use today as a back up. When I bought a MARES Nemo to replace it, I found no significant advantages other than size. In fact, my eyes prefer the Bigger readouts on my old ORCA.

Of all the features that I use in my computers the one most taken for granted is the size of the readout.

I dive both computers and read off of my ORCA most of the time which is mounted near my SPG. It turns out that in practice, I thought of the ORCA as a back up to the newer MARES Nemo but it is actually my primary since I find I refer to it more often and I think it is because of the readout - LARGE numbers 1/2" tall. Only info on the large screen is current depth, bottom time and remaining bottom time. No Clutter.

I love the fact that the Nemo is wrist mounted and has a good share of modern features but the honest truth for me is I find the ORCA just simply easier to read.

So why did I buy the Nemo? I got a good deal so I bought one for my Daughter and one for myself. I also thought the ORCA might be nearing the end of it's service cycle after twenty years. No regrets with the Nemo. It's with me on every dive backing up the aging ORCA.

Thanks for letting me share.

 

[freedc]

Wow, great comments everyone. I like facts, but personal opinions based on experience are especially valuable too. A common theme I see in this thread and related ones I've read is that large numbers are underrated and air integration is overrated.

I expect to rent gear a lot -- no time or money for liveaboards or patience for nearby quarry diving -- so the spg and compass will probably come with the tank and reg and I'll let the wrist computer be my personal equipment. You guys have saved me a few hundred already. I'll send you a cut of the savings...

One thing I forgot to ask about: do wrist dive computers typically measure temperature? Is that useful info to have?

Or more generally, what info do you need in the computer's storage and what info do you need on the display?

I'm thinking I'd want bottom time, depth, and ascent rate on the display, maybe something like no deco time remaining but I imagine I would not need all the safety stop timings given that you probably learn to do that using depth and time, without hand-holding by a computer. I'm convinced by the argument that the air remaining is best left on the separate hose-connected SPG.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A computer is like a job. It may not be perfect, but people don't normally quit their job unless it requires them to do something they really don't like or unless it fails to meet a basic need.

Consequently, the things to consider in a computer are what makes someone stop using a computer or upgrade it.

1. A non user replaceable battery is a PITA and is close to the top of the list.
2. The inability to handle Nitrox mixes when you advance to Nitrox use is also at the top of the list.
3. The lack of a download function if you are computer savvy.
4. Incompatibility with a buddy's computer (inability to adjust levels of conservatism and/or a radically different algorithym.)
5. A computer with a non intuitive interface that is hard to set.
6 Small numbers that are hard to read (especially for middle aged divers)
7. Increased complexity and higher failure rate due to air integration.
8. The inability to handle a deco gas if you advance to intentional accellerated deco.
9. The lack of a gauge mode if you advance to trimix diving.

Everything else is just a matter of gee whiz features and personal preference where the presence or abscence may be something you don't really like but will not be enough to cause you to want to upgrade.

Pretty much every computer measures temperature. Some use it to adjust the conservatism while others do not. Some computers have a very fast response time and others take a long time to cold soak to ambient temp, so temp readings vary in their usefulness.

Average depth is nice for figuring real world SAC rates, but not having it is not a deal breaker for most people.

If you look at all of the above, the major consideration ends up being buying enough computer to grow with you over time. A two gas nitrox computer like the Nitek Duo, Tusa IQ 700 or the Uwatec Tec 2 G all run in the $400-$450 range and are enough computer for most divers up to trimix and as a bottom timer through trimix diving.

 

[freedc]

bump -- any more opinions? This is all useful. I am wondering which brands have hte best and worst readouts for older divers. That is the one feature that's hardest to research online.

TIA.

 

[Randy43068]

The "ON" feature

I am in the early stages of dive computer shopping where I try to assess my needs and just figure out what features I'll want/need. I'm new to diving, but figure I want to splurge on something if it will suit me well.

What features have you gotten and felt you didn't need?
What features did you pass up but wish you had gotten?

wrist vs. console
air integration (wrist)
integrated compass (wrist)
ascent alarm
other alarms
graphical display
data download to PC w/software
memory
gauge mode
number display size
number of buttons
good looks for everyday watch
algorithm
tissue groups
battery type and user-replaceable or not
nitrox
other fancy gas settings
warranty
what other features? I'm sure I've left off many.


I know where I'm leaning, which is to splurge for watch type with air integration because I love the idea of one less thing (gauge) hanging off me and one less thing to look at. Is it crazy to try to go console-free?

Don't want to wear it as a watch. I will get mugged and regret it.
Do want large numbers in case my eyesight goes downhill (it's ok now at 40, but soon...).
Do want data download.
Do want to be able to replace battery without going to a pro.
Do want nitrox capability.
Do not care about fancy technical gas switching as I don't see myself going there.
Will not stress about the algorithm or number of tissue groups.

These are all preliminary thoughts based on reading here. Before I shell out many hundreds of bucks, would love more advice from wonderful scubaboard people. THanks in advance.

By the way, if you want to recommend a brand and model, go ahead too!