Must I abort if computer fails?

[SCUBASailor]

My plan is to eventually have a wrist mounted AI computer. Because of that, when I got certified, I purchased analog gauges, on the assumption that I would just dive tables until I got the computer. If I had known what I know now, I would have gotten a less expensive house mount computer first, so that when I got the wrist mount, I could have completely redundant systems. Oh, well, I have the rest of my life to acquire equipment. Live and learn.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

My plan is to eventually have a wrist mounted AI computer. Because of that, when I got certified, I purchased analog gauges, on the assumption that I would just dive tables until I got the computer. If I had known what I know now, I would have gotten a less expensive house mount computer first, so that when I got the wrist mount, I could have completely redundant systems. Oh, well, I have the rest of my life to acquire equipment. Live and learn.

Or you could do what I did: When you buy a wrist mounted device, take your console apart keeping only the SPG which you clip to a waist D-ring. The mechanical depth gauge can actually be placed in a pocket for minimalist redundancy.

As for the redundant computer, buy that whenever funds allow. In the mean time, one takeaway from this thread is that if you choose to do some simple planning before each dive, you needn't abort the dive if your only computer fails.

 

[Butch103]

Simple answer is go back to your training manual(s). What do they suggest? The two agencies I instruct with both tell you to abort and sit out 24hrs. If you don't believe your training or trust the folks that wrote the course.....why bother taking the course??

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

If you don't believe your training or trust the folks that wrote the course.....why bother taking the course??

Tricky question, there! Could it be that some of what those folks tell you is solid, sensible advice and some of it isn't? Could it be that some of what you learn in your OW course is perfectly sensible for your first fifty dives and some of it will be modified or even discarded as you gain experience? Could it be that you take some more training later that outright contradicts what you were taught to begin with?

Now since have much more experienced I am likely to accumulate in my lifetime, perhaps you can shed some light on a question that I think is relevant to the question of blindly trusting agencies.

Legend has it that the tables distributed by the agencies are based off of Navy tables with what the agencies thought was extra conservatism thrown in without any empirical testing whatsoever. Is this true? Legend also has it that safety stops were arbitrarily added to the tables to slow divers from fast ascents near the surface rather than because additional off-gassing at 15' was needed. Is this true?

I ask these questions because if either of those legends were actually true, I might get the impression that the methodology taught by the agencies is based on verisimilitude rather than virtue. So getting back to aborting a dive and sitting out for 24 hours, it could be an arbitrary rule made up because it's simple to follow and sounds officious.

p.s. Although all that being said, I agree that unless you are willing to do your research, obtain more training, get mentored by people you trust, or otherwise progress to the point where you can think critically about your training, your very first choice should be whatever you were trained to do.

 

[shoturtle]

No if you used your tables and did you SI work.

 

[halocline]

Simple answer is go back to your training manual(s). What do they suggest? The two agencies I instruct with both tell you to abort and sit out 24hrs. If you don't believe your training or trust the folks that wrote the course.....why bother taking the course??

It's this type of information that makes me not trust the agencies' materials in all cases. A policy that teaches you to plan your dive, (and do so conservatively) then says while diving that plan, if your computer fails, you must not only abort your planned dive, but then sit out 24 hrs is obviously a policy that was written out of fear of litigation. If you are planning dives and following the plan, why does the computer failure require you to act as if you had had a table violation?

 

[shoturtle]

The computer is the back up to the plan not the other way round.

 

[SCUBASailor]

Simple answer is go back to your training manual(s). What do they suggest? The two agencies I instruct with both tell you to abort and sit out 24hrs. If you don't believe your training or trust the folks that wrote the course.....why bother taking the course??

I dont recall covering that in my NAUI OW class. Regardles, I've been around long enough to know that it's not unhealthy to question conventional wisdom. I've been taught a lot if things in my life that have turned out to be questionable. I'm not denying that I am new to diving, but I do reserve the right to question the status quo.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I dont recall covering that in my NAUI OW class. Regardles, I've been around long enough to know that it's not unhealthy to question conventional wisdom. I've been taught a lot if things in my life that have turned out to be questionable. I'm not denying that I am new to diving, but I do reserve the right to question the status quo.

Hopefully you will continue to do so.


As for your original question... it depends.

It depends on the dive... your planning and what other tools and knowledge you have.

If it was your 5th dive of the day....and each dive was at or near the no deco limits, and you have no backup data or tables.... then I suggest you abort the dive and sit out for a while.

If it was your only dive for the day... in 20 ft of water, then no.

Every other dive is somewhere between those two.

I don't carry a second computer, but I do have a dive watch that records dive time and maximum depth.

I've had several computer's fail and never called a dive... but I would if the situation dictated it.

This is a simple risk evaluation exersize. If completing the dive does not put you at any risk, then don't abort. If it could... then abort. If you don't know, then abort.

 

[vladimir]

Simple answer is go back to your training manual(s). What do they suggest? The two agencies I instruct with both tell you to abort and sit out 24hrs. If you don't believe your training or trust the folks that wrote the course.....why bother taking the course??

Well, you take the course because you need a certification to dive in a lot of places. And because there is a lot to be gained from the course. But that doesn't make every aspect of it gospel. The agencies probably have a lot of incentive to keep things simple and to keep them conservative. Divers who are confident in their ability to perform above the lowest common denominator the basic courses are geared to (just about everybody passes, don't they?) can seek further education in books, internet forums, and in further training.