PDC with reading NDL/DECO and BT at the same time

[Remy B.]

So going back to the original question, there is not a DC that take those two readings at the same time ? Am I better off taking a stop watch and hope to remember to stop the counter the moment I start ascending, I was as well thinking in a slade and write the dive time up to when I start ascending.

I just hate to rely on my memory to write stuff at the exact time or stop the counter on the stop watch, there is the option to buy a cheaper DC and put it in bottom time mode, but that means more stuff on my wrist

 

[knotical]

Then I refer you to what Steve wrote in post #3 above.

bottom line (pun intended): If you are using a dive computer you do not need to know "bottom time" as PADI defines it and as we are using the term in this thread.

 

[DiveNav]

.......
Dive time is the total time in the water

Bottom time is the moment you start descending and reach your planned (or maybe not planned )depth plus whatever time you spent at that depth, the moment you start ascending your bottom time stops. ......

There is NO dive computer that tracks the "Bottom Time" as per your description above.

ALL dive computers (also when in bottom time mode) track time from the moments you "break the surface" (first when you descend and then when you resurface).

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[RJP]

So going back to the original question, there is not a DC that take those two readings at the same time ?

From the computer's standpoint... these two "readings" are one and the same, so there's no reason to show both. As pointed out above, when in "bottom timer" mode, the computer will track dive time and depth, but nothing else. It will track "bottom time" from the point you descend until you surface again, just as it does for "dive time." It will not magically stop tracking "bottom time" when you leave the bottom.

 

[Remy B.]

Uhmmmm, I was in the wrong impression that it used something like a differencial pressure signal and then it stop the timer and did not count for the time ascending since you already begin de-gassing, then the questiom is why on earth do they want to have that option available in a DC if it already it is telling you the information in dive mode, what is the point of that bottom time/ gauge mode option ???,

just don't understand why it will be even considered since it disable the rest of the value information and alarms.

 

[dmoore19]

If I put my computer into gauge mode and get it wet, it is locked into gauge mode for 24 hours. Basically, using gauge mode renders the dive mode unavailable for 24 hours. I didn't know you could switch back and forth from one mode to the other. Maybe other computers allow this.

 

[Neoteric James]

A bottom timer would be useless if it stops when you begin ascending. What if you went up a foot or two, it stops then at some unknown time later you realize it. Then you're gonna wonder if that safety stop will be enough.

Gauge mode is for people that like to track nitrogen loading themselves, it's simply a dive watch with a few extra features.

 

[TSandM]

I'm not familiar with the gauge you are using, but I suspect what you have is a "bottom timer" mode -- that is the same as "gauge mode", and disables the decompression calculations. In that mode, the computer only gives you elapsed dive time and depth (or maybe average depth, depending on the gauge). That would explain why all the alarms and what-not are disabled when you go into "bottom time" mode.

 

[knotical]

Absolutely correct. In Remy's case it is called bottom timer (and not bottom time) mode – at least in the English version of the Mares Puck Pro manual. It displays current depth, a toggle between max depth and average depth, a “stopwatch” and dive time. The manual also occasionally calls it gauge mode.

fwiw, the manual is available here: Manuals - Downloads - Mares

---------- Post added September 28th, 2014 at 05:33 PM ----------

... then the question is why on earth do they want to have that option available in a DC if it already it is telling you the information in dive mode, what is the point of that bottom time/ gauge mode option ???,

just don't understand why it will be even considered since it disable the rest of the value information and alarms.

Tech divers who use only tables can benefit from the gauge mode, and some free-divers also use it.

 

[RJP]

just don't understand why it will be even considered since it disable the rest of the value information and alarms.

Many divers calculate dive plans ahead of time - typically for tech/deco dives - and print out a specific schedule showing times, depths, and gas mixes. As you can see from this screenshot below, with such a schedule in hand (or, more likely on a slate on your wrist) you don't need your computer to be in "computer" mode at that point. You simply need it to tell you your depth and how long you've been in the water...

On the dive above my Suunto Vytec DS would be beeping and flashing at me and tell me I was bent long after I safely exited the water. It would then assume I was either dead or in a chamber and lock me out of diving for 12-24hrs as it assumed I blew off a bunch of deco. By setting it to gauge mode... it stays happy.