Silent computers?

[tplyons]

I have my computers sent to silent. I'm looking at them constantly anyway.

 

[Qasar]

Well thanks all for your advices/comments/recommendation, in fact I tink that I made my mind and move for a Petrel.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My Oceanic Geo 2 has alarms turned on - sorry if that offends anyone. It also has a red LED that flashes when an alarm is sounding.

We are all human and humans make mistakes - even those that are much more experienced than me. Just take a look at the accidents and incidents board for proof of that. Anyone that says they don't want or need reminding of an impending disaster is a liar or an idiot in my opinion.

If all is going well on a dive I will not generate any alarms and I can feel smug about it. But, if I stuffed up, then I'd rather have a noisy alarm than the other possible consequences. If any of you don't like that then tough - it's my life and I choose to protect it as I wish.

First off, I don't think anyone objects to alarms if people pay attention to them. My objection ... as is borne out in several responses in this thread ... is that people tend to tune them out, either because the computers alarm in circumstances you don't need an alarm for, or because they can't hear them, or they're so used to hearing the noises coming from the computers of the divers around them that they just assume it's not their computer that's beeping.

So in those circumstances the alarms aren't doing anything for your safety ... they're simply annoying everyone else you're diving around. And yes, it gets really annoying after a while. Go do a typical dive on a place like Paradise Reef in Cozumel ... between the incessant beeping coming from almost every diver's computers and the perpetual quacking noises from the dive guides furiously pointing out everything that moves it gets noisier than a Hong Kong street market. And if you look around and watch all those divers with beeping computers, not a one of them are paying attention to the computer that's beeping at them ... half of them probably don't even know why it's making those noises. So how is that doing anything to alter any possible consequences?

You shouldn't rely on your computer to protect your life ... if that's your attitude, then sooner or later you're going to find yourself in a bad situation with no clue what to do about it, because your computer won't provide that information. Your computer is there to give you data about your dive profile ... it's not supposed to tell you when to go up, when to slow down, or when you're getting low on air ... that's a great way to develop a reliance on a piece of gear that, sooner or later, WILL let you down.

What I'd like to see is a computer that comes with a set of ear buds ... so that only the diver wearing it would hear their alarms, and in a way that they could easily identify them as coming from their own computer. When that happens, then perhaps the purpose of those alarms will actually achieve something.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DaleC]

What I'd like to see is a computer that comes with a set of ear buds ... so that only the diver wearing it would hear their alarms, and in a way that they could easily identify them as coming from their own computer. When that happens, then perhaps the purpose of those alarms will actually achieve something.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

What if, like GPS systems, the computer could talk to you, and you could select the type of voice. English chippy, Southern drawl, Homer Simpson... Every time you do something wrong it just goes DOH!

 

[Qasar]

You shouldn't rely on your computer to protect your life ... if that's your attitude, then sooner or later you're going to find yourself in a bad situation with no clue what to do about it, because your computer won't provide that information. Your computer is there to give you data about your dive profile ... it's not supposed to tell you when to go up, when to slow down, or when you're getting low on air ... that's a great way to develop a reliance on a piece of gear that, sooner or later, WILL let you down.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hi Bob,
I fully agree with you, but once again men (and sometimes women...) are doing silly things or forgetting things or are facinated by something else than what they should be, then it's there you need a small help to bring back your attention if it's happening.
The intent is not to let the computer drive your dive. Plan the dive and dive the plan is always the safest way to survive.

 

[messenone]

My opinion is that both sides are exaggerating a bit.

To Those who don't like audible alarms:
********************************
I am with you that when someone is making an annoying noise they should turn off so that they don't annoy people around them.
Same thing goes with mobile phones that ring at church or somewhere else where they are not supposed to ring.
BUT
You need the alarm for that one and only time that you just might forget something or get carried away or something.
(ok we get it there are divers that are 100% aware, at all times, every time, they don't get carried away even for a single second ,
not even when they become 90 years old).

To those who like audible alarms:
********************************

When something is beeping, then you need to snap out of what is happening to you,
check what it is and take care of it (the alarm first).
Don't just rely on the computer for your dive.


p.s. I don't wear a hood and I have a hard time hearing if by chance an alarm goes off.
How do people that complain hear other people's alarms from a distance?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My opinion is that both sides are exaggerating a bit.

To Those who don't like audible alarms:
********************************
I am with you that when someone is making an annoying noise they should turn off so that they don't annoy people around them.
Same thing goes with mobile phones that ring at church or somewhere else where they are not supposed to ring.
BUT
You need the alarm for that one and only time that you just might forget something or get carried away or something.
(ok we get it there are divers that are 100% aware, at all times, every time, they don't get carried away even for a single second ,
not even when they become 90 years old).

To those who like audible alarms:
********************************

When something is beeping, then you need to snap out of what is happening to you,
check what it is and take care of it (the alarm first).
Don't just rely on the computer for your dive.

The people who will most likely notice it are those who aren't used to hearing it ... the ones who are bothered by audible alarms. These are usually the people who have turned off the alarms on their own computers, and who have learned their skills sufficient to not need such "reminders".

Those who rely on these alarms, and who have them on their computers, get so used to hearing them that they tend to tune them out ... much like someone who lives next to a highway or airport will eventually tune out the sounds of traffic or airliners overhead. It's part of our natural adaptation process ... and the major reason why these alarms are effectively useless. They tend to get overused, and it's not that you're not hearing it, it's that those beeping noises have just become a natural part of the background on your dive.

p.s. I don't wear a hood and I have a hard time hearing if by chance an alarm goes off.
How do people that complain hear other people's alarms from a distance?

... and if you're having a hard time hearing it, then you're going to have a hard time responding to it ... so what good is it?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[messenone]

The people who will most likely notice it are those who aren't used to hearing it ... the ones who are bothered by audible alarms. These are usually the people who have turned off the alarms on their own computers, and who have learned their skills sufficient to not need such "reminders".

Those who rely on these alarms, and who have them on their computers, get so used to hearing them that they tend to tune them out ... much like someone who lives next to a highway or airport will eventually tune out the sounds of traffic or airliners overhead. It's part of our natural adaptation process ... and the major reason why these alarms are effectively useless. They tend to get overused, and it's not that you're not hearing it, it's that those beeping noises have just become a natural part of the background on your dive.



... and if you're having a hard time hearing it, then you're going to have a hard time responding to it ... so what good is it?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Don't be absolute Bob and lets not play with words.

I mean that my alarm is loud enough for me to hear and definitely not loud enough to bother someone else.
You can always adjust the volume of the alarm so its doesn't beep underwater like a bell and bothers someone 10-20 feet away.

 

[mathauck0814]

(ok we get it there are divers that are 100% aware, at all times, every time, they don't get carried away even for a single second , not even when they become 90 years old).

You needn't be 100% attentive to avoid having your computer throw alarms. Basic awareness is what's required; and stikingly few divers have it.