Use's a dive computer

[Kim]

What seems to be developing as a theme to this thread is that the usefulness of a computer depends a lot on the type of diving you want to do. If you are planning a scuba holiday - recreational - with lots of dives over multiple days - then they are very useful. If you want to do a more complicated technical dive - then the use changes quite a lot. I haven't seen a single post that someone uses a computer exclusively to do a deco/cave/wreck (often the same type of dive) dive. While there are computers that are supposed to be able to handle such dives - nobody seems to want to use them for that purpose. Even though I'm not deco trained - I doubt if I would either! But for recreational dives - they are GREAT!

 

[miketsp]

I always plan with tables so I have a feel for the dive before I start but the computer lets me deviate if I need to or if something unexpected comes up. The download capability is great for postdive analysis. Occasionally the computer will demand more deco than expected - when this happens, I obey and analyse later - generally there is a reason.
Best thing about the computer is I don't have to remember to turn it on or set my watch on entry.
As backup I use a Citizen dive watch which has a nice loud ascent rate alarm.
And as already commented, multiple dives on multiple days really need 1 computer per diver.
My wife has hers and sometimes we see quite different saturation levels just because of slightly different profiles.

 

[jiveturkey]

I use my Stinger and a wheel for every dive. If I dont know the underwater topography, I'll plan several contingencies for a multilevel dive. I've had a computer lose it's brain on me once before during a dive so I know it's not just a freak occurance that you read about on the internet. These things do happen and they can be for a variety of reasons. I'll never fully trust a computer again.

 

[oceancrest67]

I have been using Oceanic computers for ten years. I upgraded to a Oceanic Pro Plus air integrated computer a couple years ago and I love it. It has a large interface...logs multiple dives...it can be used as a nitrox computer...and, it is PC downloadable using an interface kit. I save all my dive information on my PC and I print out my dive logs when needed.

With this...it is still important to know and review the tables and wheel. It is still important to gauge your dive via the use of the tables on top of using a dive computer. On all dives I take a watch with timer or a bottom timer.

I keep my computer clean, well maintained, protected and I replace the batteries per the service manual schedule.

I say this because I have seen too many divers take computers for granted and then they end up taking their diving for granted. Computers do what they are designed to do...and they operate off of the information that is set and configured...but, they cannot account for poor diving skills and/or diver errors.

Just my O2.

 

[gfisher4792]

I use my good old dependable Mares Nitrox Surveyor computer. I'll upgrade one of these days. I usually carry my old analog depth gauge, just to make sure they agree with each other, and as a backup. I tend to use my comp more as a depth gauge/timer, and use tables, just to compare and keep my brain active.

 

[DI_Guy]

I am a new diver and an experienced dive buddy told me sooner or later, you will buy a computer, so I did right away.

I use the RDP and I plan a dive and then use the computer to print out a profile to see if I stuck to the plan. I analyse the dive start to finish and look for errors. (lol) My bouyancy control is getting better all the time.

The profile "print out" does tell me when I am doing things that should be corrected. I include the print outs in my log book to help me become a better diver.

As a new diver, my dives are not deep, when I get AOW, NITROX, etc, the computer will be very useful.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I own some computers but I haven't used them for anything except loaning to other people in a long time. I get all the bottom time I want even doing multiple dives over multiple days.

 

[dc4bs]

I've got an old air-only aladin that retired whin I got nitrox certified, a Cochran commander 2 gas nitrox that got used as guage when I got trimix certified and a DiveRite He I use now.

I use the He along with tables cut with v-planner.

The He seems to give profiles very similar to v-planner untill the last stop or two on decompression dives where it want's me to stay for a few minutes longer than the tables do. I don't mind hanging out a bit longer to keep it happy as I've always had plenty of gas left over to do so.

I figure if a dive ever goes pear-shaped, I've got that extra bit of data available to help base decisions on. If the computer ever fails, I can just continue diving the tables as that's how I plan all the dives anyway.

To an extent, it's simply a single place to look for most dive info I want on the fly. EG: time, depth, etc. rather than having to look at several different guages to get the same info. I have all those separate guages and usualy check them at least once or twice a dive to verify what the compter is telling me.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I use a computer for recreational, multi-level dives. You almost can't do several dives per day over several days without one (at least with a reasonable expectation of permisable bottom times).

For intentional decompression dives, I use VPlanner and cut the tables. Although there are several mixed-gas computers available, they are not quite as reliable as I would like and are quite expensive.

All the best, James

Same here. My Oceanic computer doesn't have gas switches or stops deeper than 60 feet, so I use V-Planner. By the time I finish my 20 foot stop the computer is within a minute or two of V-Planner's run time, so I use the computer as a bottom timer and depth gauge.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I use a Suunto Vytec - probably one of the best pieces of diving equipment I've bought! So far, I only do recreational diving, but having a computer still doesn't absolve me of the need to plan my dive properly. If I'm diving a multilevel profile, I still plan it out with the Suunto dive planner software or the wheel ahead of time, but I like having the real-time profile tracking and the data logging.

A couple of other good features of a computer are the ascent rate indicator - great data to have given that fast ascents are more likely to provoke DCS; and the ability of the computer to compute decompression stops & ceilings. I've never needed the deco features of my computer, but if I ever manage to screw up and exceed my NDL, I've got something better than the PADI extended safety stop guidelines to work with.