Atmos 2 question - liberal v. conservative

Hi,

I'm relatively new to diving and have bought an Atmos 2 computer. I've read that it is "liberal" re N2 saturation. I've also read that with some computers one can program them to be more or less liberal (some kind of setting). It does not look like the Atmos 2 has this type of capability (if it does please let me know). so the only way i can figure to make it more conservative is to set the alarm to go off sooner (or keep a close eye on it too) for when the N2 bar graph gets to 3 green or 4 and never go into the yellow to be safe (it has 2 yellow bars befor deco). is my thinking right? thanks for your input.

Yes there is no reason why you cannot interpolate a degree of conservatisim. Meanwhile you won't get black balled if you choose to enjoy the full permissions of the algorithim.

You can also to observe a minimum NDL.

I'm not sure it would improve the responses but would you care to share why you wish to be more conservative?

FWIW my wife and I also have the Atmos-2

Pete

subc:

Hi,

I'm relatively new to diving and have bought an Atmos 2 computer. I've read that it is "liberal" re N2 saturation. I've also read that with some computers one can program them to be more or less liberal (some kind of setting). It does not look like the Atmos 2 has this type of capability (if it does please let me know). so the only way i can figure to make it more conservative is to set the alarm to go off sooner (or keep a close eye on it too) for when the N2 bar graph gets to 3 green or 4 and never go into the yellow to be safe (it has 2 yellow bars befor deco). is my thinking right? thanks for your input.

Click to expand...

What you describe works great for increasing the conservative factor.

Yes the Atmos 2 is liberal/agressive.
And yes the great way of increasing the conservative factor is to use the organic computer that lies between your ears.

Rather than just watch the NDL and/or nitrogen loading graph, you might do kind of what I did, which is to research the differences between the aeris and more conservative algorithms to see under which circumstances they vary the most, and be cautious about those situations. For example, the aeris will give you tons of NDL (way more than you could ever use on a single tank) as you ascend, while the more conservative computers like suunto won't. This means you probably should not interpret a 100 min NDL towards the end of a dive to mean you're not loaded up with N2. Also, reverse profiles and down/up/down/up etc profiles get penalized much more in the suunto algorithms than in the aeris. So, although I use an aeris computer, I try to avoid situations which would make a more conservative computer complain.

Also, once you get into reading a little about DCS in rec/single tank diving, you'll find a couple of interesting things: 1) there is no statistical difference among the various popular computers for DCS incidence, at least none that I could find. This means effectively that no computer is proven safer than another for rec diving. 2) There are many other factors correlating to DCS incidence that are fairly easy to control; hydration, avoiding excerise shortly after diving, and especially very conservative ascent rates. Just doing this little bit of reading while trying to decide between the aeris and a more conservative computer changed the way I dive, and I definitely notice a big difference in the way I feel after diving. Personally, I like the aeris; it's really intuitive to read and has a great reliability track record.

Thanks all for the input. It is interesting to read that the different algorithms seem to have the same success rate (which is a safe dive). To answer Spectrum more specifically I just wanted to start by diving conservatively as a beginner in a new sport and then as I learn more about the interaction of my personal physical response to diving and N2 loading with what the computer is telling me I can get calibrated - not that I want to take any risks!