Advice on Atom 1.0

I received my Atom from Subatoys yesterday and am like a child with a new toy !!! Just can't wait to use it which will be over the weekend (on Thursday and Friday in the part of the world that I live in)
I have devoured the manual and am familiarising myself with the features and settings.
I have a few questions.

Right now I am not Nitrox Certified (but plan to get it this weekend). What should my GAS 1 FO2 setting be for AIR diving? AIR or 21%? The manual says the calculations are the same if I set it to AIR or 21%. Does it make any difference?

What should the FO2 GAS 1 Default setting be for Air diving? ON or OFF?
When diving with a single cylinder do the settings for GAS 2 and GAS 3 have any significance?

I will be testing the transmitter today on a Scubapro MK 25. Does the wrist unit automatically detect the transmitter once the first stage is pressurised? I have set the "RECR" setting to "ON", the "TID1" to "ON" and the TID1 Number to the transmitter's serial number. Is there anything else that I have to do for the transmitter to be detected?

Any specific pre first dive steps to be taken?

Hello Ramsabi,

While I am using an 8-year old DataTrans Plus, I expect the answer is the same for the Atom as for it....Indeed, AIR and 21% are the same, making no difference in the computer's use or how dive data is calculated. What I conclude in reading the Atom user manual is that the 21% setting will activate the O2 Bar Graph and P02 values and/or warnings for use, but you'd effectively be getting the same tissue loading information as if AIR was the setting.

The purpose of the F02 50% Default is to establish a very conservative tissue-loading model if you dove Nitrox and then for a subsequent dive with a different mix, you failed to update your computer with the new mix percentage. Yes, I've done that very thing, and found my computer warning me early into a nitrox dive that my P02 was too high. But, better to err on the cautious side than to default to an AIR only setting and yet still be diving with Nitrox. I don't fault Oceanic's approach with the DataTrans but do like the new capability of turning off the F02 default. Anyway, to answer your question, for an AIR or 21% setting, I think you'd want to turn OFF the F02 50% default. Once you start diving Nitrox, turning on the default will again err on a highly conservative side if you forget to enter your F02 percentage for each dive you're about to perform. If you leave the default OFF, then the Atom will use whatever was the last set F02 for GAS 1. I think it might be nice if the default coult be set to a user-definable value and then turned ON...perhaps 38-40%, but really anyone diving Nitrox should just learn to make it part of their routine to check their gas mix and set it appropriately on their computer.

Since the DataTrans doesn't support 3 gas mixes, I'm not sure how one would use the GAS 2 and GAS 3 settings, but it seems to me that if you were planning 3 Nitrox dives, you could preset the mixes for each dive so that when you're ready to begin a given dive, you'd activate its GAS setting. I haven't read the Atom manual on this feature, but that's how I'd intuitively expect it to work.

The wireless transmitter is turned on by tank pressure, so indeed, your wrist module will detect the tank pressure once the transmitter is mounted on your tank and the tank value opened. It may take a few seconds. If you don't see a tank pressure reported, try popping your inflator button or purge button on a reg to give a pressure surge to the tank. Once that is done, you should always see a pressure reported so long as the wireless link is intact.

Not that a swimming pool session isn't a real dive, but with any new computer or scuba equipment in general, I think the best "pre first dive" step to be taken is to test the new gear in a more controlled, safe environment, such as a pool, to be sure all is in working order before doing a "real" dive.

Regards,

Daryl

Daryl gave a very good description of the whole process, only miss I see is that the multi nitrox mix capability can also be used on one dive if you are changing gas during the dive .

Just back from a night dive, cleaned and put my gear away and am now at my computer typing this post.
Tried the ATOM first in the pool when there was still daylight, worked fine.
Went on the dive. Perfect.
I am absolutely satisfied.
I had posted another thread asking for help on the transmitter [the link symbol doesn't come on at the surface - Cerich the manual is slightly confusing on this. It doesn't state anywhere that the link symbol comes on only when the dive mode is activitated. Page number 136 "Atom System Testing" - the related checks say "Pressurise the Regulator Assembly (and Transmitter)" and "Verify that the Link icon is displayed". I was disheartened when the link symbol didn't come on when I tried the regulator with the transmitter attached on a cylinder at the surface until I got two comforting replies to my other post.]
Anyway, I am totally happy with my buy and look forward to using the ATOM for years to come. The glo-light was especially good and I could read the dial very well. No problems at all.

ramsabi:

Just back from a night dive, cleaned and put my gear away and am now at my computer typing this post.
Tried the ATOM first in the pool when there was still daylight, worked fine.
Went on the dive. Perfect.
I am absolutely satisfied.
I had posted another thread asking for help on the transmitter [the link symbol doesn't come on at the surface - Cerich the manual is slightly confusing on this. It doesn't state anywhere that the link symbol comes on only when the dive mode is activitated. Page number 136 "Atom System Testing" - the related checks say "Pressurise the Regulator Assembly (and Transmitter)" and "Verify that the Link icon is displayed". I was disheartened when the link symbol didn't come on when I tried the regulator with the transmitter attached on a cylinder at the surface until I got two comforting replies to my other post.]
Anyway, I am totally happy with my buy and look forward to using the ATOM for years to come. The glo-light was especially good and I could read the dial very well. No problems at all.

Click to expand...

We REALLY appreciate when you take the time to sit down and type out your experiences and suggestions concerning our gear. One thing that we have been trying to really focus on is that when you design, make and test a product your "vision" becomes very narrow, what seems "easy or self evident" may not in reality be so and how you may use a product may not be how others will. As a result we have been getting more and more pro active in seeking outside testing and evaluation prior to product release. I will pass along your comments on the manual and hopefullly we will be more clear in the future.

Thanks!

Chris