Erdp ml

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mgmonk

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Scuba Instructor
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I don't know where else to ask this. Gear? I tried Instructor to Instructor, but denied.

Anyway,
I read the last issue I got of Undersea Journal, and what, EXACTLY, are the new standards for phasing out the wheel and bringing in the Multi Level ERDP? I know there are standards for:
1) the IDC
2) DM's
3) Us (Instructors) teaching Multi Level, etc.

I know there are some date on this, but as the new year approaches, I'm curious.

Apologies if this has been posted, but I looked on this site and PADI Pro.

cheers

g
 
Oh

:)


"Because the eRDPML replaces the original eRDP and The Wheel, you can use it in any PADI course to plan either single level or multilevel dives. Though your PADI Offi ce will no longer distribute The Wheel or the original eRDP, you may continue to use them in your diver-level courses until your stock is used up.

Beginning 1 January 2009, PADI Divemaster candidates will be required to have and be competent in the use of the eRDPML in addition to the RDP table version. Starting immediately, divemaster candidates may use the eRDPML in place of the RDP table and The Wheel during the Decompression Theory and the Recreational Dive Planner Divemaster exam."
 
Not exactly on point, and I acknowledge that I'm an analog man living in a digital age, but I'll miss the wheel.

I've used it for years and found it to be the fastest, easiest method for planning multilevel dives.
I'll probably need to buy a backup, before these go the way of the slide rule.
 
Not exactly on point, and I acknowledge that I'm an analog man living in a digital age, but I'll miss the wheel.

I've used it for years and found it to be the fastest, easiest method for planning multilevel dives.
I'll probably need to buy a backup, before these go the way of the slide rule.

I think that is the first time I have ever heard that!!

Everyone in my IDC class hated it we joked that the only people buying them where IDC students b/c we had too.
 
I have to be honest I like the wheel too.

It was I thought actually pretty intuitive as it was nothing more than the tables with additional shorter ML limits arranged on a circular slide rule. Running one is not rocket science and I never understood why people had such major problems with it.

I kinda figured if DM candidates could not figure it out it was a good indicator they should not be DM's.

It frankly scares me that PADI will be happy cranking out divers who can't do much more than plug numbers into a calculator.
 
What should scare you more is not the fact that PADI is switching from an analog system that requires slightly more brain power than punching numbers and answering yes and no, is to the fact that some PADI course ops now call for dive computers as mandatory, which is leading to newly certified divers not even remembering how to use a table let alone a calculator version of the tables, i've seen divers first hand and read posts that claim " I just follow my computer".
 
I have to be honest I like the wheel too.

It frankly scares me that PADI will be happy cranking out divers who can't do much more than plug numbers into a calculator.

Thanks, I thought I was alone in liking the wheel, possibly one of the last surviving sliderule retro-grouches. It's a sad reflection of the times we live in that we're almost ashamed to admit it.

The problem with the shift from the tables or the wheel to dive computers, isn't that it represents a change in technology, but a sea-change in philosophy.

Tables and the wheel were called "dive planners" and that's what you did with them - you planned the dive before jumping into the water, anticipating what your NDL time would be, and benchmarking when you'd change depth or end the dive.

Computers are wonderful tools for managing the dive once you're in the water, but only a tiny fraction of computer users use them to plan a dive, and most don't know how to anyway. (As far as using the simulation feature to plan a multi-level dive, give me the wheel any day)

The upshot is that we're training divers who can follow the instructions of an electronic device, but don't know how to plan a dive, and lack a feel for what the implications of their decisions are.

Don't believe me? Sit on a dive boat when the DM briefs a second dive, giving the planned depth and time. Look around and observe how many divers actually check their computers to see if they have that much NDL time left.
 
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....."Beginning 1 January 2009, PADI Divemaster candidates will be required to have and be competent in the use of the eRDPML in addition to the RDP table version. Starting immediately, divemaster candidates may use the eRDPML in place of the RDP table and The Wheel during the Decompression Theory and the Recreational Dive Planner Divemaster exam."

Oh great, I guess I'm gonna have to buy it then.

I think that is the first time I have ever heard that!!

Everyone in my IDC class hated it we joked that the only people buying them where IDC students b/c we had too.

I prefer the wheel, it's straightforward and I find it incredibly easy to use. I do get looks though when I take it out on dive boats between dives.

I don't understand the point behind phasing out the tables for these electronic "planners". I just hope there isn't a spike in newly certified diver accidents as a result of it.
 
The problem with the shift from the tables or the wheel to dive computers, isn't that it represents a change in technology, but a sea-change in philosophy.

Tables and the wheel were called "dive planners" and that's what you did with them - you planned the dive before jumping into the water, anticipating what your NDL time would be, and benchmarking when you'd change depth or end the dive.

Computers are wonderful tools for managing the dive once you're in the water, but only a tiny fraction of computer users use them to plan a dive, and most don't know how to anyway. (As far as using the simulation feature to plan a multi-level dive, give me the wheel any day)

The upshot is that we're training divers who can follow the instructions of an electronic device, but don't know how to plan a dive, and lack a feel for what the implications of their decisions are.
I agree. With that approach gas planning gets left totally out of the picture and divers fail to understand basic depth, gas consumption and decompression relationships. When the computer fails, they appartently ljust look for a potentially wheel challenged DM to save them.
 
Not exactly on point, and I acknowledge that I'm an analog man living in a digital age, but I'll miss the wheel.

I've used it for years and found it to be the fastest, easiest method for planning multilevel dives.
I'll probably need to buy a backup, before these go the way of the slide rule.

I have a very lightly used version I'd be more than happy to sell you. PM me if you're interested. :D
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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