Replacement for my computer

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Sas

Contributor
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Location
Melbourne, Australia
# of dives
500 - 999
When I started diving I bought a second hand Uwatec Smartcom computer - its relevent features include: air integrated, console, have to send away for battery change, nitrox 21-100%, can download profiles to computer and gauge mode.

However I recently bought a backup computer - Uwatec Aladin as it was going really cheap and seemed to do all that I wanted in a basic backup computer. Wrist computer, user changeable batteries, can download profiles to a computer, nitrox to 40%, no gauge mode.

Two days later I went away on holidays and somehow the Smartcom had drained itself of batteries since I had dived last (was on 36%) before my first dive so I was left with my backup computer only and an SPG kindly loaned to me for free by the dive shop I was diving with. I MUCH prefered this set up - wrist computer and SPG so I am considering switching over to it permanently. Also I found I did not miss air integration and the basic Uwatec model served me fine for the diving I do currently (all recreational stuff). I do most of my dive planning via tables before my dive and then follow my computer underwater. I have a backup SPG (OMS spg - the 'Bar' one :)) already that I am using with the Aladin whilst my Smartcom is fixed.

So as I have discovered I really do not like diving with a console computer, I was wondering what to do about my Smartcom. I am considering the following options:
1. Keep the Smartcom as a backup SPG + computer and use it with my wrist computer like I was planning to. The benefits of this are that I know the computer, and it doubles as an SPG and also a computer all in one. However the downsides are I don't really like a console for a computer at all, it has decent resale value locally (400-450USD or 600-700USD) from what I have seen (and I will be selling it straight after a battery replacement + service, which should count for something) and also it won't be appropriate for future training (which over the next few years will include BSAC Dive Leader, Cavern, possibly Fundies) I am told.

2. Sell the Smartcom and replace it with a backup SPG + backup computer using the money I make from the sale :). The spare SPG I would have in my 'save a dive kit' in case the other one breaks, and it would be a fairly cheap one I imagine because of this. But as far as a backup computer goes, well I am not sure what to get. I would like another wrist computer, a fairly simple one that does gauge mode and has user-replaceable batteries. Would one with a gas-switching option be a good idea? I was recommended to get a bottom timer by a few friends and my instructor too, so that is an option instead of a second computer as well. The pros of option 2 are that I would have a computer that has gauge mode or a bottom timer (in some of the courses I want to do I will need a computer in gauge mode or a bottom timer), it will be a wrist one which I prefer, I'll have backups for an SPG and also a computer, and I won't have to send away my computer each time I want new batteries (they expired after only a year and I am not the original owner so it has been, umm, difficult to find a place that will replace the batteries for free). The downsides are I need to bother with doing tonnes of research about what to replace my Smartcom with, I have to find a buyer and it might not just be easier to keep the Smartcom as a backup as it works as an SPG and also a computer, and has gauge mode if I need.

So, anyway, interested to hear people's preferences for backup computers and their reasoning behind it :) And what people think of either option as I am sure there is stuff I might not have thought of yet.

Cheers :)
 
I'm a fan of Suunto computers. I use a Mosquito, and my wife uses a Gekko because she can't read the small numbers on the Mosquito. Both are wrist models w/o air integration, which I've never had any desire to have. Besides having all the core functionality we need, my main reasons for liking Suunto are user replaceable batteries, and a high degree of reliability.

I consider reliability a key feature, and feel that if anything is so unreliable that it needs backup, I'll look for something better. If I were on a liveaboard I might carry a spare, but otherwise don't feel that carrying backups for any instrument is necessary. I'm not saying I've never had a mechanical failure, but none that couldn't be managed with a rental, or locally purchased replacement.
 
I consider reliability a key feature, and feel that if anything is so unreliable that it needs backup, I'll look for something better. If I were on a liveaboard I might carry a spare, but otherwise don't feel that carrying backups for any instrument is necessary. I'm not saying I've never had a mechanical failure, but none that couldn't be managed with a rental, or locally purchased replacement.

Well the backups are more for travel as in some areas I wish to travel or have travelled to renting or purchasing is not an option (at least, without a very very long drive :wink:). So I like to have spares wherever possible. :)

Both are wrist models w/o air integration, which I've never had any desire to have

Yes, this is something I do not need, so do not wish to pay extra for. I would not buy another computer with air integration. I found it a nice to have feature when I dived but after not diving with it for a bit, I do not miss it at all I have noticed.
 
I agree with what DonFransisco says about reliability and the idea about owning a computor that you can't be sure of. I actually do have two, a console and wrist model, because I thought that my console model was going bad so I bought a wrist model to take it's place. Turned out that the only thing wrong with the console model, after mucho expenditure of hard-earned, knashing of teeth and swearing, was that salt had collected on the brass terminals which sense that one is in the water and wouldn't turn it on on the first dive of the day but would register the second dive when the crap was wet enough. Live and learn.
 
My air-integrated computer recently crapped out on me. I did some reading about how to accurately (and pretty easily) estimate your average depth using just a depth gauge, bottom timer, and SPG. So I'm now working on getting my depth averaging skills up to par, learning my dive tables enough to know roughly how much NDL time I have, and keeping my profiles within recreational limits. I've found it to be a fairly simple process and it makes sure I'm always in tune with my dive and not just blindly following a computer. It has worked well for me, and as long as you're willing to put in the time and effort, I would imagine it will work for you. The benefit to this method is that it will work for you when you move onto your future training (and you already have everything you need).

As for your old console computer, I'd probably try to sell it. I really dislike a console computer and would never dive with one (my personal preference). A computer on your wrist is far more convenient....not to mention, I do trust my SPG more than I trust my air-integrated computer. If you want a back-up SPG, keep it in your save-a-dive kit....I wouldn't bother having an air-integrated computer be your back-up.
 
My preference is the gear I own now. I use the Oceanic ProPlus2, without the compass. It is a very compact computer that has served me well for almost two years and currently 90 dives on it. I also use a Citizens Eco Drive, divers watch. It records my dive time, depth and water temp. Between the two, I always know how long I have been diving, how deep and a myriad of other data points.

The PP2 acts primarily as my SPG (I like the large numbers as well) and it gives me the ability to download all of the dive data. Would I buy it all over again? Depends on what the market has available at the time. Today? Probably.
 
Computers, by their very nature, are devices you can not be sure of. They are powered by a battery and sealed by an o-ring. After spending an afternoon in Grand Cayman getting a (very expensive) battery replaced in my computer, I decided that a backup was the way to go. That battery cost me close to $100 all together including the battery ($10), the taxi ($10), and the jewelry store that was next to the dive shop. (It was an anniversary trip.) My backup nitrox wrist computer cost me $68 on ebay.

I now carry backups for all my regulators and instruments. I would not go on a dive trip without them. And it costs nothing extra to throw them in the car for local dives.
 
I wouldn't buy a computor in which I couldn't replace the battery, one off-the-shelf, myself.
 
I wouldn't buy a computor in which I couldn't replace the battery, one off-the-shelf, myself.

I agree, If I can not change the battery, I don't need it that bad.
 
I wouldn't buy a computor in which I couldn't replace the battery, one off-the-shelf, myself.

I fully agree and mine was user replaceable. But those were the days before I carried lots of spares. And nothing in GC is cheap or easy to find.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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