manni-yunk
Contributor
Finally got in the water in an ocean dive with the Petrel.
First the conditions. It was 1/1/2013. Cold. Since the hurricane - the NE conditions have been BAD in terms of vis. So since we were on an inshore wreck in bad conditions - the expectation was that it would be an ugly dive with almost zero vis.
The Petrel is AWESOME.
It is easy to use, easy to learn, and easy to follow. I sell software for a living - and some of it is complex - but this thing is so easy, most computer intuitive people could probably open the box, set it up and do multi gas switch (if appropriately trained) dives with less than 5 minutes of practice on the software.
There was almost no ambient light and vis was about 2-4 feet. At times we were in complete silt out situations - to the point that I maintained contact with the line my buddy and I ran along the wreck for the entire 45 minute dive to 80 ft.
Some people were concerned about the new LCD screen instead of the OLED on the Predator - DONT BE. Even in complete silt out, I was able to see and read the computer easily.
Some people were concerned about the viewing angle of the LCD - DONT BE. Yes - there is an angle at which the screen blacks out....but it is also the same angle that you would not be able to read the screen anyway since it would be almost in line with your eyes and you would be looking at the side of the computer. At anything close to a reasonable angle - the screen remains bright and readable I played around with this while I tried to make it black out and I was impressed.
I kept the brightness set to AUTO.
On the hang, after I was cleared - I played around with switching gasses and adding gasses that were not planned or turned on - once again - VERY easy.
This computer is worth every penny.
The only negative I can find is that it appears that the temp is off. Since this was the first ocean dive on the Petrel for me - I also brought 2 other computers.....1 was on my wrist right next to the Petrel and one was in my dry suit pocket. They both read 43 degree bottom temps. The Petrel read 49. Everyone on the boat stated 42-44 on their computes. It seems that the Petrels temp reading may be a little off - and on the high side. No big deal.
Other than that - I love this computer.
First the conditions. It was 1/1/2013. Cold. Since the hurricane - the NE conditions have been BAD in terms of vis. So since we were on an inshore wreck in bad conditions - the expectation was that it would be an ugly dive with almost zero vis.
The Petrel is AWESOME.
It is easy to use, easy to learn, and easy to follow. I sell software for a living - and some of it is complex - but this thing is so easy, most computer intuitive people could probably open the box, set it up and do multi gas switch (if appropriately trained) dives with less than 5 minutes of practice on the software.
There was almost no ambient light and vis was about 2-4 feet. At times we were in complete silt out situations - to the point that I maintained contact with the line my buddy and I ran along the wreck for the entire 45 minute dive to 80 ft.
Some people were concerned about the new LCD screen instead of the OLED on the Predator - DONT BE. Even in complete silt out, I was able to see and read the computer easily.
Some people were concerned about the viewing angle of the LCD - DONT BE. Yes - there is an angle at which the screen blacks out....but it is also the same angle that you would not be able to read the screen anyway since it would be almost in line with your eyes and you would be looking at the side of the computer. At anything close to a reasonable angle - the screen remains bright and readable I played around with this while I tried to make it black out and I was impressed.
I kept the brightness set to AUTO.
On the hang, after I was cleared - I played around with switching gasses and adding gasses that were not planned or turned on - once again - VERY easy.
This computer is worth every penny.
The only negative I can find is that it appears that the temp is off. Since this was the first ocean dive on the Petrel for me - I also brought 2 other computers.....1 was on my wrist right next to the Petrel and one was in my dry suit pocket. They both read 43 degree bottom temps. The Petrel read 49. Everyone on the boat stated 42-44 on their computes. It seems that the Petrels temp reading may be a little off - and on the high side. No big deal.
Other than that - I love this computer.
. Absolutely no issues with the display in dark or low vis environments.
