Deco diving - Do you rely on your computer for deco, or is it just a backup/gauge?

[brianstclair]

I'm curious of the people on this board doing deco dives, how many of you rely on your computer (and what computer are you relying on) for stop depths and lengths, and how many of you are using your computer either in gauge mode or as a backup to tables or some other deco strategy?

Brian

[Tavi]

On Deco Dives my Vyper is in Guage Mode. I either use RGBM Tables, or Tables cut on V-Planner. I also carry Back-ups. The Planned dive is on my wrist, also +5 and -5 minutes. Backups with more variations are on Wet-notes in my pocket. We do our best to dive the plan, variations are for when Murphy shows up.

[roturner]

Everybody will have their own way of doing this. In my case I use Vplanner to make tables for the expected runtime and one for +10 min with and without loss of deco gas. That's all noted in shorthand on a slate.

I have a computer and a BT and the BT is what I pay attention to. The computer is the backup instrument and I ignore it most of the time. I also carry the IANTD tables in a pocket.

R..

[wedivebc]

Most deco dives I do I use tables. Occasionally for less demanding deco dives I will cut tables for worst case and use my computer as a guide to get me up. That requires that I stay within the time/depth limit of my planned table. So if I plan a 150ft dive for 25 minutes I can use my computer provided my time is less than 25 min and my depth is less than 150. This gives me some flexibility if I choose to leave early or decide the deeper part of the dive was boring.

[Charlie99]

Don't forget that you have to plan your gas consumption somehow.

Even if your computer is giving you good advice, it doesn't help much if you don't know in advance how much gas you need for your ascent. That's why a dive with signifcant decompression obligation is likely to have been calculated out in advance.

Charlie Allen

disclaimer: I do use a computer for mild deco of just a few minutes, but in that case the gas requirements are easy to calculate in my head.

[ppo2_diver]

I cut tables from Deco Planner and my computer then becomes a backup bottom timer and depth guage. In team based technical diving, the team dives the same gasses (bottom gas and deco gas) and follow the same dive plan. That's why we don't follow dive computers.

[DA Aquamaster]

I use tables cut with DPlan along with a bottom timer as the primary source for deco, time and depth information. Contigency plans for greater time, greater depth and lost deco gas(es) are cut with Dplan and carried on a wrist slate.

The computer is only a back up for time, depth and deco as well as a faster way to the surface in the event of an early abort of the dive.

I get real nervous anytime someone uses a computer as their primary source of deco information as it makes it way to easy to skimp on the gas planning. That increases the potential for them to have to use MY deco gas and that reduces MY redundancy and MY reserve.