Air Integrated or Not?

[Sasquatch]

What's the general consensus here among SB divers? My impression is that I'd like fewer pieces of equipment and a wrist mounted, air integrated computer seems to be the way to go.

But I've heard the transmitters are fragile and this system is very expensive.

I'd like to know what you think before I hand over a pile of dead presidents.

Thanks

Dave

 

[sasscuba]

I say even if you get air integrated you should have a pressure gauge for backup....I use a non air suunto and a gauge pod with depth and compass. Backups are a good idea....

 

[Quarrior]

I have an air integrated computer but I still keep an analog pressure guage.

Thing to remember, you have to remember to synch your AI to the transmitter before diving. If you step to far away from it after you synch it, you may not know it lost synch.

Keeping the guage is a good safe thing to do. You don't need to let it dangle. Have it clipped off where you can access it easily instead.

 

[pterantula]

A.I. sounds neat (I imagine you could do really good SAC analysis), but I'd never do it without an analog backup - be sure your 1st stage has enough ports.
I really like wrist-mount, no A.I., very workable setup.

 

[divingjd]

I am currently using a console-style air integrated computer and like it a lot. I also wear a non-integrated wrist computer as a backup, so I see some of both worlds. I have also tried my wife's hoseless air-integrated computer. I am actually thinking I would prefer the hoseless air integrated. Everything is right there in one place, you have a lot of information available, and you can download a lot of information. I am not sure why everyone is so worried about not relying on the computer and making sure you have an SPG. I know lots of people using computers, many of them hoseless AI computers, and I don't think I know of a single computer failure. I don't know of any SPG failures either. I think they are both reliable. As far as I can tell, the major disadvantage to the hoseless AI computers is price. In the UWATEC line, hoseless AI computers are usually about $300 more than comparable console-style units and the console computers include a compass.

 

[SteveAD]

I love the concept of AI computers in the same way I love the remote starter in my truck. life was just fine before I had it, no on NEEDS it, but it sure is nice. I agree with the posts on price, hoseless can add big bucks. I dive a hosed AI (uwatec smart com) I wouldn't trade it for any other computer I know of.

 

[Quarrior]

I am not sure why everyone is so worried about not relying on the computer and making sure you have an SPG.

Because you can guess at depth based on last look, you can guess at rate of ascent based on counting and your ears. You can't guess at how much gas you have in your tank.

You say you have a back up computer. I think you're backing up the wrong guage(s). It's a matter of life support.

 

[divingjd]

Because you can guess at depth based on last look, you can guess at rate of ascent based on counting and your ears. You can't guess at how much gas you have in your tank.

You say you have a back up computer. I think you're backing up the wrong guage(s). It's a matter of life support.

Still doesn't answer the question: how many computer failures do you actually know of? People on the board talk about dive computers as if they crash as often as desktop computers running Windows (THANK GOD Microsoft doesn't do the OS for my UWATEC), but as far as I can tell, they are really reliable. If you, or someone else, knows something I don't about computer reliability, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Me, I have backups of just about everything except my BC and I take them on trips. By the way, there is a traditional SPG in my dive bag, just in case. I might have to abort one dive if my main computer fails, but I will be back in the water for the next one.

I'm kind of surprised to hear you talk about guessing about depth, ascent rates, and so forth, which seems questionable. Would you really conduct a dive that way? From your other posts, I wouldn't expect you to take that kind of risk.

I know (only from hearsay) that early divers DID guess at all of that stuff, including how much air was in the tank. Probably one of the reasons for military-style early scuba training.

 

[Quarrior]

Still doesn't answer the question: how many computer failures do you actually know of? People on the board talk about dive computers as if they crash as often as desktop computers running Windows (THANK GOD Microsoft doesn't do the OS for my UWATEC), but as far as I can tell, they are really reliable. If you, or someone else, knows something I don't about computer reliability, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Me, I have backups of just about everything except my BC and I take them on trips. By the way, there is a traditional SPG in my dive bag, just in case. I might have to abort one dive if my main computer fails, but I will be back in the water for the next one.

I'm kind of surprised to hear you talk about guessing about depth, ascent rates, and so forth, which seems questionable. Would you really conduct a dive that way? From your other posts, I wouldn't expect you to take that kind of risk.

I know (only from hearsay) that early divers DID guess at all of that stuff, including how much air was in the tank. Probably one of the reasons for military-style early scuba training.

You didn't read my previous post about the synch between the transmitter and the wrist mounted computer. Point I was making in that post is that if you forget to synch it or you happen to step to far away from your tank after you synch it and don't realize you lost the synch, you don't have to thumb the dive. You've got a SPG.

As for your "I'm kind of surprised to hear you talk about guessing about depth, ascent rates, and so forth, which seems questionable. Would you really conduct a dive that way? From your other posts, I wouldn't expect you to take that kind of risk." Thanks for the compliment. No, I would never take a dive like that, however, if I had a computer failure while already under, I can certainly thumb the dive and be comfortable in the knowledge of how much gas I have left. The rest I can guess at. Also, this is all in the realm of rec diving with no deco.

 

[divingjd]

You didn't read my previous post about the synch between the transmitter and the wrist mounted computer. Point I was making in that post is that if you forget to synch it or you happen to step to far away from your tank after you synch it and don't realize you lost the synch, you don't have to thumb the dive. You've got a SPG.

As for your "I'm kind of surprised to hear you talk about guessing about depth, ascent rates, and so forth, which seems questionable. Would you really conduct a dive that way? From your other posts, I wouldn't expect you to take that kind of risk." Thanks for the compliment. No, I would never take a dive like that, however, if I had a computer failure while already under, I can certainly thumb the dive and be comfortable in the knowledge of how much gas I have left. The rest I can guess at. Also, this is all in the realm of rec diving with no deco.

OK, I see the point about the synch. With the UWATEC, that's not a big problem, it's pretty rare to lose it after you get it set. You usually have to synch it the first dive of the day, then it's good. Does that mean you wouldn't have the same reservations about an air-integrated console-type computer (with a hose), like the UWATEC Smart Com or the Oceanic Data Pro Plus?