Suunto Vytec deco test... deco divers help.

[jplacson]

Has any deco diver ever taken a Vytec down on a real deco dive? With stages?

I just wanna know how it fares against tables.

I tried the simdive to 150' and went into deco... it seemed to do fine...it beeped to have me ascend, I didn't... then I moved it up slowly after about 11 min to it's first stop at 27'..then 20' ... then up to 15' ... then 10'.

I'm not trained for deco dives yet... so obviously I can't try it out myself... I was just playing around with the simdive to see if the Vytec would freak or anything.

Since simdive doesn't make the Vytec enter error mode, I was wondering if anyone has tried it on a real deco dive, how did it perform compared to a table planned dive? Did it lock out? Did it allow you to do another dive in a reasonable amount of SIT?

 

[O-ring]

You went on a dive (sim) to 150' and it's first stop was at 27'?? Time for gauge mode!

 

[jplacson]

like I said, I'm not trained for deco diving so I have no idea what a typical deco dive profile is supposed to look like.

I don't have deco tables or know how to use them... can you give me an example of a typical deco dive to 150' for .. say ... 10 min? (or longer? I really don't know) ... what's the first stop supposed to be at? For how long?

That's also why I asked if any deco diver takes the Vytec down on a regular basis and if the thing went nuts and locked out.

O-ring, do you use a computer for deco dives? Or just switch to gauge mode &/or BT?

 

[Genesis]

where you want to be, 90% of the time!

I don't dive it with stages, but I do dive it into deco - intentionally.

I cut the tables for the dive on VPM, and use the Vytec as my backup if the water turns brown for some reason.

BTW, if you do your "shape" of your deco according to VPM or similar software, the Vytec will clear at about the same time the tables do. The "ceiling" is just that - a CEILING. Nothing says you can't decompress below it, and in fact, you should.

My view is that if you're going to dive the Vytec into deco, you need to do the right shape of the deco yourself, but the Vytec will indeed tell you when you are clean and can get out, and it will do so reasonably well.

Just don't go up to its ceiling and sit!

 

[scubasean]

I just did a 150 ft sim dive on the Suunto sim and it gave me my first stop at 12 ft.

Are you looking at the ceiling number the sim gives you?

--Sean

 

[O-ring]

What a "typical" profile will look like is like arguing religions...everyone uses different software, different techniques, and then tweaks stuff differently.

IMHO, Genesis is right...you don't want to be down there and then shoot up to 27' and start deco. You need to do an intelligent profile and then perhaps use the Vytec to back yourself up, as he does.

 

[O-ring]

scubasean once bubbled...
I just did a 150 ft sim dive on the Suunto sim and it gave me my first stop at 12 ft.

Are you looking at the ceiling number the sim gives you?

--Sean

That is sooo wrong on soooo many levels..

 

[jplacson]

scubasean once bubbled...
I just did a 150 ft sim dive on the Suunto sim and it gave me my first stop at 12 ft.

Are you looking at the ceiling number the sim gives you?

--Sean

150' for how long did you stay at that depth in sim mode? The longer you stay at 150' the deeper your 1st stop is going to be... and the 12' ceiling is not your actual stop... if you start ascending, your stop will start to go deeper the longer you take... be careful not to ascend too fast either.

Genesis, you're right about the ceiling though... the Vytec's manual states doing the stop below the ceiling... it actually gives you both a floor and ceiling for the stop... then when you're done with the first stop, it moves the range up to a second stop.

I'm just wondering if anyone has compared the Vytec's stage capabilities to tables... I wanna see if someone can find what table the Vytec is closest to.

For Nitrox, I've found the Vytec adds a 1% to your mix as compared to TDI tables when working your MOD. (It's not exactly 1%..but that's the closest estimate I can find throughout the entire table range) So it adds a 'hidden' level of conservativism compared to TDI tables at normal settings and 1.6 (RGBM model doesn't affect depth apparently...only time...from my simdives anyway)

So I just wanted to see how the stage mix capabilities of the Vytec fare against tables and traditional profiles.

 

[DeepTechScuba]

JPLACSON, decompression diving consists these days of sophisticated modern diving software combined with nitrox gas mixes for proper decompression, as well as the utilization of specialized gear and procedures.

You should NOT be tempted to use your diving computer for deco diving.

NAUI, IANTD, TDI, and GUE all have rigorous courses for deco diving. If you are interested in deco diving, you need to take one or more of their courses. Here is what you will learn and be trained to do:

1) Plan a deco dive and select the proper gasses to optimize your nitrogen off-gassing.

2) Determine your first deep stop and your ascent rate(s).

3) Hold deco stops at various depths without bouncing up and down, which depends mostly on proper trim and proper weighting at the end of your dive.

4) Select the proper exposure protection.

5) Utilize the proper gear (reels and uplines).

6) Operate stage tanks.

7) Plan for contingencies.

8) Have redundancy of gear.

9) Watch out for a buddy.

Decompression diving is "overhead obscured" diving because you cannot ascend directly to the surface if you have a gear problem. You must stay at depth and fulfil your deco obligation, and fix your gear problem underwater.

If you have not taken one of the various stage deco procedures classes, you are not ready to play with deco diving just because your dive computer has a deco protocol in it.

 

[scubasean]

O-ring once bubbled...

That is sooo wrong on soooo many levels..

LOL

I didn't say I use it....I was just saying what the sim said to me...

I can't get the darn thing to dump the profile to an ascii file...or I'd post it.

The 150 depth was only for a few min and had a slow ascent (in my opinion...heh).

Anyone know how to dump the darn sim data?

--Sean

(EDIT: Holy Cow! These guys are fast....two replies before I had a chance to add additional info...LOL)