khemicals
Guest
So....
My fiancee and I decided to get scuba gear for each other for wedding presents. We did some research together and ended up getting the following rig (each are identical aside from size):
Zeagle ZX Flathead VI
Zeagle Brigade BCD
Tusa Duo-air IR3
Dacor Darwin computer w/SPG
We got the gear at Scubatoys, the props on the board helped make that easy. The customer service apparent from Zeagle on this board also helped push that decision through. She wanted a reg that was a really easy breather, bugged by how bad the rental regs were, so we went with what should be a really good one along with a BCD to match. After all, these are the pieces of equipment that make you comfortable, and that equates to safety. I'll add more details here on how I like them later, if its anything out of the ordinary. The octo was chosed as we wanted a lifetime warranty and it built onto the inflator hose. Maybe it won't breathe as well, but I haven't heard any horror stories on it having issues in the water we dive, so, seemed like a logical choice at a good price point.
Larry mentioned that we were going with the cadillac of regulators and the ford of computers; not that its horrible or non-funcitonal, but they just didn't match. He recommended we go with a cheaper reg, we decided not to and that the price would be worth it no matter how minor the difference. She wants an easy breather, so no reason to compromise where it matters. A guage that functions and meets our needs should be fine. Larry understood, and seemed to be doing a good job of keeping the normal needs of divers buying their first set of gear along with ensuring it was quality. Kudos there.
Then, we come to the computer. Larry recommended we go with something other than the Dacor Darwin. It seemed to get reasonable reviews, Scuba Diving magazine rated it a tester's choice, figured it was just user preference; Larry even mentioned that likely was the case as he dives with a different computer. So, for price reasons we decided to go with what would work, stuck with the Dacor Darwin.
Here's my take thus far:
1. The buttons on it take a massive amount of force to press. You can do it with one finger, but the tip of your finger is very sore when you are done configuring it.
2. The battery door is tricky to properly put on. Apparently whoever put the gear together at scubatoys had the same issue, it just wouldn't quite properly seat. So, I figured out the trick, use 2 fingers on one hand to provide firm and even downward pressure on the door while you use a nickel in your other hand to turn the door shut. This allows it to sit properly. I noted over at scubatoys to Joe that I thought they should be aware of this, he claims the technician was trying to keep the unit off during transit, I don't buy it, it would have functioned just fine in the air with the door in that position; batteries would have been providing power, etc. I really think they need to ensure that door is properly closed when they send these things out. Sure, you should do this yourself with any gear (new, or your good ol'gear); but some likely won't and a wet battery compartment could suck. Though, Dacor did at least separate this compartment from that of the rest of the internals, so even if it flooded it wouldn't fry the unit, that's certainly a good thing.
3. The manual isn't 100% accurate with what button sequences to press during configuration. As we haven't actually dove with it yet, we aren't sure how well it functions otherwise. But, we both read the manual independently, came up with the same steps to configure the computer, and yet they didn't work on either computer. So, to save those out there some effort, heres some modified usage instructions that should be a bit short and sweet:
Follow the manual for how to get into the setup modes, and read the instructions therein, they do seem accurate with regards to ordering and whats contained, and how to switch from one set mode to another, but not with how to actually configure a setting in one of the modes.
So, for example, when you are in the set1 mode with the 'nitrox air gauge' text showing, to select which one of those modes you are in, hit the mode button (the left button with the circle imprint) and hold onto it for ~ 2 seconds. Then the 'nitrox air gauge' list will be changed to just display 'air' or whatever the current setting was. From there on, the selector button '<->' can be used to toggle between air, nitrox and gauge modes based on what's displayed. Then, hit the mode button to go to the set2 mode and then start at the beginning of this paragraph to follow the same basic process. Use the selector button to toggle between the available options, use the mode button to select the option and move onto the next selection available. It's not tough, but it certainly isn't documented like this in the manual.
After I called ScubaToys to get some clarification on usage, apparenlty Larry is the only one who knows how to use the Darwin, and he was out. So we fudged around and figured out how to make it work. Brian offered to take them back and get us something better, but I think I want to dive with them once and see how they go first. Hopefully they'll stand by their offer after they have hit the quarry for a weekend.
I also noted a discrepency on the temperature listed on each of the dive computers. While they were within 4 degrees F of one another, this seemed a bit large of a difference for me. So, I filled my bath tub up with water, let it sit for a minute while i sloshed it around to try to get the temperature fairly consistent and let them sit in it for a bit. They were both eventually within 2 degrees of one another. So, I grabbed my digital kitchen thermometer and tossed it into the water. It split the difference (one was 1.2 degrees off, the other was .8 degrees off). So, it would seem something in their design is allowing them to read differently in the same conditions, not something particularly concerning when we're talking about temp, but am wondering if the depth will also not be consistent, but that'll be easy enough to check in the quarry.
So, we're off the blue springs this weekend in Waldron, IN. Hopefully, this will vindicate these selections as we'd rather not have to send some of it back for better gear. But I guess that's how it goes with mail order.
--David
My fiancee and I decided to get scuba gear for each other for wedding presents. We did some research together and ended up getting the following rig (each are identical aside from size):
Zeagle ZX Flathead VI
Zeagle Brigade BCD
Tusa Duo-air IR3
Dacor Darwin computer w/SPG
We got the gear at Scubatoys, the props on the board helped make that easy. The customer service apparent from Zeagle on this board also helped push that decision through. She wanted a reg that was a really easy breather, bugged by how bad the rental regs were, so we went with what should be a really good one along with a BCD to match. After all, these are the pieces of equipment that make you comfortable, and that equates to safety. I'll add more details here on how I like them later, if its anything out of the ordinary. The octo was chosed as we wanted a lifetime warranty and it built onto the inflator hose. Maybe it won't breathe as well, but I haven't heard any horror stories on it having issues in the water we dive, so, seemed like a logical choice at a good price point.
Larry mentioned that we were going with the cadillac of regulators and the ford of computers; not that its horrible or non-funcitonal, but they just didn't match. He recommended we go with a cheaper reg, we decided not to and that the price would be worth it no matter how minor the difference. She wants an easy breather, so no reason to compromise where it matters. A guage that functions and meets our needs should be fine. Larry understood, and seemed to be doing a good job of keeping the normal needs of divers buying their first set of gear along with ensuring it was quality. Kudos there.
Then, we come to the computer. Larry recommended we go with something other than the Dacor Darwin. It seemed to get reasonable reviews, Scuba Diving magazine rated it a tester's choice, figured it was just user preference; Larry even mentioned that likely was the case as he dives with a different computer. So, for price reasons we decided to go with what would work, stuck with the Dacor Darwin.
Here's my take thus far:
1. The buttons on it take a massive amount of force to press. You can do it with one finger, but the tip of your finger is very sore when you are done configuring it.
2. The battery door is tricky to properly put on. Apparently whoever put the gear together at scubatoys had the same issue, it just wouldn't quite properly seat. So, I figured out the trick, use 2 fingers on one hand to provide firm and even downward pressure on the door while you use a nickel in your other hand to turn the door shut. This allows it to sit properly. I noted over at scubatoys to Joe that I thought they should be aware of this, he claims the technician was trying to keep the unit off during transit, I don't buy it, it would have functioned just fine in the air with the door in that position; batteries would have been providing power, etc. I really think they need to ensure that door is properly closed when they send these things out. Sure, you should do this yourself with any gear (new, or your good ol'gear); but some likely won't and a wet battery compartment could suck. Though, Dacor did at least separate this compartment from that of the rest of the internals, so even if it flooded it wouldn't fry the unit, that's certainly a good thing.
3. The manual isn't 100% accurate with what button sequences to press during configuration. As we haven't actually dove with it yet, we aren't sure how well it functions otherwise. But, we both read the manual independently, came up with the same steps to configure the computer, and yet they didn't work on either computer. So, to save those out there some effort, heres some modified usage instructions that should be a bit short and sweet:
Follow the manual for how to get into the setup modes, and read the instructions therein, they do seem accurate with regards to ordering and whats contained, and how to switch from one set mode to another, but not with how to actually configure a setting in one of the modes.
So, for example, when you are in the set1 mode with the 'nitrox air gauge' text showing, to select which one of those modes you are in, hit the mode button (the left button with the circle imprint) and hold onto it for ~ 2 seconds. Then the 'nitrox air gauge' list will be changed to just display 'air' or whatever the current setting was. From there on, the selector button '<->' can be used to toggle between air, nitrox and gauge modes based on what's displayed. Then, hit the mode button to go to the set2 mode and then start at the beginning of this paragraph to follow the same basic process. Use the selector button to toggle between the available options, use the mode button to select the option and move onto the next selection available. It's not tough, but it certainly isn't documented like this in the manual.
After I called ScubaToys to get some clarification on usage, apparenlty Larry is the only one who knows how to use the Darwin, and he was out. So we fudged around and figured out how to make it work. Brian offered to take them back and get us something better, but I think I want to dive with them once and see how they go first. Hopefully they'll stand by their offer after they have hit the quarry for a weekend.
I also noted a discrepency on the temperature listed on each of the dive computers. While they were within 4 degrees F of one another, this seemed a bit large of a difference for me. So, I filled my bath tub up with water, let it sit for a minute while i sloshed it around to try to get the temperature fairly consistent and let them sit in it for a bit. They were both eventually within 2 degrees of one another. So, I grabbed my digital kitchen thermometer and tossed it into the water. It split the difference (one was 1.2 degrees off, the other was .8 degrees off). So, it would seem something in their design is allowing them to read differently in the same conditions, not something particularly concerning when we're talking about temp, but am wondering if the depth will also not be consistent, but that'll be easy enough to check in the quarry.
So, we're off the blue springs this weekend in Waldron, IN. Hopefully, this will vindicate these selections as we'd rather not have to send some of it back for better gear. But I guess that's how it goes with mail order.
--David
