OW class question

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flippedr6

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Hi people been lurking awhile. Went through my OW pool classes I'm in MA so I am waiting to do the open water dives. But the more I think about it the more it bothers me. In the class they did not tech us dive charts. Did not show us one how to use one nothing. Just said listen to your computer.

Am I nuts for wanting to know how to use the charts and not just the computer? Thanks guys!
 
There is a version of the PADI OW course that teaches computer use, but you should still have received an understanding of how your computer works and the basics of decompression theory. And no, you're not nuts in wanting to know how the tables work, and your instructor should be able to share that information with you, even if he's doing the computer version of OW. Have you asked him (or her) specifically to close this gap?

kari
 
If your certification agency is SDI then they wont teach you tables. They emphasize dive computers. My instructor switched from PADI to SDI but he's still went over the tables. Like Karibelle mentioned, ask your instructor to go over them with you. FYI my certification is thru SDI
 
Reading the tables isn't difficult. Look at them yourself and read the instructions printed on the tables. Then ask someone who knows how to use them whether your understanding of how to plan a few example dives is correct. If not correct, let him show you how it works and you can try a few examples once again.
 
Good for you for wanting to learn the tables, whether the course covered them or not. They are not that difficult and are always a good backup if the computer fails.
 
Hi people been lurking awhile. Went through my OW pool classes I'm in MA so I am waiting to do the open water dives. But the more I think about it the more it bothers me. In the class they did not tech us dive charts. Did not show us one how to use one nothing. Just said listen to your computer.

Am I nuts for wanting to know how to use the charts and not just the computer? Thanks guys!
Nope. You're probably miles ahead of the rest of your class. Congratulations; you have all the makings of a thinking, careful diver.

Next time you see your instructor, smack him upside the head for saying "just listen to your computer". Then ask him what you do WHEN (not if) the computer fails on your dive.

If he won't/can't explain the tables to you, find an instructor who can. Alternately, you can buy these pretty cheap online, and there are even youtube videos explaining how to use them. It is worth knowing how, because Murphy's Law dicates the computer will fail at the worst time- right before a dive on that expensive trip you've been anticipating for months. If you can't pull out a table and watch, and calculate your pressure group and NDL for the upcoming dive, you'll be watching your personal paradise go by...from topside...for 6 hours.

And if the divemaster says, "let's dive, just stay close to me and we'll both use my computer", RUN AWAY screaming in the other direction. It's also permissable to jump overboard and swim away from him, too.
 
Hi people been lurking awhile. Went through my OW pool classes I'm in MA so I am waiting to do the open water dives. But the more I think about it the more it bothers me. In the class they did not tech us dive charts. Did not show us one how to use one nothing. Just said listen to your computer.

Am I nuts for wanting to know how to use the charts and not just the computer? Thanks guys!

We are in a transition period right now. Many current divers learned using tables and have some kind of emotional attachment to them. Dive computers, however, are considered by most people to be standard gear so if they explained how computers work and how to go about choosing and using one, then you can dive safely with a computer.

If you want to know about tables, you should probably have asked your instructor to show you. I'm still teaching both but fast-forward 10 years and I doubt I will be. What I see around me is that people learn the tables, then buy a computer and never use the tables again, which means they are taught something they don't use and use something they were not taught.

Moreover, if you don't use tables regularly you can forget important details. When I have divers in for a scuba review who have been using a computer, virtually all of them have forgotten how to use the tables properly. That leads me to believe that teaching computers instead of tables is a far safer way to go unless a student is committed to not diving with a computer at all for the first... say, 100 dives or so.

R..
 
Hi people been lurking awhile. Went through my OW pool classes I'm in MA so I am waiting to do the open water dives. But the more I think about it the more it bothers me. In the class they did not tech us dive charts. Did not show us one how to use one nothing. Just said listen to your computer.

Am I nuts for wanting to know how to use the charts and not just the computer? Thanks guys!

You are not nuts and you should not need an instructor to hold your hand. Try this: Learn the Navy Tables | Scuba Diving | Kings County Divers Brooklyn NY

If you need more, there is plenty available.
 
We are in a transition period right now. Many current divers learned using tables and have some kind of emotional attachment to them. Dive computers, however, are considered by most people to be standard gear so if they explained how computers work and how to go about choosing and using one, then you can dive safely with a computer.

If you want to know about tables, you should probably have asked your instructor to show you. I'm still teaching both but fast-forward 10 years and I doubt I will be. What I see around me is that people learn the tables, then buy a computer and never use the tables again, which means they are taught something they don't use and use something they were not taught.

Moreover, if you don't use tables regularly you can forget important details. When I have divers in for a scuba review who have been using a computer, virtually all of them have forgotten how to use the tables properly. That leads me to believe that teaching computers instead of tables is a far safer way to go unless a student is committed to not diving with a computer at all for the first... say, 100 dives or so.

R..

Yes, +1 bazillion here !
 
I'm still teaching both but fast-forward 10 years and I doubt I will be. What I see around me is that people learn the tables, then buy a computer and never use the tables again, which means they are taught something they don't use and use something they were not taught.
So what are they to do when they are on that ultimate trip...and their computer fails?

Say they're done for the day and get a beer? It's a disservice to the student to not teach them the manual backup way. I know, I know, the industry lowered the standard.



You still how to unhook the inflator from the LP line, right? How often has an inflator failed to function? Probably far less than a computer failing.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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