The idea of having a combination O2 & CO unit comes up a lot too. Reminds me of when answering machines were common, with or without portable phone combination - and I always kept them separate so I'd only have to replace one broken unit at a time rather than replacing both when one broke down out of warranty.
Some manufacturers do make units that can test for multiple gases - your choice, but they're kinda pricey I think. And I think that one of the reasons that Analox could quickly invent a portable & affordable CO analyzer for a relatively new market of unknown demand is that they could use the same housing as their portable O2 unit with a color change and a lot of the same design & operations. So to invent a new unit large enough for both sensors, targeted only to sell to those who want both, with an easy & dependable switch between the gases - or do you want to test both at once? It's a nice idea, but for now we're trying to get more divers carrying CO units, exposing previously ignored problems at varied destinations, and convincing the operators that they need to care more about quality too. I have no idea as to whether Analox is in the black or not on the CO unit, so I can't speculate about the likelihood of asking for a combo.
Asking the dive Ops to provide the CO analyzers is a nice idea, but I bought my Analox O2 analyzer because I didn't like the looks of some of the analyzers that some Ops used - if they had one, which should always be the case, but isn't. Who knows what they will come up with, if at all. There is a cheaper Italian model that was presented at the last two DEMA's, but I have never heard anything good about it - other than cheaper.
How often do we see SB members advising others that if they want to be confident that a O2 analyzer will be onboard, one that they will like - that they should own one? Pretty often...
Asking DAN to do more about the under recognized need is great, I certainly have - and I was surprised that the president took my call. He was very nice about it. A few months later a weak article on the subject was in the magazine, but maybe they're coming around - as it is a membership organization, the reason for all of their projects, good or bad.
I still don't understand why DAN is donating 10 Clear units to Quintana Roo shops as the need is much wider than that. Will these units be installed, operated, and maintained correctly - and not bypassed when the alarms say the air is over 3, 5, 10 ppm but they have a schedule to keep? Will other resorts see the need to have such units so they can compete as a destination, will they demand that DAN give them units too, or will they just keep ignoring the need?
A lot of divers don't own a BC, a reg, or a dive computer - but I think serious divers generally do. I wish my home dive bud made as many trips as I have, studied as much as I do, and was willing to share in the cost and upkeep of both O2 & CO analyzers - and if you have a regular dive bud, sharing like that would be a good idea. In my case, I want to know that every tank I dive is safe, so I own and carry my own. A few hundred bucks on top of several others...