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I have no idea what this means myself.

You need to get your information from more reliable sources. A tec 50 graduate can do any amount of decompression using any mix of decompression gases with a maximum of 2 deco gases. There are no limitations.

that was for use of decompression bottle in Tec40. I.e. you plan 10 mins of backgas deco. You can apparently use an EAN50 bottle for conservatism, but still have to treat it as whatever gas you're breathing.
 
While people have touched on this about the instructor, I would like to add that finding an instructor who has high standards for the foundational skills of finning techniques, valve drills, DSMB deployments, s-drills etc.. Nothing half-assed. I'm not sure who would be closer, but I'd recommend looking at Jim Lapenta or Trace Malinowski (two instructors on my training bucket list).

The instructor always matters. When it comes to tec training, it matters more.
 
I think that the question about the TEC 40 conservatism has to do with the training dives versus the certification qualifications. During the last training dive you plan up to 10 minutes of deco based on back gas, but are recommended to use a higher percentage of o2 up to 50% for deco for extra conservatism. After certification, you are qualified for up to ten mnutes of deco with up to 50%.
 
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Have I said anything different anywhere else?

You said this:

The PADI coruses can be combined all you want, but they have to be taught in sequence. That is the big difference between the TDI program and the PADI program--they are designed completely differently. TDI teaches Advanced Nitrox in one course, and it teaches decompression procedures in another. The only way you can teach them in a meaningful way is to combine the two course and and have the instructor rearrange the lessons and skills in an order that makes sense sequentially. The PADI program combines the learning of the concepts in the course sequence, so it is already structured in a way that makes sense sequentially.

This makes it sound like the normal thing for TDI is that AN and DP are taught separately. They are not (normally). Even though the student gets handed 2 (or 3 or 4) physical books for the class and they get 2 (or 3 or 4) individual C cards at the end, FROM THE STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE, it is one class that happens to use 2 (or more) books.

The way you insist on continually describing it is, in my opinion, very misleading for anyone who is thinking of taking the TDI tech courses. From the student's perspective, it is one class. They pay one fee. The get some books and maybe even some additional books or other materials to read beyond the official TDI ones. They do the classroom. They do 6 dives (unless the instructor decides to require more). And they are done.

Insisting on representing the TDI tech courses (for AN, DP, and Helitrox) as multiple courses, to people who are simply seeking information on what tech courses they might take, is misleading. From your instructor perspective, it may be 2 or 3 or 4 courses that you have to decide how you want to present. But, as far as the student is concerned, it's just one course. Plain and simple.

It's like you are purposely trying to skew the perception of the TDI track to make the PADI track sound better. When, in fact, if it's a good instructor, it will be a good class, whether it's PADI or TDI. And if it's a bad instructor, it will be a bad class. So, for a student, it seems to me that the real discriminator is that PADI has the track broken down into 4 or 5 classes which, as you say, must be done sequentially. TDI has it broken into 3 classes. For some students (like me, for example), that makes the TDI track preferable because it was more efficient for my time and my money.
 
Go GUE... it's only 3 classes to full trimix. :popcorn: You'll get there in a jimmy!
 
I think that the question about the TEC 40 conservatism has to do with the training dives versus the certification qualifications. During the last training dive you plan up to 10 minutes of deco based on back gas, but are recommended to use a higher percentage of o2 up to 50% for deco for extra conservatism. After certification, you are qualified for up to ten mnutes of deco with up to 50%.

It's been a while since I read the rules, but (as recently as 2013)....the rule was that you're qualified for up to ten minutes of deco on EAN50, but you can't use the EAN50 to accelerate your time. So you're limited to 10min of backgas deco and can use EAN50 to add to your conservatism.
 
While people have touched on this about the instructor, I would like to add that finding an instructor who has high standards for the foundational skills of finning techniques, valve drills, DSMB deployments, s-drills etc.. Nothing half-assed. I'm not sure who would be closer, but I'd recommend looking at Jim Lapenta or Trace Malinowski (two instructors on my training bucket list).

The instructor always matters. When it comes to tec training, it matters more.

Agree. There is so much more to be concerned about before "which computer to buy." The first question should be which instructor. Yes, talk to some instructor(s) and choose one who sets the bar high. One could spend a year or two getting the Fundamentals, er, foundational skills, down before the computer really matters. I suppose if one is already comfortably doing New Jersey wreck dives in doubles and a drysuit, the route is shorter.
 
Look all of these guys are missing the most important part of getting into tech diving. Go and get a good line of credit on your house. Tell your wife or girlfriend you will be gone on the weekends for several months. Learn to live off Chef Boy-R-Dee ravioli. The ravioli and/or vienna sausages are really good on long boat dives, along with some clamato juice.
Check your proposed instructor's vehicle. If he has a new F250 quad cab 4 x 4 or a big boat you may want to find someone else.

Good Luck
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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