Dive tables take a back seat in SSI training

[BedoMedo]

I HAVE NEVER USED A PLANNIG MODE wooops, of any kind on a computer. try yours using the same parameters of the dive you used on the tables. (square dive) what differences are there? i ask this because the tble planned dives are not what is actually done. so the premis is that if you tried the planner and did a surf - 60' for 30 min on both the planner and the computer if you get the same group and data then the computer is as accurate as the table. the difference must be acredited to the actual dive not being what was planed for. in that case the computer is better because it is dymanic. if not then it may be safety factors built into the program. if that is the case you should know what those factors are.

thing is i do a lot of shore dives.. and in the middle of dive im at 40ft .. but mejority of time i was not.. but still i have to calculate 40ft as max deepth. Thats way computer is more of use to me. I dont say that boat dive.. directly down to 40ft in couple of minutes and up again in timely matter will be diferent comp from table calculation.

 

[NAM001]

thing is i do a lot of shore dives.. and in the middle of dive im at 40ft .. but mejority of time i was not.. but still i have to calculate 40ft as max deepth. Thats way computer is more of use to me. I dont say that boat dive.. directly down to 40ft in couple of minutes and up again in timely matter will be diferent comp from table calculation.

afer reading the last post i see i was not clear at all. i ment to say do your pre dive on a dive table ie 60' 30 min and compare the results to pre planning the dive on the computer planning mode.; use square profile on both the preplanning using the table and the planning mode of the computer.

again sorry for the confusion

 

[NAM001]

ignore this comment

 

[BedoMedo]

will do..

i believe we are on same page but language makes a difference.

 

[Insta-Gator]

The unfortunate reality of the whole mess is, I would dare to say that most recreational divers that do the once or twice a year vacation dives don't have computers or know the tables. They just follow the divemaster and come up when he says come up. then they log the dive for however long and whatever depth they are told.

Accurate observation and I was guilty of this too. It wasn't until we started going out on our own that we acquired computers and referred to the tables as a pre-dive planning tool. I guess we're all a little lazy in the beginning, and students a accustomed to being told what to do, when to do it, what it meant.

 

[Scuba Stew]

Have not read the entire thread, but was recently open water certified through SSI. We were taught to read/use the tables with hypothetical examples in the class room sessions. When it came time for our first open water dives, our instructor cracked out his log and assisted us all in filling it out (our own of course) and answering any questions we had. Never once were we told to rely on computers, in fact, my buddy had already bought his gear including a computer, and the teacher was adamant about still using the tables as a backup in the very least.

 

[yankeenica]

With the economic situation the way it is today, I stress to the students during class that with a timing device, a pressure gauge and a depth guage they will be able to plan and execute their dives successfully (bc, reg, fins, etc are assumed). I see part of my job to get the students in the water, have them become successfully certified and promote the sport as often as possible with them after their certification. I stress buying all their own equipment but let them know that a dive computer is not - repeat not - a prerequisite to enjoy scuba. Look at the section in the SSI instructor's documentation about getting and keeping customers. My attitude is that if you get them enjoying the sport enough, the equipmnent purchase will follow, but more importantly will be their affinity to you and your shop. This in turn translates into positive word-of-mouth promotion.

 

[Moriar]

I was OW certified through SSI in october 2010, My instructor only briefly mentioned computers and we went over the dive tables in atleast 3 different classes and on our cert dive he made us do our own tables and see what class we ended up as and then he would correct those of us that were either WAY off and even those of us that were just 2 minutes off on the surface interval and make us redo them completely.

I guess it really boils down to the instructor and how he views basic knowledge / workings of scuba diving...

 

[yankeenica]

It is up to the instructor. At SSI we do address computer capabilities and how they compare to using dive tables (bottom time, planning, etc). We also stress that if the diver purchase a computer, we go over the operation as part of the sale.

 

[DiveNav]

well ... since this thread has been resurrected, I would like to update it with a recent SSI initiative regarding the topic; SSI has now several Unique Specialty Courses for model-specific dive computers. See List of SSI Computer Diver Unique Specialties

Alberto (aka eDiver)