computer dependent divers...

[Scubakevdm]

scubakevdm, as a navy vet myself, I know that you know exactly what I was meaning when I wrote that statement.
why do you see the need to be so crass when posting on scubaboard?

Sir, I'm not normally a crass man, nor do I feel like I've been crass towards you. I just don't think that if you're preaching awareness to the rec. diving community that discovering max depth by the 15 foot mark on you ascent should be part of the sermon...
Merry Crassness.

 

[ShakaZulu]

I drive a Ford by the way, best car I ever owened...............

 

[yknot]

Once again, another troll posting with no real point. Why the constant fascination and shocked concern with what other divers are doing? If you've been diving long enough, why not point out how most divers now rely on SPG's and BC's instead of J valves and a couple of rocks? For most divers, because this is a recreational sport for them and not a right or wrong fixation, computers make a day of diving more enjoyable. Do you really think the twice a year on vacation crowd is paying attention to their tables?

 

[Xanthro]

A diver should always be aware of where he is in the dive: depth, time, and air; he should also be aware of where he's been during the dive: depth, time, location of the wreck/site feature, orientation toward goal or exit.

...

I think in too many cases divers are becoming too complacent and letting their computers not only think for them, but remember things for them too!

On my AOW course, as part of the "narc test" during the deep dive, we were each passed a slate with various questions on them. Two of the questions were, "without looking, what is your depth? your dive time?"

Betcha I could ask that of some divers and they would have no clue. But they could probably tell me just how many minutes to NDL according to their computer as well as how far up the green/yellow/red band the indicator is.....................[/QUOTE]

As I posted, I could tell you within 5 feet where my depth is at any time, but I don't STARE at my depth gauge constantly. I can also tell you within 100 psi of my air, but I don't stare at my pressure guage either.

I can tell you everything about the dive at any time during the dive and be reasonably accurate.

Where we differ is this, I'll let my computer remember things for me, I won't let it think for me.

It's not important to remember the exact minute the dive begins and ends. When my dive is finished, I don't want to be repeating in my head, "Dive time 54 minutes" as I get to the boat or shore. Once I'm there, I don't want to have to write it down immediately. I want to help my buddy, clean my equipment, and sit for a second and reflect on the dive.

The dive computer stores information for my dive log, and it stores it more accurately than I would remember, which helps me plan my next dives.

Xanthro

 

[RonDawg]

Once again, another troll posting with no real point. Why the constant fascination and shocked concern with what other divers are doing? If you've been diving long enough, why not point out how most divers now rely on SPG's and BC's instead of J valves and a couple of rocks?

Exactly. Threads like these make me want to imagine some cranky old man saying "When I used to scuba dive we didn't have those fancy BC's and only sissies carry SPG's." The kind of person who used to boast how they walked uphill to school both ways in the snow all year round.

I don't know what it is about people who do things "the old fashioned way" have to put down people who do things "the newfangled way." If they aren't endangering anybody else, and aren't ruining YOUR dive in any way, WHO CARES if they rely on their computer or not?

Just as someone else pointed out here, if they're even LOOKING at their computer and SPG on a frequent basis they are ahead of the game. Too many divers, both new and experienced, fail to do something as simple as that.

My air consumption is not yet refined to the point where I'm bumping up against the NDL's, so my computer is basically an electronic bottom timer and depth gauge. Does it really matter that my gauges happen to be electronic and yours analog? Does it matter that my gauges are able to remember the dives I just did while yours have to be written down or remembered?

I still rely on logging my dives "the old fashioned way" using a paper dive log book, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather do this at the END of my dive day when I've changed out of my soggy wetsuit and into something dry, so as to not turn my dive log into the wood pulp it once was.

Speaking of dive logs, to properly fill them out requires your starting and ending pressure groups, which my low-budget computer doesn't tell you, so I still have to rely on properly reading the RDP to determine this anyway.

 

[Xanthro]

Then how do you plan out the second dive in a repetitive series?

You will have taken in Nitrogen during your first dive. Without knowing how long you spent at what depths coupled with your surface interval, you'd be diving "blind" for your second dive.

(Please don't say you let your computer "tell" you how long you have for your second or third repetitive dives........ you should understand at least the basics of repetitive dive planning)

When I get on the boat, I look up my bottom time. I have a reasonable idea what my bottom time is, but there is no need to remember the exact bottom time and the exact start and stop time.

See, I could write on a slate, the moment I descend, the moment I break the surface, and my exact bottom time. Why bother, it's written down for me.

There is nothing wrong with allowing your computer to write information down for you.

Xanthro

 

[Jason B]

I'm really sorry I brought this up.
I wasn't trolling, and I'm not a cranky old man... I was commenting on diver awareness, nothing more.
Forget about it...

 

[Xanthro]

I'm really sorry I brought this up.
I wasn't trolling, and I'm not a cranky old man... I was commenting on diver awareness, nothing more.
Forget about it...

It's just that diver awareness and computers aren't related. I often check my depth, and check my psi. The fact that I'm checking on a computer has no bearing.

I chose a computer because it has advantages. It remembers information for me, it can poll and store the data far more often than I could write it down. Who's going to record their depth every 15 seconds? It's downloaded so I can check by dive profile. It allows to to go back and fill in such information as start time and end time.

Plus, if I want it to, it will do my table calculations with far greater accuracy than I could do, simply because it records my depth far more frequently. I still log my dives, and if my computer failed, then my diving is done for the day anyway, since I wouldn't have a depth guage.

Many of the dives I've been on can't be completely planned on the surface.

For instance, I was at the monolith at Lanai. Descend was down to 94 feet, then working around the monolith, we slowly ascended. At 60 feet, I found a weight belt, the dive master carried it with him. At the end of the dive some were running low on air, and doing their safety stops, others with air were allowed to explore the reef right under the safety stop, the DM was there the whole time, and this was planned before hand. Now, the DM put the weight belt at the bottom on the deeper side of the reef, it was at 60 feet. He asked me to come with him to pick the belt up. Once he got the belt, I noticed I only had a couple of minutes of NDL time left, because there's a difference between 40 feet and 60 feet. He also saw something he wanted to show me. If I had only an analogue guage I might have followed, I had plenty of air, but I knew I'd run out of bottom time, so I pointed to my watch and started to ascend.

I was a little deeper than the DM on part of the dive, so my bottom time was shorter than his.

I could have also declined to go down and retrieve the weight belt, because it wasn't part of the original plan, but that seems silly as well.

Xanthro

 

[sea nmf]

My whole point is that they never look at the computer for the relevant data (max depth and time). They should know their max depth and time before they are within 15 feet of the surface or they me be a candidate for DCS.

Not sure who "they" are. I carry two computers on each dive. Interestingly, I formed a habit by only reading the depth and time. These are the relevant figures for me during most of dives I do (recreational only). Where the computer comes in handy is calculating the rest of the dives for the day. The tables do the same thing, really, only in chart form.

Do you use a calculator regularly? Or do you do all your math by hand or in your head? The computer is a tool that has value as much as a calculator does (I'm an accountant - please don't make me do math by hand or in my head).

All technology is not a bad thing. I believe your point may have to do with how it is used.

 

[pasley]

I drive a Ford by the way, best car I ever owened...............

What ever floats your boat. One pont I believe all would agree on, we love your avatar and you sure got great taste in the female avatar selection department.