Deco hand signal?

[CodeS]

I learnt it to be the pinky finger. However among my buddies that also means 'Pygmy Pipehorse' which is a far more common thing to communicate.

I just point to my computer and show my buddy. I now have my perdix's attached to my camera meaning I can just turn it arount and show them, easy.

 

[Fastmarc]

This thread has generated another question. Deco is suppose to be planned, this thread indicates to me the hand signal was/is used for unintended deco, not good IMO.

I got this impression too.
Usually before the dive I'll tell a new buddy my (made up) signal if I'm coming too close to my NDL and have to start getting shallower. That would be tapping my computer followed by flat hand palm down moving upward.
Despite using a conservative computer, I have yet to be forced into accidental deco because my buddies computer is more liberal or any other reason. If they are not an attentive buddy, I simply get shallower, but keep close to them (above) until they notice.

Never knew the sign for deco as I am not deco trained. The sign for safety stop I know is flat hand palm down with other hand in thumbs up with thumb hitting the palm.

 

[AfterDark]

Only if you use it that way.

Could you enlighten me as to how that is done? I wasn't aware of this idiocy until recently and am ignorant of how the perversion of this old and universally recognized hand signal is done.

 

[rddvet]

Pinky for me notates deco. Usually followed by numbers so my buddy knows how long. The hang loose hand signal is for when I'm doing a gas switch, usually on a stage cave dive. My usual buddy and I don't really have to let each other know we're switching, but for people I dive with less I always let them know on the dive I'm switching to a different stage or to backgas with the hang loose sign. If doing an OW tdeco dive (which I rarely ever do), the hang loose would signify to my buddy I'm switching to a different gas/tank, then we'd go through verification procedures

 

[Steve_C]

Deco and Rec Diving: I am 100% a rec diver but a little "deco" can happen. Was diving the spiegel with a DM who I guess has a more aggressive dive computer. Choice was to leave guide during a swim through on the Spiegel or wait until I was out and could see the line to the mooring ball, then leave DM and do my deco on the way up. I chose the latter. If I am later in a dive and see somebody who needs some help, I will do so as we head up. If it puts me a little into deco I will deal with it on the way up. I have plenty of air.

Also this is real world. Had an instabuddy on an offshore ledge who teamed up with me and regular buddy. Turned out that while she was very comfortable in the water and good on air she was not used to thinking about NDL since her usual buddies were air hogs. She was on air we were on nitrox. Later in the dive I looked at her dive computer to verify that the signals she was giving were correct. So she had recently gone into deco. We signaled time to go up and lead her through her stops and saw that she cleared her computer. She got a lesson in NDL and computer reading during the SI.

Point is that I agree rec dives should avoid deco when possible but stuff happens, you meet people. that do not remember their training from years earlier, and you have to calmly deal with it. During our predive discussion it never occurred to me that a diver with 50 dives did not remember about NDL.

 

[NothingClever]

Could you enlighten me as to how that is done? I wasn't aware of this idiocy until recently and am ignorant of how the perversion of this old and universally recognized hand signal is done.

It’s not as widespread as the media would like us to believe. I have four dive buddies that are black and we give each other the OK signal all the time.

 

[Storker]

this old and universally recognized hand signal

Which may mean a lot of things, depending on location and cultural context. Like, "Ok", "cool", "money", "c*nt" etc.

 

[tursiops]

Could you enlighten me as to how that is done?

No, I'm not going to help spread the insanity.

 

[tomcatbubba]

Deco and Rec Diving: I am 100% a rec diver but a little "deco" can happen. Was diving the spiegel with a DM who I guess has a more aggressive dive computer. Choice was to leave guide during a swim through on the Spiegel or wait until I was out and could see the line to the mooring ball, then leave DM and do my deco on the way up. I chose the latter. If I am later in a dive and see somebody who needs some help, I will do so as we head up. If it puts me a little into deco I will deal with it on the way up. I have plenty of air.

Also this is real world. Had an instabuddy on an offshore ledge who teamed up with me and regular buddy. Turned out that while she was very comfortable in the water and good on air she was not used to thinking about NDL since her usual buddies were air hogs. She was on air we were on nitrox. Later in the dive I looked at her dive computer to verify that the signals she was giving were correct. So she had recently gone into deco. We signaled time to go up and lead her through her stops and saw that she cleared her computer. She got a lesson in NDL and computer reading during the SI.

Point is that I agree rec dives should avoid deco when possible but stuff happens, you meet people. that do not remember their training from years earlier, and you have to calmly deal with it. During our predive discussion it never occurred to me that a diver with 50 dives did not remember about NDL.

I get your point Steve about “stuff” happening on dives in the real world. Although I’ve been diving since 86 and have never entered into a perceived saturation state without being on a planned deco dive. I typically don’t even get within 5 minutes of my NDL numbers on my computers. It’s a safety mechanism I build into my dive plans.

In the context of the OP, he did say instructor, implying some type of class was occurring. If the OP had an instructor who didn’t cover hand signals during the deco gas switch phase, that IMO is a problem. If the OP entered deco in a non deco class with an instructor. That is a HUGE problem.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I think in some cases folks confuse a relaxed hand showing a deco pinky as a "hang loose". They can look similar to people not used to the "shaka"