Dive computer ?? NEW ROOKIE

[bowtieman427]

Hi BN to diving. I currently have a few dive computer questions???
-My current setup is only an analogue presure off tank. Instructor told me the setup was most likly used with a watch style dive computer.
-Did my pool check out dive and I bought used equipment as I wnat to be independent did my research found the stuff used and it wroked out pretty good in pool. ( I now have to get fins and dive computer)

I think I would like to keep with the watch style dive computer, but am open to discussion. I have not asked local dive shop for his opinion yet but will before open water check out dives for fianl cert.
-What is the best option for transmitter base dive watch ? I hear the Suunto Gekko is a good for a beginner and it offers Nitrix also.

I live in MN and will be starting out local diving in the cold fresh water lakes up here. Perhaps do wreck dives in superior (cold) and other lakes. Eventually I would like to dive in warmer waters in Mexico Florida etc.
-When one purchases a dive watch computer does the transmitter usually go come with it ?
-What are the best place to go from a cost perspective to get one ?
-What dive computer do you reccomend for a BN rookie diver ?

 

[TheScubaBOB]

As a new diver myself I can recommend thinking long and hard before buying a dive computer.

I purchased a Vyper 2 last October when I bought all of my gear. It's a great computer but not Air Integrated (connected to the tank so it knows air pressure).

Just last month I purchased a Vyper Air that is Air Integrated & Hoseless (uses a transmitter).

The Gekko is akin to a Vyper Lite and cost about half what the Vyper 2 did. The Vyper Air was about twice the cost of the Vyper 2.

I think if I had bought a Cobra 2 (Vyper 2 with Air Integration) then I would not have upgraded to the Vyper Air as quickly.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Bowtie welcome to the forums, and good luck with your check out dives.

Which ever you decide on, be sure it's easy to navigate though the menu's of the computer, and switch your nitrox mix's.

I'd do allot of research when buying a computer, and ask the right questions just as your doing.

I've had a the Oceanic VT3 wrist computer with the transmitter and loved it.

I'm also back in the market for a new computer, and researching them myself right now again]]

Good luck

 

[SCUBA_Phil]

bowtieman427,
Having a analog SPG is a good thing, it will always work! When diving single tanks, I look at it every 5 min. Having the dive computer on your wrist is also a good thing. I normally look at depth every 2 to 3 min during the dive and every 30 sec on the safety stops. As you can see, having depth and time on your wrist is very handy. I personally don't like the air intergraded computer - all your eggs are in one basket.

Where to buy: If your going to buy online, buy a proven model so you don't have to return it. I would buy from LeisurePro They normally have very good prices and no sales tax. I would recommend the Suunto "Gekko" Air/Nitrox Wrist Computer for $225 or the Suunto "Vyper" Air/Nitrox Wrist Computer for $300. One of the main things I like about the Suunto's is the RGBM Model for deco or NDL dive planning. It is a nice blend, not too conservative and not too liberal. What ever you do, make sure you get a Nitrox compatible computer! You will go to Nitrox at some point in your diving career. One last point, if you need a compass, get a real one, the integrated compasses suck!

Good luck

Phil

 

[ae3753]

One thing to keep in mind is that a dive "computer" is optional.

What you need, especially for a new diver, is a way to track your dive time and monitor your depth. If you haven't yet, in your Open Water training, you will learn to use the bottom time + depth + dive tables to determine your NDL limits.

If you're interested in purchasing a dive computer, others have noted many options for you. My only recommendation is to get something that is Nitrox compatible and can support gauge mode (if you think you'll do any "tech" diving in the future).

Keep in mind that a dive computer with a "transmitter" is optional, and the majority of dive computers do not have such a device. At a minimum, dive computers measure bottom time and depth and calculated your NDL times (in recreational diving). The "transimitter" allows dive computers to also display gas pressure and sometimes have usage calculations.

 

[bowtieman427]

After doing searches and research I am heavily leaning toward the Mares M2 Nitrox Computer. It seems the things I need and it has a nice cost point. Any thoughts ?? The two negatives I seen
- Very large and bulky with buttons that are hard to push.
- Very conservative (which may not be a bad thing from my perspective).
It is onsale at
scubatoys.com

 

[ae3753]

Regarding the Mares M2, I don't like the user interface. Wasn't intuitive, to me, and required me referring to a manual to help a fellow dive buddy out. However, I only had a one time experience with it so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in. The ScubaToys reviews are quite positive, and it's pretty inexpensive.

Very conservative is good if you're a conservative diver. If you're an aggressive diver, hoping that a conservative computer will keep in you check, you'll just end up frustrated. Perhaps you'll be safer, but you will definitely be frustrated.

 

[ToPpS]

The first thing to say about dive computers is that: They are not there to replace your dive planning! Plan your dive and dive your plan.

Like big chrome wheels on your car.... They don't help you dive better but boy are they are nice to have.

Things to consider:
"AI" is a nice option but it's not for everyone. You also have to decide if you want Nitrox and gas switching capabilities, could be an option for later down the road??? If computer linkage is important to you, some include the cables and software....some don't.

I have the Oceanic VT3 with transmitter (same as Aeris Elite T3)(no analogue SPG or anything just an Apeks pony gauge)

I love it and it performs very well, it really is a complete package (comp, trans, data cable, software and case). I actually found it cheaper than many other AI computers on the market that had the transmitter included. That being said, Not all AI computers include the transmitter....so double check that it is included at the start. I was looking at Suunto Vytec DS as well (You'll see Suunto all over the place for good reason) but price was what finally did it for me in the end. Off the top of my head it was something like Ž£400 vs Ž£600 between the 2. :shocked2:

Some other wrist mounted option are:
Atom 2.0 Wristwatch
Oc1 (New)

SUUNTO D9
SUUNTO VYTEC DS
SUUNTO VYPER AIR

I will agree with you on the whole wrist mounted option. I hated having to view my SPG when underwater. An AI console is nice! but a wrist mounted one is even better!!

Other threads for you to check out are:
Wrist computer questions, Confused on hoseless Comps, Best computer for a New Diver, Dive computer recommendations

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If you are in MN, then the odds are that sooner or later you will get tired of quarry like lakes such as Square Lake and will end up wreck diving in Superior.

Air integrated computers do not work well for technical diving and neither do single gas nitrox computers - unless they have a gauge mode.

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Air integration is nifty in a gee whiz kind of way but is way too complex for prudent technical diving as the SPG function is at least as likely to fail as the computer. Also, in very cold water it is not uncommon to have no battery warning at the surface and then have the computer shut down at depth when the battery cold soaks. Wireless air integration adds even more complexity and additional failure modes.

In 25 years of diving I have never had a mechanical SPG totally fail (although I recently had one decide to read about 200 psi post dive when depressurized.) I have however had several electronic SPG and air integrated computer failures and essentially every one I ever tried eventually expereinced some sort of failure. They do not inspire confidence in an overhead environment.

There are situations under water where I either want immediate visual access to my SPG or do not want to fish it out from under stage bottles, etc. In those cases I will clip it to my left shoulder d-ring where it is in my visual field. My Uwatec SPG glows enough that I can see it and read it with only very infrequent recharging from my primary light and the contrast is good enough that the periphery of the beam is enough to illuminate it.

One thing to consider with wrist mounted gauges in technical diving is that they either need to be back lit (which may require pushing a button with the other hand if it does not allow continuous back lighting) or you need to illuminate them underwater (with the light in your other hand) to see them when you are in a cave or inside a deep wreck, potentially making reading it a two hand operation. And if the viz is bad it will mean moving it close to your eyes anyway.

In short there is no real advantage to having wrist mounted wireless SPG function, just a lot of potential downsides.

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Single gas nitrox computers are very limiting if you are going to get into techncial diving where you will at a minimum use another gas for accellerated decompression. 50% and 100% O2 are common deco gasses for single deco gas decompression dives so it makes sense to go with a computer that will accommodate them.

The Nitek Duo is a very nice two gas computer designed for technical diving and the price is reasonable at around $400 with wrist boot. The Uwatec Tec 2G is also a very good 2 gas nitrox computer with some very nice adjustable conservatism features. It retails for $438 for just the computer module and some dealers will probably go 10% under that price.

Tobin at Deep Sea Supply makes very good wrist boots for both of these computers and both of them also have gauge modes that extends their usefulness if you advance to trimix diving as they can be used as bottom timers as your primary source of information if using tables or with tables as a back up to a trimix computer.

The Tec 2 G also has a computer download capability with an optional download kit that many divers like for post dive anaylsis, sac rate calcuations, etc.

 

[scuba spark]

Another thing to consider that hasn't been mentioned yet is do you have a regular diving buddy? If so, you might look into getting a computer that uses the same algorithm as theirs. Other than that, get one that can handle both air and nitrox and like a few others have said, will operate in gauge mode. One that hasn't been mentioned yet is the ares manta. I've had one for a couple of years now and it's worked well. It's a wrist computer that's slightly larger than a normal watch. It's not air integrated but the added cost to get a wireless transmitter just isn't worth it in my eyes.