Dive tables...

[Jim Lapenta]

Now they don't even have to teach tables in the Nitrox course.

That's why I only offer the SEI or TDI Nitrox classes.
I go over computers but I don't require students to buy or use them.

I'd rather they dive tables and spend the money they'd use for a dive computer on air fills and quarry fees. At the recreational open water level they are likely to run out of useable air before exceeding the NDL's. More dives and time underwater working on buoyancy and trim will do them much better than a dive computer.

 

[Chase Haddleton]

I personally think - and this is coming from someone who is in the midst of doing his OW - that knowing how to use a dive table is practical and can help you to better understand the correlation between depth, bottom time and SI.
I won't say its important because really, I don't have the experience to say so, but on my OW review we had five questions dedicated to the RDP, and all you got was the tables, no computers. Knowing how to use the RDP is extra knowledge that may help sometime. Plus, it only takes an hour (at most) to learn how to fully use it.

But that's just my thoughts on it.

 

[P11]

I'm just old fashioned. Being a pilot and diver, I can best relate tables vs. computers like glass cockpits vs. guages. Learn the fundamentals first (ie: tables and guages) and then have fun with the technology (computers and glass cockpits). The problem with diving is that there are millions of opinions to do this or do that. If tables are not your thing, that's fine. Me personally, I see no harm in having a basic foundation and then expanding from there. Just my $0.02.

 

[Red Dirt]

That's why I only offer the SEI or TDI Nitrox classes.
I go over computers but since I don't require students to buy or use them.

I'd rather they dive tables and spend the money they's use for a dive computer on air fills and quarry fees. At the recreational open water level they are likely to run out of useable air before exceeding the NDL's. More dives and time underwater working on buoyancy and trim will do them much better than a dive computer.

I just recently got the basic nitrox cert, and feel it was a waste of money for me. Because, like you said, I'm limited by air consumption. If i didn't already have a computer, that money would have been far better used put toward a computer, in my mind.

Sent from my phone, so typos are gonna happen.

 

[BDSC]

Same basic debate, I'm okay with that.

I'm OK with not teaching tables at all. I had no problem learning them when I was certified but within six months I had a computer and never looked at them again until early last year when I decided to get my Nitrox cert. I found my old tables and brushed up on them but then found out we wouldn't need them for the course. Back in the bottom of my gear bin they went probably to never be seen again. I do a lot of recreational diving and I haven't seen anyone with tables on a boat in years. Most of the dive resorts I have been to require you to use a computer although I don't know how strictly they would enforce that.

 

[al248005]

I think tables are a must in any OW course. Its kind of like learning how to use a calculator to do basic addition before you actually know how to do addition. Just doesn't make sense to me. I always carry my table on me during the dive. You never know when your computer will fail you. In my OW class the instructor instituted the policy we had to score 100% on the table portion of the test to continue on with doing the OW dives and the test consisted of about 10 or 11 different multi-dive scenarios.

 

[TMHeimer]

I personally think - and this is coming from someone who is in the midst of doing his OW - that knowing how to use a dive table is practical and can help you to better understand the correlation between depth, bottom time and SI.
I won't say its important because really, I don't have the experience to say so, but on my OW review we had five questions dedicated to the RDP, and all you got was the tables, no computers. Knowing how to use the RDP is extra knowledge that may help sometime. Plus, it only takes an hour (at most) to learn how to fully use it.

But that's just my thoughts on it.

Am curious-- Did you use RDP or eRDPml? An interesting item, but again, another thread. Our LDS OW classes now use eRDPml, but also some computer work, as they use these at the pool and ocean. I am also curious as to what percentage of present day OW courses use tables (or eRDPml, etc.) vs. computers.

 

[dmoore19]

Computers are an electronic representation of tables.

 

[oldschoolto]

Tables, Tables and then one more vote for tables... I started diving when that was all there was.... You learned and knew basic dive profiles and I have a good idea whats need to dive safe.... That is why I taught my wife the dive tables .... "MOST" divers don't have a fricking clue as to whats going on with gas loading and it's affect's on the dive... Well computers are really great at running real time dive profiles and have made diving safer and removed task-loading from the diver, i think everyone should learn and be able to use tables...

But what do I know... I'm just a old fat....

Jim...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

SEI requires the use of tables for OW and Nitrox. The TDI Nitrox course does and requires manual calculation for best mix, MOD, EAD, and is in fact similar to the SEI course. We also cover O2 toxicity and I go over rescue techniques for a toxing diver. As an SDI Instructor I can teach a computer nitrox course. But I will only do so if the student decides to actually buy a computer. I have one loaner computer. It is actually my back up. I'll use it to demo what a computer is along with my Shearwater to give an illustration. But because there are so many out there I feel it is impossible to actually teach it properly as it should show the student how to use the computer they will actually own.

If I were able to buy a couple computers just for class I might change my mind. But even so since they are quite likely to buy a different brand I'll go over computer use but tables will be used to plan all dives like they are now and I will still recommend they not buy a computer until they are actually capable of using it to it's full potential. Someone doing two or three dives a day in our local sites that are less than 40 feet deep for the most part with just an OW cert has no reason to spend money on a computer. At least until they have their buoyancy, trim, buddy, and planning skills down pat.

For OW I spend as much as two sessions on tables and use it in the second session as a lead in to actual gas planning covering SAC rates, RMV, Rock Bottom, and actual dive planning that is based on the planning phase beginning not at the dive site or on the boat but when the actual decision is made to dive. Down to who is bringing what to eat.