Electronic Dive Log

[Scubamat]

I use subsurface as my dive log. I use OneNote on my phone to jot down some notes straight after a dive.

 

[doctormike]

Because I'm part Luddite and believe in redundancy, even though MacDive is backed up to iCloud.

Written log has all my notes on conditions, weighting, any issues, etc. I like MacDive to see the actual dive profile and stuff like that. So it's not really a duplication of effort when I'm using them for two different purposes.

I still don't get it.

You can put massive amounts of data in MacDive, far more than you would ever write by hand. That's what I do. I record all sorts of stuff in the comment fields, like who was on the dive trip with me, blog-type narratives of the details of the dive, long descriptions of the history of the wreck cut and pasted from online sources, etc... Why would a handwritten log give you more capacity for information storage than a digital log?

I understand the appeal of paper backups, but if you want that, it makes a lot more sense to just print out your digital log than entering the same data twice. As far as data backup, I don't rely on just the built in iCloud stuff - ALL of my digital data is backed up mulitple ways.

As far as I can tell, the only reason for keeping a paper log these days is that some people just enjoy the act of writing on paper with a pen. That's fine, I know that comes up a lot in these discussions.

 

[muzikbiz22]

MacDive (laptop & iOS), Shearwater Desktop. Vyper Air & Perdix AI

 

[Chris H]

Another vote for MacDive and the crazy good tech support. Questions answered and problems fixed within hours of the the question being posed. I have begun to transfer the 150ish paper logged dives into MacDive. I've been taking photos of the orginal logbook entry and adding notes or whatever. I love being able to search for any number of things in the log. I'm also very glad I've continued to log dives over the past 24 years, because it has been really fun to look back at them.

 

[Subcooled]

I am using DivingLog v6. It allows customization of a dive type list and then one can check several --> tags in practise. This allows me to keep track of pool freedives, pool oc dives, open water dives, lake dives, sea dives, overhead dives, ice dives, failed dives, sar dives, night dives... DivingLog also has nice (not perfect) statistics.

Subsurface is my long term plan.

Divelogs.de is my online service of choice. Exceptionally good with features instead of eye candy.

And what do I do with all of this? I print, cut and glue the data into a paper log book. I enjoy writing on paper and I love the independence of electricity but I want the measurements, profiles and statistics too. To close the loop, the logs are scanned at 400 dpi to PDF/A. Fully digitized with a vintage feel and a paper back end for disaster recovery. And yes, that had to be done once already. I worked for over a decade in a datacenter and I keep paper backups because of a 3000 year proven track record and systematic independence. PDF/A is not a bad choice but digital files are easily lost unless meticulously tracked and monitored over the decades = work. Dive logging applications with their internal storage formats are not a valid archival strategy: very few applications and structured formats have proven to be long lived.

 

[doctormike]

I'm also very glad I've continued to log dives over the past 24 years, because it has been really fun to look back at them.

Yup, as far as I'm concerned, that's one of the main reasons that I log dives. I LOVE looking at them, reading the comment narrative, playing with the data, etc..

Sure, it's useful to have weighting information if you often dive with different combinations of gear and exposure suit. And the wreck drawings that I keep in the log are really handy when I go back to a site - everything is right there on my phone. But most important, it's a fun thing to have on a cold night when you aren't going to be in the water for a while..

AND, when you have a digital log, you can do this:

 

[soggybadger]

What's the best Android tablet app for logging dives as I don't own a pc?

 

[Subcooled]

Try DiveMate

You will need to connect your tablet and dive computer directly. Not many apps achieve this. You will either need bluetooth or a suitable cable.

 

[WarrenZ]

DivingLog v6 is my vote. They even have a Android app.

 

[Saniflush]

What do you want it for? I.e. if your goal is to save you copying stuff from comuter screen, then you want one that can download data from your computer. Etc.

I'm not looking to automate it. I actually like imputing the data so I am only looking at it for the master set of records that I keep.

Thank you everyone else for the suggestions.