Folks, my apologies...

[DeepSeaDan]

G.- M. et. al. :

Thankyou for your advice ( and concern ).

In retrospect, my use of the term "self-train" may have been unfortuneate, perhaps even "alarmist", as is evidenced by the termination of the thread.

I have not come this far in the deeps to act cavalierly with my personal safety - "believe you me" - it is not my wish to endanger myself.

I believe it would have been more accurate of me to state that I wished to research the subject thoroughly so that I might decide which course of preparation to take. There is no greater source of wisdom than the experienced voice & I fully intend to garner as much opinion as possible in my research.

I like the idea of hooking up with a personal Instructor - I will undoubtedly look for referrals in my region should I decide to pursue deeper self-contained capability.

My request for opinions on the textbook issue is an attempt on my part to avoid purchasing undesirable references for conducting my research. Thus I request of you, the learned group, to suggest texts you believe to be most beneficial for my introductory, "self-discovery" of just whats involved in this area of diving.

Thankyou again!

Regards,
D.S.D.

 

[Seabear70]

We all do a certain ammount of self training. Looking up information on the internet and reading these boards in my estimate is a type of self training. Furthermore, everytime we get in the water we pick up lessons that we could not learn from anyone else, and often could not express properly to another person.

The danger comes when you try to work with systems that are beyond your experience. I know, someone had to do it first, and they did it all on their own. But, there is very little that would require that now a days. Why put yourself in a position where you have to guess your way through risk when you have classes that can both teach you the basics and help connect you with other divers seeking and possessing your skills.

Do the research, Learn all there is to learn from books, but take the time and effort to attend a class.

 

[MechDiver]

Go to IANTD.com and look over their technical literature and course outlines. The outlines will give you a feel for what equipment is commonly used, as well as the tasks and skills needed for the classes.
TDI also has similiar information available. You can get a list of instructors for each agency from their websites.

MD

 

[DeepSeaDan]

We all do a certain ammount of self training. Looking up information on the internet and reading these boards in my estimate is a type of self training. Furthermore, everytime we get in the water we pick up lessons that we could not learn from anyone else, and often could not express properly to another person.

The danger comes when you try to work with systems that are beyond your experience. I know, someone had to do it first, and they did it all on their own. But, there is very little that would require that now a days. Why put yourself in a position where you have to guess your way through risk when you have classes that can both teach you the basics and help connect you with other divers seeking and possessing your skills.

Do the research, Learn all there is to learn from books, but take the time and effort to attend a class.

Er, what books, my friend?

D.S.D.

 

[pipedope]

It is true that we can learn ABOUT diving (especially tech) by reading and studying on our own.
To learn to DO tech diving we really need to work with a qualified instructor. The skills and procedures really cannot be learned and verified without direct feedback from a good instructor.

Read everything you can get your hands on. If there are specific people you want to dive with, as them to suggest a good instructor.

The physics and diving physiology are the same for SCUBA and surface supplied commercial diving but the techniques and skills are very different. The only way to know you are learning and doing something right is feedback from a good instructor.

 

[Wendy]

What books to read and prepare yourself for a future class would depend on with what agency you plan to do your training with, as training manuals and methods vary.

someone already mentioned IANTD

also check out www.gue.com

 

[Curt Bowen]

In the late 80's and early 90's there was very little training available for technical diving, except basic cave. Much of the deep air diving we did, was from old navy tables or whatever source we could steel decompression tables from. i.e. Bill Hamilton. Only a very small hand full of very serious divers at that time were even concidering helium mixes.

I was lucky to know Sheck Exley as a friend and a somtimes dive buddy. Thus I got most of my basic training in mix from him. As for continued education, it was all in the field, really doing the dives and sticking our necks out a little into the unknown.


Its amazing, I am still here today to talk about some of the crazy dives we did.

Today, we have a polethera of so called experts and tons of information in the technical field, including my magazine. The problem is, even some of these, so called experts, dont have the real life experience to back up their text book knowledge. But of course, their students dont know this when they sign up for the courses.

If your planning on moving into the technical realm of diving, please research your instructor very carefully. Make sure they have the time in the field to really know what they are teaching. 10-15 years. Yes, there are some exceptions to this rule, but not many.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

In the late 80's and early 90's there was very little training available for technical diving, except basic cave. Much of the deep air diving we did, was from old navy tables or whatever source we could steel decompression tables from. i.e. Bill Hamilton. Only a very small hand full of very serious divers at that time were even concidering helium mixes.

I was lucky to know Sheck Exley as a friend and a somtimes dive buddy. Thus I got most of my basic training in mix from him. As for continued education, it was all in the field, really doing the dives and sticking our necks out a little into the unknown.


Its amazing, I am still here today to talk about some of the crazy dives we did.

Today, we have a polethera of so called experts and tons of information in the technical field, including my magazine. The problem is, even some of these, so called experts, dont have the real life experience to back up their text book knowledge. But of course, their students dont know this when they sign up for the courses.

If your planning on moving into the technical realm of diving, please research your instructor very carefully. Make sure they have the time in the field to really know what they are teaching. 10-15 years. Yes, there are some exceptions to this rule, but not many.

...in the commercial world - tube-trailers full of helium ( were talkin' 2 million ft3 on some jobs! ), mix-masters or pre-mix in quads, fully surface supported gas switching, comms., hot water, video, diving bells etc., etc. - my, my, what I could do with Bill Gate's money!

...indeed, I was well looked after on the job. Even had a fully dressed standby diver to bail me out if necessary! The gas scuba diver is virtually alone, by comparison. I can see the need for fine-tuning your self-reliance.

Thankyou all for your time. Curt - how do I subscribe to your mag.?

Regards,
D.S.D.

 

[Marlinspike]

Er, what books, my friend?

D.S.D.

Ok...the BEST text I have seen, by far, for tech diving is the DSAT/PADI TEC DEEP text. Also, look at the list of people who contributed to its creation. I think DSAT/PADI did a really good job with it. Their Trimix materials are quite good too.

~Marlinspike