Galileo dive computer review article

[johnmckenzie]

NEW REVIEW ARTICLE: In which John admits he was an OLED snob until the he got a Galileo... Scubapro Galileo Dive Computer Cured My OLED Envy | ScubaGadget - Scuba News Service

 

[Hatul]

One feature I like very much is the Remaining Bottom Time display, which I believe is a useful safety feature, as running out of air is one of the commonest causes of dive injury. I was on the Yukon last Sat and the computer worked out that my RBT was approaching zero and I need to start my ascent. I had plenty of air and would not have known this just by looking at the PSI number. It would have been easy for someone to overstay the dive and not been able to make a safe ascent with all the stops.

 

[johnmckenzie]

Thanks Hatul. The Galileo does have a very large RBT which is hard to miss.

On a similar topic, it also reminded me of how many times I have seen new divers panic when the RBT gets really short; not know that it will automatically increase as they ascend a bit.

One feature I like very much is the Remaining Bottom Time display, which I believe is a useful safety feature, as running out of air is one of the commonest causes of dive injury. I was on the Yukon last Sat and the computer worked out that my RBT was approaching zero and I need to start my ascent. I had plenty of air and would not have known this just by looking at the PSI number. It would have been easy for someone to overstay the dive and not been able to make a safe ascent with all the stops.

 

[Hatul]

Thanks Hatul. The Galileo does have a very large RBT which is hard to miss.

On a similar topic, it also reminded me of how many times I have seen new divers panic when the RBT gets really short; not know that it will automatically increase as they ascend a bit.

That's true. In fact it's possible to maximize your dive time from a tank by ascending and keeping your RBT close to zero. Even at zero you still have a tank reserve set. The only caveat is that if you do that you don't have enough for Rock Bottom if you're buddy diving and need to share air.

To have enough for air sharing, you work out the direct ascent time in minutes (depth/30) and add 1 minute. If your RBT exceeds this you should be ok as far as sharing air as well. It's a simple formula that works in most non deco cases, as long as you have a good tank reserve set (mine is 550 psi). The tank reserve allows for your buddy's safety stop.