Gauge, where to put everything

[Karl_in_Calif]

PhilD once bubbled...
A question regarding the use of a backup timer, do you do a pre-dive plan and work out your BT for the planned depth, so in the event of a computer failure you could continue the dive, or would you abort the dive if the computer failed and just use the backup timer to confirm the computer?

My computer is a nitrox computer. I normally dive air on my first dive, and nitrox on all subsequent dives. I keep the computer on nitrox mode and dial in 21% for the air.

I use the backup timer to 1) verify that my readouts on the dive computer are functioning correctly and 2) in case the dive computer fails, so that I can abort this dive with the benefit of the digital depth read-out. Remember, 30 ft per second is one-thousand-one one-thousand-two for every foot during ascent.

I do not believe it is totally safe to dive without 2 electronic devices. Some people define that as your computer and your buddy's computer. That however fits my definition of buddy dependent, and I do not believe in doing that either.

My first stop is always 1/2 of my max depth on the dive, and then 10 ft every minute afterwards, with remaining gas at 20 ft. To do all that properly during a bail-out requires a backup electronic device.

If you are out of the country on a dive vacation, and your primary dive computer fails, then you could use your backup timer for use with tables. So I do bring tables along with me. An air table, and an EAN36 table. If the mix is not EAN36 then I will compute the EAD and use the air table. Then I would have to live with being buddy dependent in terms of redundancy, but figuring in the thousands of dollars I had spent on the vacation, buddy dependence then becomes a valid risk.

Otherwise it would be possible to go to the dive store and get the computer fixed right away after aborting the dive. I know a great store owner, who does all the gear maintenance in his shop by himself. He is good. I would simply beg him to fix it for me right away, and pay him generously to drop everything else.

He also knows I am getting ready to buy a drysuit for my fiance', and he knows I will order it from his store. So he does not mind dropping everything else.

Pre dive planning for fun dives normally consists of lets go that way, turn around at 1/2 PSIG, and spend as long as we can at 20 ft on the way back.

The tank size and SPG is always by default the primary planning device on the first dive. The nitrox mix normally accomplishes the same thing on the second dive. The dive computer just keeps you honest. Sure you can do it all in your head, on the fly so to speak, but I dive to relax, not to run math equations in my head.

One electronic device is certainly the norm. But then, I never held a very high opinion of any norm, anywhere.

 

[-hh]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
I don't think that centralizing gauges do anything other than create tasks. The need for depth information doesn't at all imply the need for air supply information or the need to drag around a long HP hose. It certainly doesn't imply the need to look at a compass. You just glasce down moving nothing but your eyes.

Its a difference in perspective. With the gages centralized, whenever a diver checks any one gage, the proximity presence automatically serves as a reminder cue for whatever gages the diver wasn't thinking about: "have you checked me lately?"

Granted, when I was younger, I didn't understand why my boss needed Post-It-Pads, either

In order to make the compass usable the HP hose is made about 2 feet longer than it needs to be creating other problems. In order to tame that mess gagets like retractors are added to further clutter things up.

Is "two feet" a bit of hyperbola here? Or are you really diving with a six inch HP hose on your back gas tanks?

I agree that hose management is often an issue, but a lot of it is exasperated by poor console layout designs: I'm amazed with how so many of them still lack any provisions to help securing them.

If I had a nickle for every time I've seen a diver scramble to deploy a consol and the just leave it dangle because they were too busy to secure it or an entire class of students who aren't even gives a way to secure a consol. Even clipped or on a retractor they hang too low to be neat. Just sloppy danglies.

We've all seen the nightmares. You've singled out consoles, but they also exist on wrist-mounts too. The reality is that neither are the perfect solution that's best for all possible factors. As such, we just need to recognize what their trade-offs are before choosing which will work best for our needs.


-hh

 

[Phazeshyft]

i like the idea that all my components are in the same place. i got a genesis boot, with an OLD gauge, Tusa IQ400 computer which they told me would not fit in that boot but a little razor balde helped that, and a compass. all retractored to my BC. when i ascend whadya know? i got my right hand to hold the console and use my left for inflator.

dont pull the razor toward yourself when trying to trim out the boot, if it slips you might have a new breathing hole.

fun fun

 

[hantzu701]

I don't know if MechDiver is reading this, but he brought up a good point on another thread.

I'm converting my console mounted computer/gauge/compass into a wrist mount. The solution that I came up with is to take the compass and zip tie it to a homemade slate on a which I'll bungie around my left wrist/arm. The computer gets bolted on lexan and bungied around the right arm.

The SPG comes out of the console boot and will probably be clipped to my lower left D clip. To save money, I'll probably keep the longer HP hose and use it until it needs replacing.

I'd rather clip my SPG to my right D clip so I can easily see it; however, this seems risky if these things can burst.

 

[dtdiver]

i hated the console concept- too dangly and hard to read it and look horizontal at the same time. i found unclipping it each time i needed it to be lees than efficient.

now when i'm horizontal ( which is most of the time) my forearms, and hence all my info except spg) are right in front of my face.i cut the wrist straps and put bungees on all my gauges.

hard part was to get bungees the right length to fit over the rings on my dry suit. i solved that with help from sb (can't find the site at this time)


next problem....
i am becoming farsighted and need more length on the spg to read it. i will try a longer hose.

dt