How do you signal air remaining?

[wedivebc]

I only dive with members of the "collective" We all share one giant interconnected brain so we all know how much gas everyone has

 

[Rick Murchison]

I only dive with members of the "collective" We all share one giant interconnected brain so we all know how much gas everyone has

There ye go... the best way yet!
Rick

 

[Mo2vation]

All a good example of why reviewing common, basic hand signals before the dive is so important. We have seen here that even the simple signal for how much air I have is done/taught differently in various places around the globe.

I never, ever, ever have my buddy (insta-buddy or regular buddy) try to semaphore their remaining gas to me. Its always a cluster. Flash the SPG. If you start throwing fingers at me, I'll just go and grab your gauge. I need to see it, period - end of discussion.

What the heck to you ultra cold water mitten wearing ice freaks do? You always have a "fat 3" left in the can? :11ztongue

If you want mine, sidle up next to me and take a look - the SPG faces out.

---
Ken

 

[spectrum]

All a good example of why reviewing common, basic hand signals before the dive is so important. We have seen here that even the simple signal for how much air I have is done/taught differently in various places around the globe.

Holly crap you're not kidding. I'm a new diver but I've read a lot and most of those were new to me and I'd be clueless if confronted with the dialect UW.

Pete

 

[OliveBone]

Ever since I was a DM, I always swim up to them, tap my gauge, and then look at theirs. That way there is no misunderstanding as to how they signal their pressure, and I know that they are not lying about it, trying to extend a dive by finishing it with just 100 psi or so, as I've caught people doing in the past.

When I am diving with my "collective" we also share one giant connected brain, to the point that we even know when we are peeing in our wetsuits.

 

[Hyper-limits]

I only dive with members of the "collective" We all share one giant interconnected brain so we all know how much gas everyone has

Well Dave, when I dive with you I look at my gauge and I know how exactly how much air is in your tanks. Same tanks, same RMV what else can I say. So I guess my part of the "collective"

Cheers

Al

 

[Spratman]

Must be something about the Carribbean area. I learned the fingers on the left arm in Cancun. First time I was diving up here in PA, I was asked about my remaining air and I did that, the instructor had no idea what I was telling him. Now we always declare it as part of the predive briefing. Now I do the 5+5+5 method. I need a longer hose on my computer console, because it's too short. You'd be hard pressed to read it.

Jack

How do you signal your air pressure remaining to your dive buddy?
When I did my intro. dive in Roatan, the instructor did it in a way I have not seen since. She indicated thousands by splaying right hand fingers across her left arm, above the wrist , and then hundreds by holding up the corresponding number of fingers , again using her right hand.
I think it was/is easier to understand than the standard 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 2000 + 300
It looked simple, quick and was very easy to see how much air someone had left , with the 2 on arm + 3 fingers , to indicate 2300

DB

 

[Rick Inman]

With new Buddies, since the OOA I had a couple of weeks ago (the new buddy ran out, not me), I wanna' see it. I've been lied to a couple of times.

With regular buddies, we don't need to ask. At most, a point at the SPG then an OK will do. We know where we are based on the plan. In fact, a point in a particular direction tells me how much gas we have.

 

[limeyx]

How do you signal your air pressure remaining to your dive buddy?
When I did my intro. dive in Roatan, the instructor did it in a way I have not seen since. She indicated thousands by splaying right hand fingers across her left arm, above the wrist , and then hundreds by holding up the corresponding number of fingers , again using her right hand.
I think it was/is easier to understand than the standard 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 2000 + 300
It looked simple, quick and was very easy to see how much air someone had left , with the 2 on arm + 3 fingers , to indicate 2300

DB

You should also consider *why* you need to signal gas remaining.
If I am diving with a team, we might all have different volume tanks and fill pressures (including some in doubles some in singles). In this situation, each persons PSI remaining is largely irrelevant (and making everyone remember which tanks each has can be tricky)

What we usually do is:
1) establish what "kind" of dive we are doing -- a drift dive, a "go out and come back dive" or something else
2) each person then calculates (depending on the kind of dive) their PSI limit for the minimum amount of air needed to get 2 people safely to the surface including one OOA (required), and optionally a "turn pressure" -- a PSI at which you start to come back home. Depending on your diving you might have a more complex situation

then you just signal to the team "Hey, I reached my turn pressure, let's turn the dive" or "Hey, I hit rock bottom, let's surface" or whatever is appropriate.

I guess the time you need to signal PSI is maybe when you change the plan mid-dive, or if you don't trust your buddy.

If you don't trust your buddy then either
1) they are a student probably wantg to look at the SPG
2) or why are you diving with them

having said that, when I need it i use the fingers vertical on one hand and then fingers horizontal for 6-9 and circle for zero, which has the benefit that it's one-handed signaling

 

[Diver0001]

In Europe we measure pressure in bar instead of PSI. 100 bar (1/2 tank) is shown either with a "T" sign or with one hand cutting the palm of the other hand in 1/2. 50 bar is shown with a fist and 10 bar increments are shown with fingers. For example, 80 bar is shown with a fist followed by 3 fingers.

Having said that, I use the Rick Inman method with regular buddies too. I can pretty much tell you how much air my regular buddy has by looking at my own gauges. Flashing the gauges sign and getting "OK" back works just fine with these select few.

R..