sharky60
Contributor
Checking into getting nitrox certified.
Anyone heard of SDA? ( scuba divers of America)
Anyone heard of SDA? ( scuba divers of America)
Nitrox cert company,
- Thread starter sharky60
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runsongas
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ScubaSteve858
Contributor
If it is an online cert I would not do it. The best courses are the ones where you have to go through an comprehension checkout from an instructor in person. Both PADI and NAUI require this. I went with NAUI because our primary Nitrox shop in town offers it and it included 2 dives. I was at the shop when a guy came in and showed his online cert. They accepted it but then he started asking basic Nitrox questions. Every employee there is an instructor and one of them was cool enough to sit down with the guy and basically did a free 45min review with the poor guy.
Scam.
Don't do it.
They may offer online training and it may or may not be accurate information but it is not accepted by any PADI shops (since there is a warning about this outfit in every training bulletin) and most likely other shops that keep up with industry news will not accept it either.
You must at least meet in person with an instructor and analyze tanks to have a valid cert.
Don't do it.
They may offer online training and it may or may not be accurate information but it is not accepted by any PADI shops (since there is a warning about this outfit in every training bulletin) and most likely other shops that keep up with industry news will not accept it either.
You must at least meet in person with an instructor and analyze tanks to have a valid cert.
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Damselfish
Contributor
There's nothing wrong with online certs. Some people learn better that way, some not. The person who did it online and didn't know what they should have, this is not necessarily the fault of it being online. SDA specifically is a problem because it's not generally a recognized/accepted cert.
This is a well documented scam organization. Although it has been years since I investigated them, when I did, the home address for the agency was a vacant lot.
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What they said - SDA has been a scam for years.
Check their "office" on google maps - it doesn't exist.
ScubaSteve858
Contributor
I learn better that way too. That is why I took my NAUI course work online and my buddy his PADI course work online. I still think it was important and necessary to have to review the main takeaways with an instructor to make sure you actually grasped the information. It is very easy to pass an online course without learning anything if all you care about is getting the cert. Out here in Southern Cali we have primarily deep diving available. Oxygen toxicity is a real concern and presumed to be the cause of one of the most recent diver deaths.
The negative is not that it is online. The problem is it is online only, with no hands on analysis and no instructor interactions. .
While nitrox is not particularly scary (so long as you know and follow the rules), it is important to get proper training on it.
There is no reputable agency that will allow you to do this entirely on line AFAIK.
There is no reputable agency that will allow you to do this entirely on line AFAIK.
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