Oceanic VT PRO vs New Atom - Size and range

[jagfish]

When I originally bought my VT PRO wireless unit from Oceanic, my one wish was that the thing were smaller. It's like wearing a volkswagon on your wrist, though they do have a slick clip on lanyard mount.

Now, sometime this year, Oceanic is coming out with the new Atom that is the size of a regular wrist watch and can monitor 3 transmitters.

How do they get it that small, or conversely, why is the VT PRO so big?

ANy information on range? My VT PRO can only sense my transmitter a meter or less away. I wonder how useful a unit that can sense multiple transmitters would be if you would have to swim all the way up to your target to get thier reading...

JAG

 

[Mark Vlahos]

ANy information on range? My VT PRO can only sense my transmitter a meter or less away. I wonder how useful a unit that can sense multiple transmitters would be if you would have to swim all the way up to your target to get thier reading...

JAG

Hi,

I am not intimately familiar with the computer you are referring to in your original post... but 3 transmitters implies a 3 gas computer. The transmitter range only needs to be from where it is mounted on the 1st stage to your wrist where the computer is. This distance will be relatively short because you will be breathing from the tank involved. The practical uses of multiple gas computers are so you can switch tanks, for example in a decrompression dive where you will have perhaps 2 mixes only used for decompression. You will no longer be breathing from your primary tank, you will have switched to one of your deco tanks. Probably the manufacturer has written software that will sense (due to tank pressure) when you have stopped breathing from your primary tank and switched to another mix. When the computer sees this change it will compute your off gassing based on the mix in the tank you have switched to.

It would not be practical to have your computer base any calculations on your buddies tank, and yours at the same time for example and then try to display the results to you. Even if you are breathing the same mix it would really screw up time remaining calculations that it bases on your breathing rate and the amount of gas available.

Hope this helps.

Mark Vlahos

 

[TostitoBandito]

When I originally bought my VT PRO wireless unit from Oceanic, my one wish was that the thing were smaller. It's like wearing a volkswagon on your wrist, though they do have a slick clip on lanyard mount.

Now, sometime this year, Oceanic is coming out with the new Atom that is the size of a regular wrist watch and can monitor 3 transmitters.

How do they get it that small, or conversely, why is the VT PRO so big?

ANy information on range? My VT PRO can only sense my transmitter a meter or less away. I wonder how useful a unit that can sense multiple transmitters would be if you would have to swim all the way up to your target to get thier reading...

JAG

I have the Aeris Atmos Elite and I don't mind the size at all. I like the larger display that can clearly display lots of information more than a slightly smaller display that either displays less or is harder to read (or both). As for the transmitter range, my Aeris (which is nearly identical to the VT Pro) can sense the transmitter routinely from about 10 feet or more (on the surface at least; haven't tested the range underwater). Maybe the transmitters are different or something.

 

[PurduEE]

How do they get it that small, or conversely, why is the VT PRO so big?

ANy information on range? My VT PRO can only sense my transmitter a meter or less away. I wonder how useful a unit that can sense multiple transmitters would be if you would have to swim all the way up to your target to get thier reading...

JAG

As far as the big/small thing, part of it is predicated on the size of the LCD screen. The screen is larger in the VT Pro than it will be on the Atom, necessitating a larger package. Beyond that, as I'm sure you are aware, electronics get smaller as time goes on.

As far as range, I would bet that the VT Pro and the Atom use the exact same transmitter devices, so I'd imagine that the range will be the same. It doesn't make any sense for Oceanic to reinvent the wheel, since they've got a working transmitter/receiver system already. Mark is correct that the multiple transmitter system is aimed at multiple gas dives (same diver, different cylinders), not for reading your buddies tank pressure. To synch the computer to any gas that you are not breathing is going to really screw up your no-fly time, NDLs, etc.

Personally, I'm hoping that if the Atom and the VT Pro use the same transmitter, I can use the VT Pro as my primary computer and the Atom (with a smaller, harder to read display) as the backup - all with a single transmitter on the HP port.

 

[jagfish]

Interesting
I don't know if it was from teh website or jsut my imagination, but I thougt the indendd use was for isntructors monoitoring other divers. Different gasses makes much more sense to me. I like Purdees idea abutusihAtom as a backup. I was thinking the same.

Have you seen the Computerized Heads up display mask on the Oceanic site? That is supposed to be out this year as well. Looks pretty trick, though the mask visibility does not look so generous.

JAG

 

[tangfish]

I hope this is not too stupid of a question, but I have been wrangling over the decision to either buy the VT Pro or shell out the (ouch) extra 280 for the suunto vytec. Now I won't be doing multi gasses anytime soon but I was wondering if you have three different tanks that you'll end up using, do you need three transmitters or are the last two mixes just not air integrated?

 

[jagfish]

I don't do mixes, so I won't touch that part, but I did own the Vytek for a month on an extended demo before I decided on the VT Pro.

Money was part of the deal. You can get the Oceanic unit with transmiter on Ebay now for as little as $559 from Divers Discount. They always have a set listed.

The dive simulator program in the computer was a lot nicer in the Suunto, which is convenient when learning how to use it, but after that, I have not touched. The Oceanic has the option of a lanyard mount that you can clip to your BC. The retracting cord integrates under the computer itself. Oceanic is even coming out with a compass mount so you can essentially have a whole console that is wireless, retractable and clips to your BC. When I bought, Suunto only had the wrist option.

I'm sure other people will tell you more about use in deco, gas mixing, etc.

JAG

 

[PurduEE]

I hope this is not too stupid of a question, but I have been wrangling over the decision to either buy the VT Pro or shell out the (ouch) extra 280 for the suunto vytec. Now I won't be doing multi gasses anytime soon but I was wondering if you have three different tanks that you'll end up using, do you need three transmitters or are the last two mixes just not air integrated?

You would need to have 3 transmitters to monitor consumption/pressure of 3 mixes, since there's really no way to switch an HP connection underwater (at least, safely). I'd almost guarantee that you would be able to do a multi-gas dive without having any of the gases monitored via transmitter. I have to believe that the computer can make it's calculations based on the period of time that you are in the water combined with the mix that you tell it you are breathing - that's how dive computers work. I imagine that, at the beginning of the dive, you tell it what your three mixes are, and then switch between them during the dive.

We really won't know exactly how it all works until someone gets one. It'd be nice if they released a nice little demo that we could all play with (like Mares with the Nemo).

Personally, I'm either getting an Atom or a Nemo, once they're both out. Both have features that I'm interested in (Nemo - RGBM, Atom-wireless/multi-gas), but I want something that could be worn as a watch without looking like a massive dive watch. Pricing on the Atom or the Nemo Titanium should be pretty similar.

 

[tangfish]

they should be coming out with a stinger air integrated soon too.

 

[PurduEE]

they should be coming out with a stinger air integrated soon too.

They should, or they are?

This is frankly the best part of the Atom coming out - whether or not you like the Atom, it should raise the bar for some of the other computer manufacturers. It will have multi-gas support, wireless air integration, and a very small form factor. All this for ~$699 (I've heard rumblings that Atom will be ~$100 more than VT Pro, VT Pro is $599 at LP).

I believe that it will usher in new dive computers from most of the major manufacturers with feature sets much larger than what we are used to seeing, and for less money. The only real competitor in the recreational space to the Atom would be the Suunto Vytec. Considering how much Pelagic has closed the gap (lack of RGBM is the only shortcoming I can see), Suunto needs to reevaluate it's computer pricing (Vytec at LP is $850). Is RGBM really worth $150?