OP
flfishhead
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Thank you all for the informative comments.
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Looking at getting my Nitrox certification. Was talking to the owner of a local dive shop; and he said they offer a course that is taught at the shop, but "most folks" prefer to take an on-line PADI course (this shop apparently is mostly PADI oriented), which costs about $189 (roughly). Anyway, found an on-line course offered by someone called Scuba Divers of America (SDA), upon satisfactory completion of which, they will send me a Nitrox certification card which is recognized "anywhere in the world". Their course costs about half the PADI course.
Question is, are they (SDA) a reliable organization, and will their cert card really be recognized "anywhere in the world"? (If I take their card into my local dive shop, will they look at it and say "sorry, not acceptable"?)
Hatul,
The problem with the SDA course is the student does not go over the key parts of the course with an instructor.
Those key elements being how to properly analyze a tank, how to set the mix on their dive computer or use the dive tables and making sure the student understands all the questions and correct answers on the on-line test.
Don't you agree that these key points are vital?
It is a scam, not a reputable agency.
I have never taken the SDA course, so I don't know its quality. I think the ultimate problem would be when you go to get a nitrox fill from an operator who knows what SDA is and refuses to give you the fill. In that case, it doesn't matter how much you know or where you learned it.I can find faults in any course if I want. Just because you get a card it does not mean you stop learning. The SDA course did not teach how to set your dive computer nor how to use your O2 analyzer, but when you buy these they come with instructions, and any dive operator will help you with the use of the analyzer, especially if you stick with one of the common ones like the Analox.