OW Cert w/o learning Dive Tables?!?!?

[Nudgeroni]

Ok, call me crazy, but if my computer died, I might just end the dive rather than calculate everything off of the tables.

Hey, what about this scenario:
Computer goes kaput on a multi-level dive, then your pen stops working!

I guess then we'd all be in real trouble.:11:

 

[HowardE]

Ok, call me crazy, but if my computer died, I might just end the dive rather than calculate everything off of the tables.

what about for the rest of the day? Or week, if you're on vacation?

How would you plan the rest of your diving for that short time? Or you just wouldn't dive?

 

[Nudgeroni]

what about for the rest of the day? Or week, if you're on vacation?

How would you plan the rest of your diving for that short time? Or you just wouldn't dive?

Ok, in the event of a computer failure on vacation, with no ability to repair the computer, a dive table could be useful (though I might prefer to look up a similar dive profile in my log and dive it again with a little extra buffer).

But that seems to be an exception that proves the rule. Does it really justify the amount of time spent on it in OW courses? Couldn't the time running through examples be better spent on something most rec divers will put into practice more often?

I have to admit that I have a bias because learning dive tables was fairly easy for me. It drove me nuts sitting in class for over an hour going over examples that several in the class got wrong repeatedly-- especially since I knew they would forget the information within hours after the test anyway. There were so many other things I think we could have been learning about.

 

[almitywife]

i was having a conversation with another SBer a few weeks ago that went the online e-learning way and he had no idea how to use the tables and insisted that it was never spoken about in the ow course.

i voted yes, it should be taught - computers fail

but in saying that - i NEVER got the wheel!!

 

[fisherdvm]

I think the commonalities among everyone here is that the dive table should be taught, if possible, in OW.

The only disagreement is, if OW courses are already so crammed tight, what material should we discard to make room for more important skills.

I'll bet the few people that voted No to teaching tables in OW classes intended it to be only if the classes can be changed to teach more important stuff.

 

[Sylvain]

Ok, call me crazy, but if my computer died, I might just end the dive rather than calculate everything off of the tables.

Hey, what about this scenario:
Computer goes kaput on a multi-level dive, then your pen stops working!

I guess then we'd all be in real trouble.:11:

If you do your pre-dive planning correctly I do beleive that even on a multi-level dive you do set your self a max depth. then it is pretty easy to figure out your max bottom time it will be based on the depest point of course this would only be good if you have an alternate depth guage if not then it is time to go out.

 

[bane51031]

In my OW class the instructor did not know how to use the new format as he was used to the wheel and he had relied on a computer after that, actually had me showing the other students how to figure it out.
Needless to say I never took any further classes from him and will not refer anyone to him.

 

[String]

In any case, if you simply don't dive, your tables didn't do anything for you (them telling you not to dive is no different than you not diving because you are inadequately equipped).

And by that token doing the opposite with a computer again you're screwed. You cant dive at all, not tomorrow, not the day after as you have no way of calculating or planning a dive.

No matter what the profile tables will get you out safe if a computer craps out (or when). They will also get you diving again at some point. If you;re on holiday and the computer dies and you have no tables or knowledge you're screwed. 2 weeks wasted diving holiday.

 

[Temple of Doom]

If you're on holiday and the computer dies and you have no tables or knowledge you're screwed. 2 weeks wasted diving holiday.

To be fair, this is not an argument for having and understanding tables, it's one for having a useable backup.

I imagine that if you were on a 2 week charter that did multi-level dives, and you had to stick to what your table back-up said, you'd feel a little screwed. Having a backup computer (with you on every dive, even before your primary craps out) would continue your diving and give you half again (double maybe?) the bottom time that tables would for the rest of the two weeks, the same amount that you would have gotten without a failure. That would obviously be better than having a table backup. If I were spending thousands of dollars on a 2 week dive trip, I'd make sure I had a backup plan that provided me with a worthwhile amount of diving.

Now let's not kid ourselves, most divers in that situation if they lost all computers would stick with the buddy that has shared the same profile and dive a more conservative profile than him/her. While this is less safe, it's certainly a viable option. You'd have to weigh your risks vs. rewards.

Having said all that, I think being able to find a surviveable bottom time in advance of your dive (factoring residual nitrogen), without a computer, should be mandatory for all divers. There's no reason I can think of that would suggest divers wouldn't be better off with this ability.

Craig

 

[Cheerpig1]

In my OW class last month, I asked about the dive tables. My instructor was not planning on teaching that to us as we all had RDP's. Though those things are easy to use, I asked him what would happen if it failed? I asked him to show us how to use the tables. The students in the class did not like that so much but hey you never know. He gave us a quick rundown on how they work so I feel much better knowing that I have back up. It was a little confusing, but it really was not all that hard!! And it helped me understand exactly what that little RDP was calculating!!