Reg Braithwaite
Contributor
...neophyte training for GUE-F here...
In looking around at various resources, the subject of ascents, deco and other subjects often come up. Every DIR-ish article I've read seems to be driven by ATAs, be that ratio deco for mixed gas diving or calculating Rock Bottom for a simple OW dive on Nitrox or the ascent rate for a simple no-deco dive.
So the procedure seems to be this: Obtain depth from your bottom timer. Convert to ATAs. Do some reasonably straightforward math to get an answer in time and ATAs. Convert back to depth.
So... Maybe I am missing something... Why don't we simply use a bottom timer that reports depth in ATAs instead of distance from the surface? It seems to me this would greatly simplify things like rock bottom. Just look at the BT, read the ATAs, and work from that.
I know I'm jumping ahead of myself in some areas, but I also wonder if it wouldn't simplify certain things like ascent rates. Is it really so many feet per minute up to 20' and then so many after that? Or is it actually so many minutes per ATA and we simplify things by converting to feet?
Just wondering if really I should be "thinking in ATA" instead of "thinking in feet." And if so...
Does anybody manufacture a bottom timer that displays ATAs directly on the screen during the dive?
In looking around at various resources, the subject of ascents, deco and other subjects often come up. Every DIR-ish article I've read seems to be driven by ATAs, be that ratio deco for mixed gas diving or calculating Rock Bottom for a simple OW dive on Nitrox or the ascent rate for a simple no-deco dive.
So the procedure seems to be this: Obtain depth from your bottom timer. Convert to ATAs. Do some reasonably straightforward math to get an answer in time and ATAs. Convert back to depth.
So... Maybe I am missing something... Why don't we simply use a bottom timer that reports depth in ATAs instead of distance from the surface? It seems to me this would greatly simplify things like rock bottom. Just look at the BT, read the ATAs, and work from that.
I know I'm jumping ahead of myself in some areas, but I also wonder if it wouldn't simplify certain things like ascent rates. Is it really so many feet per minute up to 20' and then so many after that? Or is it actually so many minutes per ATA and we simplify things by converting to feet?
Just wondering if really I should be "thinking in ATA" instead of "thinking in feet." And if so...
Does anybody manufacture a bottom timer that displays ATAs directly on the screen during the dive?