Wireless AI users tell us the truth!

[iceaxe]

I've been using a wireless AI computer since march of this year~40 dives on it. At first I dove with a redundant SPG, but my buddy busted his SPG and since SPGs are hard to come by in Dominica, I let him use my redundant SPG-which at first made me a little nervous. The computer has never failed to establish a link, nor has it ever lost during a dive. It also occurred to me that we rely on wireless technology everyday, in some cases, the cost of failure would be very severe...

So for those of you who use wireless AI computers, how many failures have you had? What model was it? What was the outcome?

I'm not trying to incite their use in technical diving etc., if I were to get into tech diving, I wouldn't use one either. I think wireless will remain in the "bling" category for recreational diving. That being said, I think it gets a bad wrap on this board for being heinously unreliable

 

[The Kraken]

Oceanic - VT Pro

Failures? = None

Loss of X-mitter Link = Occasionally until I relocated my receiver closer to the transmitter.

No appreciable concern.

the K

 

[dannobee]

With almost 500 dives, I've seen a failure once-not mine but a buddy's. The whole computer dumped, so it wasn't limited to just pressure readings.

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Uwatec Smart Tec

In over 200 dives on this particular computer, I've never had any failures that resulted in pressure not being displayed for the entire dive, except when using a scooter, which interfered with the signal while I was on the trigger. I've lost link momentarily on 4 or 5 occasions. I've never lost pairing and had to go through the pairing sequence again.

 

[cowjazz]

Oceanic VT Pro, no failures.

 

[johnny_bravo]

100 dives with my wireless Suunto D9...no failures.

My backup is my brain...and also I wouldn't use it in deco or overhead dives.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Captain12Pk]

Cochran Gemini
Failures - None yet

 

[realdiver7]

Oceanic Atom 2, Atom 1, VT Pro and Aeris Atmos Elite - no failures in years of recreational diving. Occasional lost transmitter link, but resolved quickly. With recreational diving I could simply end my dive and return to the surface if there was a problem. I dive conservatively enough with NDL and air consumption that a computer failure would not create a severe problem.

 

[Shark Bate]

I have been "Wireless" since the first Uwatec Air X came out - looking in computer logs that would be about 1995, so 12 years now on Uwatec Air X and traded up to Air Z in 2001. The only problem I ever had was driving an underwater scooter interferred with the signal while it was running, but that is to be expected. I love losing the extra hose - I see SO MANY other divers draggin their dangling consoles all over the coral - that bugs the crap out of me!

I consider the wireless AI a mature system and never even give it a second thought now - recently got into the Oceanic computers and like the ability to change out transmitter batteries myself - just remember to always have a spare battery - I heard the new Uwatec computer has that feature now too. If you do your dive planning correctly, and are familiar with your gear and breathing rate it should really not be a big deal if you lost the signal on a dive - - instead of making it a 50 minute dive - just make it a 40 minute dive (example). It just doesn't seem like a crisis to me as I started diving in the early 70s and we didn't even have a pressure gauge - just dive till the breathing got a little hard and pull the "J" valve for a 500 lbs reserve and head up. So don't make it a big panic thing if you lose your signal - which you probably won't anyway ;+)

 

[ClevelandDiver]

Uwatec Air Z Nitrox. Dove it for over 100 dives with the transmitter problem free. Stopped using it when switching to tech for various reasons, none related to wireless connection reliability.

Transmitter is currently residing on my warm water vacation reg, wondering when I will make another tropical trip and use it again.