96 replies to this topic

[AliKat]

The only problem with the computer between my ears is that it hasn't been upgraded in a LONG time, it's slow to reboot, it doesn't have much storage space and it's pretty much been made obsolete by the newer models.

-d

Boy, can I relate. Mind if I borrow this quote? It could explain a lot to my bosses.

[Travelnsj]

I just got the new Suunto D9....still figuring out how to use it. One thing I do not like is if you set the computer to a 1 second sampling rate, it will only record two dives and overwrites everything else except for dive time and bottom time. Sunnto recommends using a 10 second sampling rate, then it will store dives like the cobra. My Cobra is now.....well maybe my Backup computer.

[David Evans]

Ellen, I wouldn't recommend the way I dive to anyone.

-d

[Brinybay]

Aren't you really "uploading" the info from your dive computer into your own computer? Or am I being too technical?

No, you're not too technical, I just have vertigo.

[maninthesea]

Lets See

VR-3 and Nitek He for "tech" dives-I like both of them for different reasons
The VR-3 has a steep learning curve but once you fully understand it, it is the most versatile computer on the market. It has manditory deep stops which I like for serious deco dives but if you are at 120' and incur 1 min of deco at 10' you end up making deep stops at 65' 37' etc. This I find anoying. Also I am ready to return my 2nd one as the screen has lost a line of pixels again. Other than that Kewl The Nitek He is very user friendly but becuase of its algorithem it will actually be increasing your deco obligation while you do your deep stops. I find either computer will get me out of the water in roughly the same amount of time if follwed strictly. The VR-3 starts deco at deeper depths but has less of it at the shallow stops. The He starts deco shallower but has longer stops. My practice is to clear both computers so I end up doing the VR3's deco and increasing the obligation on the He. By the time I clear the He the VR3 has been clear for several min. I purposely use two different algorithms. My theory is that computers in general are manmade and subject to bugs or glitches. So if one computer would let me do a profile that was unsafe hopefully the other would act as a saftey net and stop it.


I also have Mares Nemo-Wrist mount. I wear it to promote it. I did not like it until I learned how to use it. (Instructions are the manufactures opinion) Now I think its kind of Kewl. It uses RGBM tables which I kind of like.

I also have a Chochran comander Nitrox(older green one) I use it when I am fealing invinceable since it is so liberal. I also use it while scootering or videoing at night. It has a large display that can be continiously backlit with Red light. I can glance at my wrist and garner all needed info.

I own a Aeris Atmos pro but I loaned it to a friend and doubt I will ever get it back from her. I also own Oceanic's new hockey puck in a console. I won it in a raffle. An ex girlfriend showed me the fog in the atmos pro I had given her for her birthday and I told her to use the Oceanic until she got the atmos sorted out. That was a year ago so I dont think I'll see that either.

Last but not least I have a Deco Pro from desert star. One of the original trimix computers and the only one I know of that is physicaly larger than walters edge. It also shows the tissue compartments.

Personaly I prefer a non air intigrated console mount computer for two reasons. 1. it keeps my wrist and arms clear for digging in the mud or whatever. 2.It is harder to forget or lose your computer when it is attached to your regulator. That said I ended up with wrist computers anyway!

I am not at liberty to disclose prices paid.

[peterbj7]

Aren't you really "uploading" the info from your dive computer into your own computer? Or am I being too technical? 

If this is directed at me, then no, you're not being too technical, but you are being pretty darned funny.

The only problem with the computer between my ears is that it hasn't been upgraded in a LONG time, it's slow to reboot, it doesn't have much storage space and it's pretty much been made obsolete by the newer models.

-d

Ah, but how often do you have a head crash?

[peterbj7]

More accurately? Can't agree with that - again, because the computer is looking at historical data, rather than future data.

Maybe not more accurately, but certainly more precisely, for the reason Walter gave.

[peterbj7]

VR3s for CCR diving, those and Nitek He for O/C tech diving, Suunto Stinger and DiveRite Nitek+ for recreational diving. I started out with a hose-mounted Suunto and was very fond of it, until I started diving multi tanks and realised the shortcoming of any integrated computer. I greatly prefer computer watches to full size ones when I don't need the functionality of the bigger device. I generally dive with at least two computers, though one of them may be in gauge mode and just working as a bottom timer.

When I'm doing tech dives I always preplan them using tables or a laptop program, and take a bracketed set of alternatives down on a slate. By that I mean (1) the planned dive; (2) a bit deeper for the planned time; (3) a bit longer at the planned depth. If I suspect I won't actually go as deep or as long I plan easier alternatives as well. Then I generally actually dive to the computer but make sure I don't go beyond the plan.

An unrelated computer question - does anyone know in general when a computer measures the temperature it displays in the log after the dive? At the deepest point? The surface? An average over the time of the dive?

[Walter]

Peter, you are correct, there is a big difference between accurate and precise. In this case I believe they both apply.

David, your computer wasn't telling you to stop at 10 feet for 15 minutes. I was telling you not to ascend shallower than 10 feet and that if you did ascend to that depth, you would have a 15 minute deco obligation. You seem to understand this, so why muddy the waters. The computer was giving you good information. There's no guarantee a particular diver will understand that information or know how to use it if they do.

I was making multilevel dives on tables long before GUE or DIR came to be, before computers were affordable or common place, back when the US Navy tables were the only option on this side of the Atlantic. Computers are far superior to multilevel diving with tables, if used with caution and common sense. If one can't use a computer with caution and common sense, then I shudder at the concept of multilevel diving with tables.

[David Evans]

Walter, yes, I knew exactly what the computer was telling me, and precisely why it was telling me that. As I said, it's my favorite computer currently on the market - I think it's outstanding. I'm not trying to call into question the capability of the computer.

Now with that said, the computer can give me neither "accurate" nor "precise" data about the part of the dive (or dives) that I am *about*to*do*.

Again, the point here ISN'T TO CHALLENGE the usefulness of the diving computer. It's a GREAT tool! Own them! Love them! They are fantastic!

My point, one more time, is to think about needs vs. wants when evaluating a purchase.

I like to think that I'm a pretty good communicator, but I can't seem to get the point across here.

:sigh:

On topic: My favorite dive computer is the Suunto Vyper RGBM model. It can be wrist or console mounted, has a user-replaceable battery, is backlit, comes nitrox-ready for mixes up to 50%, and supports the notions of deep-stops utilizing an RGBM bubble model which is a more efficient and more modern model for coping with the physics of bubble formation in the various tissue compartments of the body. I teach and strongly recommend RGBM, and for people that are on the market for a new computer, I would highly recommend one that supports RGBM. It also has a gauge mode, so should you ever want to do so, you can turn the computer off and use it as a bottom timer.

Of course, I don't dive using a computer, so my recommendation is probably pretty worthless.

-david

Edited by David Evans, 19 August 2005 - 08:26 PM.

[austinbrunette]

I dive with a suunto cobra. I am still pretty new to diving, but I absolutely LOVE all the gizmos and gadgets and the neat stuff this thing does! I just got a quick release for it today and also a compass that attaches to the top. It tells you everything I think you could ever need to know while diving or after the dive. And it logs all your dives and saves them in its memory from what I have read. It'll even tell you at your current breathing rate how long your air will last! Its awesome! I haven't quite figured it all out yet, but I've only dived with it a couple of times. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more diving and since I've had it from the beginning, can't imagine diving without it.

Oh yea....i think it was like $600 with the attachments.

Edited by austinbrunette, 19 August 2005 - 08:43 PM.

[Seahorsewrangler]

Oceanic Veo 200/250..I like it very much....easy to use and quick to get info..

Edited by Seahorsewrangler, 20 August 2005 - 08:53 AM.

[Basslet]

Now with that said, the computer can give me neither "accurate" nor "precise" data about the part of the dive (or dives) that I am *about*to*do*.

Show me any instrument anywhere (except for something on a the SciFi channel) that can give you information about something you haven't done yet and I'll buy you a drink. Oh, and I'm excluding parents or spouses from this because both are pretty good at predicting something you haven't done yet.

[Cold_H2O]

I dove a lower end Oceanic GLO Data 100 for years. It served me well but I was not able to dive Nitrox with it.

I recently upgraded to an Aeris Atoms ai.
I stayed with a hose but did get the quick disconnect and download cable.
Able to dive air or Nitrox, just takes a few seconds to reconfigure.
It is small and compact. With it being ai... I love that I have all my information on the same side.. NO more rotating my console to check my air.

Have a few dives on it and I am liking it.

Edited by gis_gal, 20 August 2005 - 09:18 AM.

[PerroneFord]

I dive with a suunto cobra. I am still pretty new to diving, but I absolutely LOVE all the gizmos and gadgets and the neat stuff this thing does! I just got a quick release for it today and also a compass that attaches to the top.

Not to hiijack the thread, but this just struck me as odd. I've noticed a LOT of stuff at the dive shops recently that have "quick releases". Why is this? And why do people buy them. I feel like there was some HUGE diver convention that I missed where it was deemed necessary to be able to strip off vital pieces of equipment as quickly as possible.

Maybe it's just me, but the LAST things I'd want to strip off underwater are my buoyancy, air supply, and instrumentation. You can't stay alive without the first two, and probably won't stay healthy without the last one. So I don't want quick releases on those.

Ok, on topic:

I don't have a dive computer. May buy one someday.