SPG or not

[NW Dive Dawg]

Ok...so I'll be the freak here. I dive primarily solo and consider my diving solo even with a buddy. I dive a back mount 19cf pony. AI only for my primary gas and a 2in SPG integrated into my pony reg.

 

[scubadada]

Ok...so I'll be the freak here. I dive primarily solo and consider my diving solo even with a buddy. I dive a back mount 19cf pony. AI only for my primary gas and a 2in SPG integrated into my pony reg.

Did you change this after you tried to kill yourself, but failed?

Thread 'Tried to Kill Myself but Failed!'

May 29, 2023

So I’ve been on the fence on whether or not to post this……because it’s really hard to openly and publicly admit when you do something totally stupid. But then I thought more about it last night and figure that if it might provide some productive and positive food for thought and discussion…..or maybe help someone else from making the same mistake….that I really do need to talk about it.

Day before yesterday we are out on our boat and I’m doing a nice easy dive to celebrate my 68th B-day and get us a nice Lingcod for my B-day dinner. (it's a tradition thing) I’m a solo diver (certified...

• NW Dive Dawg

• 
• 

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Did you change this after you tried to kill yourself, but failed?

Thread 'Tried to Kill Myself but Failed!'

May 29, 2023

So I’ve been on the fence on whether or not to post this……because it’s really hard to openly and publicly admit when you do something totally stupid. But then I thought more about it last night and figure that if it might provide some productive and positive food for thought and discussion…..or maybe help someone else from making the same mistake….that I really do need to talk about it.

Day before yesterday we are out on our boat and I’m doing a nice easy dive to celebrate my 68th B-day and get us a nice Lingcod for my B-day dinner. (it's a tradition thing) I’m a solo diver (certified...

• NW Dive Dawg

• 
• 

Yep...... also have my pony 2nd necklaced now.

 

[halocline]

Who would trust complicated devices and software made by engineers, if ones life would depend on it?
A simple mechanical SPG is quite reliable. Not perfect, but very good.
Consoles are big and awkward.

If your life depends on your spg working, you are not diving safely. Didn’t you learn to deal with equipment failures in your OW class?

Sorry to be curt, but this ‘your life depends on your gear’ bit is really old.

 

[Belzelbub]

Who would trust complicated devices and software made by engineers, if ones life would depend on it?
A simple mechanical SPG is quite reliable. Not perfect, but very good.

Hmm. I trust a lot of things designed by engineers. Mechanical devices have moving parts. Moving parts can, and do, fail from time to time. The transmitters can also fail. The difference is how. Barring dead batteries (user error) electronic transmitters (and electronics in general) often fail on initial startup and fail spectacularly. Failure is very clear to the user. Never had a transmitter fail in the water, only ever on initial power up. Can't say the same for SPG.

But...

If your life depends on your spg working, you are not diving safely. Didn’t you learn to deal with equipment failures in your OW class?

Exactly. A transmitter or SPG failure should not be life threatening. It's an annoyance at best, as you should end the dive. But, if you've been checking periodically, you should have a good feel for approximately how much you have left.

 

[grantmac]

If a transmitter fails in the water you won't get an indication of having more gas than you think you do. I've definitely had SPGs fail in a way where you might.

I'd be curious to see a display mode which showed time since last connection and pressure at that time.