ISC Remora or APECS controller wanted/needed

[Geo7]

There seems to be a new crossover path within the brand without a formal course, but I don't have the details yet.

 

[Geo7]

That would make the most sense I don't see them custom cabling a petrol controller for this setup when they have already a formula or some already made with the ak-5 pin on them. I do wonder if you get the original plate back or if they just remount stub cables where the bulkhead connectors were previously. Scratch that song. You sent in a Pathfinder I would have to assume they would have to reuse the head assembly that you sent in in order to make it.

Technically each network has two connections on a 15 the way I recall. I sold mine maybe I should have held on to it.

But look, Shearwater writes in the Petrel manual:

"Spare auxiliary ports may be included for additional devices or future expansion. Even if your rebreather does not have a spare port, additional devices can be added with the use of Y-cables."

Not something I'll do, but cool...

 

[211ratsbud]

But look, Shearwater writes in the Petrel manual:

"Spare auxiliary ports may be included for additional devices or future expansion. Even if your rebreather does not have a spare port, additional devices can be added with the use of Y-cables."

Not something I'll do, but cool...

View attachment 923001

Yes the prism it's one people commonly add another monitor port too.

 

[That Petrock Emotion]

I'm uncertain whether the Shearwater upgrade to the 15 is worth it. Still pondering. I like the Remora though it is a brick!

 

[Geo7]

I think most people will just dive their existing Megs and Pathfinders until they are not repairable, and only then convert them (I wrote "upgrade" before, but find the term "conversion" more fair). I doubt many Meg divers will be keen to spend the same or more money as the conversion costs to switch to a different brand (if their diving has not changed). So I suspect ultimately most of the units will likely all be converted to Shearwater as they age and need repairs.

If I had a Meg 15 in great condition now and really liked it, I'd be inclined to buy more 2nd hand handsets and a head to have backups, and save some money. Or alternatively I would sell the Meg15 to someone who prefers it over the Shearwater versions, and buy a Tiburon instead. The net cost might be similar to the conversion.

Personally, since I am certified on the Meg 2.7, but deperately wanted a Pathfinder, it made less sense for me to crossover to the classic Pathfinder first, and at some point still having to do the SW conversion when I need a repair. Also, as soon as I convert to SW, I have several service centers available for the electronics (ISC and SW). So I bit the bullet now, to learn one new system and stick to it...

 

[mr_v]

If I had a Meg 15 in great condition now and really liked it, I'd be inclined to buy more 2nd hand handsets and a head to have backups, and save some money.

That's what I have done. I wish Leon would open source APECS software so that those of us who like poking around can continue developing.

 

[Geo7]

I think APECS is the only civilian CCR controller code that went through US Navy testing (and was aquired for Navy use). I found a public Navy tender for a maintanence package for ISC rigs on the internet, so a few Megs must be in Navy use. Open sourcing this valuable intellectual property seems unlikely, but then again I am surprised that no plans for an Apecs V were announced, and instead they switched to Shearwater. But owning their Navy vetted code surely increases the value of the company.

I think the one dive computer that was specifically intentioned for open source is the Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC. And was Will Smithers the first to do this in the diving world, with his free deco software Z-Plan?

 

[lizardland]

I think APECS is the only civilian CCR controller code that went through US Navy testing

I think Juergensen Marine had a controller accepted but I've no idea how close that product was to the civilian Hammerhead controller.

I think the one dive computer that was specifically intentioned for open source is the Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC. And was Will Smithers the first to do this in the diving world, with his free deco software Z-Plan?

Z-Plan was a massive inspiration for me to start writing my own deco software back in the 90's. I don't know if it was the first freeware deco software but it was definitely the first really successful one. Sheck Exley's DrX predates it but I'm not certain if that was free or commercial. There were some German academics who were also fanatical cave divers who developed a freeware decoplanner around the same time as Zplan but I couldn't tell you who came first.

I used to give my code to anyone who asked as long as it wasn't for a commercial project. But I stopped after getting burnt by someone who used it to develop a deco planner he started selling (and was actually quite succesful with it).

I always wanted an OSTC so I could make a sort of taxi meter display that showed minute by minute how much a trimix dive was costing you and how much more your deco was going to cost. Then I switched to CCR and stopped caring

 

[mr_v]

I always wanted an OSTC so I could make a sort of taxi meter display that showed minute by minute how much a trimix dive was costing you and how much more your deco was going to cost. Then I switched to CCR and stopped caring

That is a bad idea. Someone's spouse would eventually have asked to have that info sync'ed with her mobile phone.

Here is the idea in brief: Develop a system that allows seamless wireless updates, profile modifications based on actual dive logs, and profile sharing.

Seamless wireless updates are the key to everything. If you have them, you can have any capability you want.

Dive profile / deco planners exist already but they're not precise. E.g., I can use MultiDeco to plan a dive and it will give me a schedule that is a lot longer than the actual schedule for certain caves, as it is impossible to program the exact topography in the app, so you approximate levels. What if after a dive I could adjust the actual profile based on the log & save it somewhere for future use? Bonus points for being able to create all the plans and configs on the web and then sync the data with dive computers.

Sharing among devices and with friends is a good thing, too. If you have multiple computers, there won't be a need to program them one at a time. Create a dive profile config for the next dive, share among all devices. Done.

I feel like APECS 4 made a step in the right direction, as there are wireless updates and you can configure APECS 4 dive computers via the web. However, the implementation is beta at best using my standards. There is a lot more that one could do there.

 

[lizardland]

That is a bad idea. Someone's spouse would eventually have asked to have that info sync'ed with her mobile phone.

Here is the idea in brief: Develop a system that allows seamless wireless updates, profile modifications based on actual dive logs, and profile sharing.

Seamless wireless updates are the key to everything. If you have them, you can have any capability you want.

Dive profile / deco planners exist already but they're not precise. E.g., I can use MultiDeco to plan a dive and it will give me a schedule that is a lot longer than the actual schedule for certain caves, as it is impossible to program the exact topography in the app, so you approximate levels. What if after a dive I could adjust the actual profile based on the log & save it somewhere for future use? Bonus points for being able to create all the plans and configs on the web and then sync the data with dive computers.

Sharing among devices and with friends is a good thing, too. If you have multiple computers, there won't be a need to program them one at a time. Create a dive profile config for the next dive, share among all devices. Done.

I feel like APECS 4 made a step in the right direction, as there are wireless updates and you can configure APECS 4 dive computers via the web. However, the implementation is beta at best using my standards. There is a lot more that one could do there.

Personally, I like my rebreather controller to do one thing: control the rebreather. I don't like having everything on one unit. The more complexity you add, the more likely something trivial is going to cause a problem. Like I would bet the thing that takes out a controller with wireless comms is the wireless comms and not the rebreather brain part. I like simple and basic, it tends to be resilient.

That was what I wanted when my Mk15 pod died but the options were limited. Laguna had gone out of business and communication with Colkan was so erratic I might as well have been using prayer. The only other options at the time were Hammerhead or Shearwater and I didn't particularly want the complexity or cost of either. In the end I went with Hammerhead, which I really like, but really I just want a digital replacement for what the analogue pod did. Which is part of the reason I started developing my own controller.

The German team I mentioned, the deco planner they built was designed to run off a handheld computer in a housing. They wanted it for sump diving where they could log the profile on the way in and when they got out the sump on the other side they could export the profile from the data logger to the planner and plan the deco for the exit trip using accurate profile info. If I remember right their goal was exploring the far side of the Ressel so these were non-trivial dives and an accurate plan could make a significant difference to the time you spent in the water.

These days, a $10 ESP32 could easily do live deco calcs in a manageable wrist mounted unit. Now DIY'ing a dive computer is really just about getting a practical housing made. The electronics and software are fairly insignificant by comparison. In the past it was the other way around, doing the guts took a lot of technical skill.