Is there somewhere that I can find dive planning software for Recreation Dive use?
I downloaded and installed VPlanner for Android and tried it out. It does not seem (at all) to be suitable for Rec Dive usage (by Rec Divers). And its algorithm (I took the default of VPM-B) doesn't line up very well with Rec diving tables. The NOAA EAN32 table allows 25 minutes at 120'. I put a 1 leg dive into VPlanner - 25 minutes at 120' - and it had me doing all kinds of deco on the ascent. Even putting in 23 minutes had me doing a couple of deco stops. And it also said I would consume 95 cu ft of gas (taking the default of .8 cu ft/min RMV). Having to keep editing the dive leg for shorter times and then recalculate to hone in on a target usage of, say, 67 cu ft is not the most user-friendly way to do things.
What I want is software that will let me input the following things:
- tank specs (e.g. single AL80)
- starting tank pressure
- desired ending tank pressure
- desired max depth (maybe even enter multi-level dive specs)
- anticipated SAC (or RMV)
- Gas mixture (Air or FO2)
- Max ppO2 (if not using Air)
- Algorithm (at least choose between Oceanic's DSAT or Z+ - ideally something to match any/all Rec PDCs)
And then I want it to tell me how long I can stay at my desired max depth, and whether I'll be limited by my gas or NDL.
And THEN I want to be able to enter the same things for repetitive dives (so, adding SI info, also) and have it tell me the same things for the subsequent dives.
Ideally, the UI would let me tweak the various parameters to play What If, so I can plan out a whole day's diving. E.g.: Okay, if I change Dive 1 to only go 115', instead of 120', what does that do to my bottom time on dive's 3 and 4? Or, okay, what if I extend me SI after Dive 2 by another 30 minutes?
I can do most of this using the NOAA dive tables. But, it's a bit tedious, if you're trying to plan out 4 dives in a day, and the tables don't tell you how you'll be limited by your gas supply, which makes the whole thing VERY tedious.
I'm going to Hawaii in a few weeks. There is the likelihood that I will have the opportunity to do 4 dives per day with at least the first dive being as deep as 120'. I would LIKE to be able to plan an example day - maybe I should call it a Worst Case day - and verify that I could reasonably expect to do a 120' dive (to NDL or gas supply limit) and another shallower dive in the morning and then still be able to, possibly, do another deep (talking Rec here, not Tech) dive in the afternoon, and then still do a 4th dive in the afternoon as well. And do it all without being limited by NDL. I suspect I will be limited by my gas supply and my RMV, but I'd like to plan that out in advance. It would suck to plan 4 dives for a day, finish the 3rd dive and find that my computer is now telling me my N2 or O2 loading is such that it's pointless for me to even get in the water for dive 4.
So, does anyone know of any software that will do what I want? It can be Windows, Android, or Mac. I can accommodate anything except an iPad/iPhone. :blinking:
Thanks!
I downloaded and installed VPlanner for Android and tried it out. It does not seem (at all) to be suitable for Rec Dive usage (by Rec Divers). And its algorithm (I took the default of VPM-B) doesn't line up very well with Rec diving tables. The NOAA EAN32 table allows 25 minutes at 120'. I put a 1 leg dive into VPlanner - 25 minutes at 120' - and it had me doing all kinds of deco on the ascent. Even putting in 23 minutes had me doing a couple of deco stops. And it also said I would consume 95 cu ft of gas (taking the default of .8 cu ft/min RMV). Having to keep editing the dive leg for shorter times and then recalculate to hone in on a target usage of, say, 67 cu ft is not the most user-friendly way to do things.
What I want is software that will let me input the following things:
- tank specs (e.g. single AL80)
- starting tank pressure
- desired ending tank pressure
- desired max depth (maybe even enter multi-level dive specs)
- anticipated SAC (or RMV)
- Gas mixture (Air or FO2)
- Max ppO2 (if not using Air)
- Algorithm (at least choose between Oceanic's DSAT or Z+ - ideally something to match any/all Rec PDCs)
And then I want it to tell me how long I can stay at my desired max depth, and whether I'll be limited by my gas or NDL.
And THEN I want to be able to enter the same things for repetitive dives (so, adding SI info, also) and have it tell me the same things for the subsequent dives.
Ideally, the UI would let me tweak the various parameters to play What If, so I can plan out a whole day's diving. E.g.: Okay, if I change Dive 1 to only go 115', instead of 120', what does that do to my bottom time on dive's 3 and 4? Or, okay, what if I extend me SI after Dive 2 by another 30 minutes?
I can do most of this using the NOAA dive tables. But, it's a bit tedious, if you're trying to plan out 4 dives in a day, and the tables don't tell you how you'll be limited by your gas supply, which makes the whole thing VERY tedious.
I'm going to Hawaii in a few weeks. There is the likelihood that I will have the opportunity to do 4 dives per day with at least the first dive being as deep as 120'. I would LIKE to be able to plan an example day - maybe I should call it a Worst Case day - and verify that I could reasonably expect to do a 120' dive (to NDL or gas supply limit) and another shallower dive in the morning and then still be able to, possibly, do another deep (talking Rec here, not Tech) dive in the afternoon, and then still do a 4th dive in the afternoon as well. And do it all without being limited by NDL. I suspect I will be limited by my gas supply and my RMV, but I'd like to plan that out in advance. It would suck to plan 4 dives for a day, finish the 3rd dive and find that my computer is now telling me my N2 or O2 loading is such that it's pointless for me to even get in the water for dive 4.
So, does anyone know of any software that will do what I want? It can be Windows, Android, or Mac. I can accommodate anything except an iPad/iPhone. :blinking:
Thanks!