How much does alg matter for rec dives? Cheapest buhlman DC?

[stuartv]

Thanks for the clarification. I may be going the Perdix AI route myself after seeing the screen! My wife has been stuck on her Zoop since our training dives, but even she seems interested in the Perdix AI as well.

It's hard to imagine that you would regret it.

I had a Petrel 2 and liked it so little that I sold it (for about a $200 loss!). Mainly just the brick-like form factor on my arm. I had/have a SeaBear H3 that I like better. But, the Petrel 2 and the H3 don't do AI. The Perdix is a lot less like a brick than the Petrel 2 and does AI. I am totally happy with it. I would like an H3 with AI even better, but now that I have a Perdix AI, even if they ever do come out with an H3 w/AI I can't see myself bothering to spend the money.

 

[scubadada]

I've been diving a Nitek Q as a backup for my Oceanic VT3 for the last 80 dives, mainly to get experience with Buhlmann ZH-L16 with GF. This is likely the least expensive computer giving this experience @$400 from Dive Gear Express. My interest is mainly recreational with some light deco, your interests may be different, see posts from @RainPilot. Dive Rite does not support the computer and download is difficult, I think you must buy from Dive Log 6.0 to get a functional driver. I'm happy I have it, have learned a lot.

 

[Diving Dubai]

For the price, value, features, tech/advanced rec capabilities, etc. Perdix AI and Ratio offerings are best value. I don't see why would anyone would buy an Eon, . computer that are the same or much more expensive than the SW/Ratio computers yet have less value and less functionality.

I'd love to hear you justification on that statement.

Certainly in the USA there is a big price difference, in the UK a Eon with Transmitter is the same price as a Perdix (without)

If you're going to state that the Eon is more conservative I'll dispute that. If I switch to the most liberal setting I can have marginally more NDL than a Perdix at 90/90

 

[scubadada]

I'd love to hear you justification on that statement.

Certainly in the USA there is a big price difference, in the UK a Eon with Transmitter is the same price as a Perdix (without)

If you're going to state that the Eon is more conservative I'll dispute that. If I switch to the most liberal setting I can have marginally more NDL than a Perdix at 90/90

Two reasons might be the ability to plan dives using commercially available software such as Multi Deco, etc., and the ability to dive the same, most common, decompression algorithm as your buddies.

The proprietary decompression algorithm with a limited number of mysterious conservative settings is the most commonly cited defect

 

[BoltSnap]

I'd love to hear you justification on that statement.

Certainly in the USA there is a big price difference, in the UK a Eon with Transmitter is the same price as a Perdix (without)

If you're going to state that the Eon is more conservative I'll dispute that. If I switch to the most liberal setting I can have marginally more NDL than a Perdix at 90/90

The Eon isn't a technical diving computer and it is way overpriced and it is of lessor features than the Perdix or Ratio. I am not stating that it is a bad computer for recreational or advanced recreational purpose, but it isn't a technical diving computer. No reason for anyone to spend money on the Eon when the Perdix AI or Ratio are available today.

 

[dmaziuk]

Right, I guess my gripe is that there's no moderately priced DC with a good screen. It's literally a jump from a $160 zoop (or $200-300 oceanic if you want to splurge) all the way up to roughly an $800-$1000 DC.

My guess is, it isn't worth it. Compared to a simple segment LCD, you need a much bigger battery to drive the OLED/backlit TFT LCD, and you need a much smarter video adapter to drive a pixel-matrix screen. Once you add those two and everything that comes with it, you're probably looking at MSRP closer to $1000 than to $200 already anyway.

 

[stuartv]

My guess is, it isn't worth it. Compared to a simple segment LCD, you need a much bigger battery to drive the OLED/backlit TFT LCD, and you need a much smarter video adapter to drive a pixel-matrix screen. Once you add those two and everything that comes with it, you're probably looking at MSRP closer to $1000 than to $200 already anyway.

The Cosmiq is doing it for $299....

 

[KenGordon]

The Eon isn't a technical diving computer and it is way overpriced and it is of lessor features than the Perdix or Ratio. I am not stating that it is a bad computer for recreational or advanced recreational purpose, but it isn't a technical diving computer. No reason for anyone to spend money on the Eon when the Perdix AI or Ratio are available today.

What is technical diving?

This is a computer that lets you use multiple gases, trimix and a rebreather. Just like a Perdix. It has planning software that comes for free. You can try out the plans before you buy it. In much of the world it is much less expensive than a Perdix.

I doubt you have dived one, or tried comparing the plans with that of Multideco. FYI a 60m 20 minute CCR (with the gases I happen to have) plan on p0 (the middle of 5 conservatism settings) comes out at one minute longer that a multideco 45/85 plan. Open circuit it is between the same and 18 minutes different depending on the conservatism

What do you want from a technical dive computer that it does not do? I cannot check the code of a Perdix to see if how it calculates the ascent agrees with how multideco does it. GF was designed for planners not computers so Shearwater can basically do what they like and call it GF - how can you tell? And what does it matter if the resulting profile is the pretty much the same anyway?

 

[dmaziuk]

The Cosmiq is doing it for $299....

I'm not 100% sure but I believe that display is still a segment LCD, it's just black-turns-transparent as opposed to traditional transparent-turns-black kind. With a permanently-on backlight. So it's not as bad in terms of video hardware, but you still burn the battery way faster than the old kind: with those you basically put a mirror under it and hope it reflects enough light to see what's on display.

Edit: and you can add colour by changing the backlight. Shiny!

 

[BoltSnap]

What is technical diving?

This is a computer that lets you use multiple gases, trimix and a rebreather. Just like a Perdix. It has planning software that comes for free. You can try out the plans before you buy it. In much of the world it is much less expensive than a Perdix.

I doubt you have dived one, or tried comparing the plans with that of Multideco. FYI a 60m 20 minute CCR (with the gases I happen to have) plan on p0 (the middle of 5 conservatism settings) comes out at one minute longer that a multideco 45/85 plan. Open circuit it is between the same and 18 minutes different depending on the conservatism

What do you want from a technical dive computer that it does not do? I cannot check the code of a Perdix to see if how it calculates the ascent agrees with how multideco does it. GF was designed for planners not computers so Shearwater can basically do what they like and call it GF - how can you tell? And what does it matter if the resulting profile is the pretty much the same anyway?

This matter has been covered to death on SB, do a search and read up. I am sure that all technical divers who use the Eon as their primary technical dive computers would agree with you, all five of them.


FYI, the Shearwater DC's have been the standard computer for technical diving for several years and it is by the far the most popular technical dive computer than any other computer out there for several reason and not just features. There are most certainly other dive computers out there meant for the technical diver but none as popular, test and proven as the Shearwater computers and still a very reasonably priced computer that meet the needs of the most advanced technical diver to the entry level diver and everything in between. Read up on the subject here on SB.

IMO, the only other computer that comes close (or may surpass it), is the offering from Ratio-Computers.