Does everyone really need an SPG? (w/transmitter)
- Thread starter hedonist222
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Not sure anyone’s said this…. No gauges are accurate. You’re buying cheap tat that’s uncalibrated and may not be linear.
Fill a tank and measure the contents with different makes of gauges and you’ll get loads of different answers.
Digital gauges are not accurate either; they fool you into thinking they are, but the are not. This is a "forever" problem with all digital devices, voltmeters, pressure gauges, etc. Just because Mr Spock says there’s 3.14159 seconds left doesn’t mean he’s right.
Fill a tank and measure the contents with different makes of gauges and you’ll get loads of different answers.
Digital gauges are not accurate either; they fool you into thinking they are, but the are not. This is a "forever" problem with all digital devices, voltmeters, pressure gauges, etc. Just because Mr Spock says there’s 3.14159 seconds left doesn’t mean he’s right.
Why anyone would bother with and spend money on a transmitter air gauge is beyond my understanding. A hose connected SPG is relatively foolproof, inexpensive, and secure. Do people get these transmitted devices because they are equipment junkies? One less hose is silly.
Belzelbub
Contributor
Yeah. Not surprised that it was a Suunto transmitter. In almost every instance I’ve heard of where a diver has complained about connectivity, it was a Suunto. In fact, the only non-Suunto case I recall recently was a Garmin. And in that case, it connected above the water, but not below when the transmitter switched to sonar. Bad design, IMO if you can’t verify the connection above the water in the same manner as below.
Well, it is one less hose. That hose takes up space, but I wouldn’t say that was the primary reason. The main benefit is having all the information I need during a dive in one place where I know where it is at any time. Even if I can’t see my hands, I know where they are.
I switched to wireless AI back in 2013. Up until this year, I dove with a wireless AI setup exclusively. This year, I started to dive at an aquarium as a volunteer. At the aquarium, I need to use their gear. They have almost the same setup I use, but their regs have an SPG instead of my transmitter. It’s not a problem, but it certainly is more convenient to simply look at my computer versus feeling for the SPG. I tuck the SPG under my shoulder strap, so it doesn’t go far, but it’s also not quite as effortless as raising my wrist.
Not only that, but AI can also give you more detailed information about gas consumption at every moment during a dive, assuming that you download from the DC. On most of my dives, gas consumption is greater at the beginning of the dive, which makes sense as I add a few bursts to my BC at the bottom. On a few dives, I can also see a few other points with higher consumption. Probably when I was hunting a fish, so not unexpected, but if not hunting, that may be something to look at.
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