Air integrated or no?

[Joneill]

There was no inaccurate SPG reading in your account, which had fueled my earlier response; and a broken gauge simply requires a replacement (I carry several); and that spool issue required little more than an adjustable wrench; some grease; and a piece which costs less than 2.00 in a save-a-dive kit; that and less than five minutes.

Over the years, I have had various electronic equipment failures (the earlier computers really sucked); but none that have ever required aborted dives, since I carried analogue back-up.

Your faultless record with transmitters just recalls an old saying among motorcyclists: there are those who have been down and those who will go down . . .

Actually, I found my SPG’s to always read higher than my transmitters (~75-100 psi higher), especially as the PSI readings get lower on the scale - I trust my transmitters to be more accurate across the range (they read within 5-10 psi of each other).

I also fully expect that I could have a transmitter failure at some point which is why I have the redundancy - my point was to convey my experience as you seemed to suggest electronics were more prone to issues (also based on you experience) while my experience has been just the opposite - my electronics have been less problematic!

 

[lexvil]

People who don’t trust wireless heading out to dive

and sometimes they head out for more exotic locations

 

[Bigbella]

Actually, I found my SPG’s to always read higher than my transmitters (~75-100 psi higher), especially as the PSI readings get lower on the scale - I trust my transmitters to be more accurate across the range (they read within 5-10 psi of each other).

Just sounds like crap SPGs to me -- all of mine jibe with my electronics; so too, do my analogue depth gauges.

You often get what you pay for . . .

 

[Cesar C. Elejalde]

I doubt this. Plus an SPG can fail in a way that could lead a diver to believe they have more gas than they actually do. A WAIG failure simply stops transmitting data. A sure sign you no longer have gas monitoring.

Advantage is one less hose, more accurate gas reading and data logging.

Old SPG sits in the spare gear box on the boat.

I use AI for all my diving, Rec & Tec, the technology has just become very robust and reliable, especially with Shearwater. Some folks ask me why not carry an SPG as backup, and like you, I just see an additional point of failure, another hose, another piece of gear that can get tangled. If my AI failed during a dive, I would just end the dive at that point.

 

[NothingClever]

@bradlw - folks here are making respectable, credible arguments for AI. I won’t make arguments against AI but rather just share that I haven’t felt the need to make the transition. It’s not really a matter of money or aptitude, just that I’m an analog man in a digital world. I don’t mind doing SAC math and it makes me feel like I’m maintaining proficiency.

Don’t forget to have fun with the decision process.

 

[CuzzA]

In what will soon be forty-six years of diving, over thousands of dives, I have yet to have an issue with an SPG sporting inaccurate information -- or any that would not jibe with my electronics; nor have I heard any such accounts from fellow divers who still swear by them.

The very worst that I could mention, had been the occasional HP hose blowout while being pressurized -- dramatic at 300 bar.

However, I have seen myriad electronic and, especially, transmitter failures over the years, whether in the water; odd interferences between them; or just serial refusals to even communicate with a computer. There's an all-too concrete reason why SPGs are still on the market.

Just the prospect of fewer hoses doesn't strike me as a great sales pitch; and I can recall more than a few divers on remote live-aboards who wound up hitting cocktail hour early, since their pricey, exclusively-electronic diving gear was as dead as disco . . .

You likely haven't spoke to a lot of divers. Do a search here on this website and you'll read the accounts of stuck spgs.

Perhaps your vacation diver friends just don't take good care of the gear. Not smart for expensive dive trips.

 

[Bigbella]

You likely haven't spoke to a lot of divers. Do a search here on this website and you'll read the accounts of stuck spgs.

Perhaps your vacation diver friends just don't take good care of the gear. Not smart for expensive dive trips.

Again, crap gear. You get what you pay for -- aside from a blown hose and a leaking spool, I have yet to have anything like an inaccurate or "frozen SPG" . . .

 

[CuzzA]

Again, crap gear. You get what you pay for -- aside from a blown hose and a leaking spool, I have yet to have anything like an inaccurate or "frozen SPG" . . .

You probably should never use WAI.

 

[Whitrzac]

In my ~400 dive history, I've had at least 4 spgs give the drastically wrong information. 2 that never returned to 0 and read 3-700psi high, one that the faceplate unscrewed and rotated, and one that just pegged to full anytime it was turned on. These were all 1.5 or 2in gauges, I don't count issues with button gauges.

Anyone claiming they've never had an SPG fail is full of BS and not to be trusted.

 

[mcohen1021]

Yes. Just yes. I feel like I was one of the holdouts and now I've had it for 2 years, I love it. I do have a mini spg as my backup anyways.