Air integrated transmitter

[USVet96]

Yes that helps - thanks. Just to be clear though, are you saying the transmitter has the alarm or the computer has the ability to set alarms. I do like your idea for the "turn around alarm" and "mimimum psi alarm" I didn't know that you had the ability to set these parameters. Do all computers or transmitters have this function? I'm actually looking at getting the Mares Icon HD computer.

The alarms are adjustable and can be set on the computer, not the transmitter. They are a HUGE plus to me. I really like those benefits and features. Not ALL computers offer those features so do yourself a favor and do some research. Make a list of the features you WANT the computer to have and then make a list of computers that HAVE all the features you want. Then you can narrow it down that way.

And check with each company as they vary in their software and what their specific computers can and cannot do.

If you have any specific questions you can PM me. I don't want to violate any forum rules by endorsing or talking negative about any specific brand.

 

[vladimir]

Vladimir - how do you like your D9? Not too co servative?

No, it's never been an issue. I set it to it's most liberal setting and it is generally within a few minutes of my backup Uwatec Smartcom. I don't dive that close to the edge of my NDLs for it to matter. I usually do 3 to 4 dives a day, progressively shallower, and they are generally multi-level dives that allow a very gradual ascent. The one time it was an issue was in Cocos Island, where most dives were deeper than 30 meters, profiles were squarish, and I was very reluctant to skip a dive. After a few days I did skip a couple of dives at the Suunto's urging. Two of my fellow passengers had DCS symptoms later in the week. Evacuation is problematic from Cocos, so they breathed some O2, skipped the rest of the dives, and seemed to be okay.

 

[USVet96]

Vladimir - the reason I asked is because compared to my Oceanic which uses DSAT, the last time I used it on a 2 dive day, the 1st dive it was fine (42' for 40 minutes) but on the 2nd dive (35') the Suunto had me in DECO at 44 minutes and the Oceanic was not even close. That's why I was wondering.

Thanks

 

[jar546]

Love my transmitters for my wrist mounted computers. Great information when uploading your dives to the computer. Nice to have it in a convenient place to look at.

Still have an SPG that I occasionally check.

 

[vladimir]

Vladimir - the reason I asked is because compared to my Oceanic which uses DSAT, the last time I used it on a 2 dive day, the 1st dive it was fine (42' for 40 minutes) but on the 2nd dive (35') the Suunto had me in DECO at 44 minutes and the Oceanic was not even close. That's why I was wondering.

Thanks

Oceanics are reputed to be among the most liberal computers, so that might explain it. I set my "personal setting" to the most liberal value, P0, which is the default. I set RGBM to 50%, which is more liberal. If you have a continuous fast ascent for more than 5 seconds it will give you a ceiling.

 

[charlesml3]

A lot of the arguments here for carrying an additional SPG in addition to the AI computer all seem to center around whether or not one trusts the AI computer to display the proper tank pressure. I really don't get that at all. I saw one response about the battery being dead. That's easily remedied by proper equipment maintenance. Pick a date like your birthday or Memorial Day and change both the computer and transmitter battery on that day regardless of the meter on the display. Any modern dive computer can go a year on a battery even if it's used a lot.

The second fear I see here is that for some other reason the computer might not show an accurate pressure so you should check the SPG also. I really don't get this one. If you don't trust the computer to show you the proper tank pressure then why would you trust it to compute your NDL?

If you don't trust the computer to do either then why even have one? Just go back to the bad-old-days of Scuba and dive your SPG and tables. And when I'm doing my 5th dive of the day on my VT3 you can sit on the boat because you're out of bottom time...

Point is, either you trust the gear or you don't.

-Charles

 

[CuracaoJ]

A lot of the arguments here for carrying an additional SPG in addition to the AI computer all seem to center around whether or not one trusts the AI computer to display the proper tank pressure. I really don't get that at all. I saw one response about the battery being dead. That's easily remedied by proper equipment maintenance. Pick a date like your birthday or Memorial Day and change both the computer and transmitter battery on that day regardless of the meter on the display. Any modern dive computer can go a year on a battery even if it's used a lot.

Charles,

I completely agree with your point about trusting your computer. However, the battery thing is a real issue, at least for my Suunto D9s. I used to change my batteries once a year, until they started running out. Always either on a dive, or when at the dive site gearing up, with a LOB (low battery warning) that lasted all of 4 seconds. Now I change batteries twice a year, and I'm not convinced that will do the job. I log between 150-300 dives a year so they definitely have a shorter life span than most would think. I always dive with an SPG/tables backup just in case, although I never use it or even look at it unless my batteries puke.

Jeff

 

[ianr33]

You know if the AI isn't working--it has an alert for a lapsed signal. No alert--no worries.

Unless the alert itself has failed.

I'm just sayin.

 

[charlesml3]

Always either on a dive, or when at the dive site gearing up, with a LOB (low battery warning) that lasted all of 4 seconds.

This is a poor design on Sunnto's part then. My Oceanic will complete the dive with a low-battery warning. Oceanic set's the threshold for the low battery warning with plenty of reserve to finish the dive. I'd think any dive computer should do that.

Anyway, do what's necessary to keep your gear up to the task. If that means changing the battery two or three times a year then just do it. Cheap insurance, that.

I still think all this worry about dive computers failing for whatever reason is completely overblown. I've been diving since 1982 and in that time I've seen ONE dive computer die and that was because the owner replaced the batter and forgot the o-ring.

Also in that time I've seen two SPG's fail. One just didn't move at all and the other went up, and back down during the dive and stuck at 500psi...

-Charles

 

[vladimir]

Unless the alert itself has failed.

I'm just sayin.

Well, you can use the fact that there is no pressure reading as an indication also. I am not sure if a failure that continues to display a pressure is possible, but a pressure that does not change would also be a good indication that you are not receiving tank data, or, perhaps, that you are dead. Even without the alert, you are no more at risk than with an SPG--after all, an SPG doesn't alert you to malfunction or lack of gas either--you have to look at it.