Alladin Tec 2G

[AndyNZ]

Does anyone use an Alladin Tec 2G? Any thoughts on how easy to use it is, and how useful the depth averaging function is?

I've been using a Suunto Vytec the last few years, as a computer iwhen teaching PADI stuff and in gauge mode otherwise. The depth sensor has given up the ghost, it's out of warranty and whilst it might get refurbished by Suunto I'm looking at other options.

I've never found UWATEC computers overly intuitive or user-friendly (probably because I never read the manual), so just curious as to what other people think of them.

Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

I had an Aladin. I liked the display and the stopwatch. I never got the resettable depth averaging to work. The menus are not intuitive at all (or at least I didn't find them to be) and I could never remember which button to push and for how long to get the depth averaging to reset. Some people reported problems with the buttons flooding, but I never had any difficulties with mine. I just don't use it any more.

 

[Sloth]

Its great. Has seconds display which is nice for deco and the resettable average depth is a nice feature when I remember to use it

I went to it after having two vytecs display 10 feet deeper then it really was. Last one that went out on me happened on a deco dive. Not cool.

 

[AndyNZ]

I went to it after having two vytecs display 10 feet deeper then it really was. Last one that went out on me happened on a deco dive. Not cool.

That's pretty much what happened to mine - last time I used it, it kept reading 6m all whilst walking back to the car, and in the car all the way home....


Your brain must work like mine, Lynne.... I've never found the Uwatec's intuitive. I was hoping that maybe the newer models had been improved. Maybe not.

 

[SeaHound1]

I got one on the advise of my deco procedure instructor. His reason for recommending it is because it has a resettable timer which works under water. This can be used for timing deco stops. I since got a used Suunto D3 for a stop timer and its easier to use and has bigger numbers.

I used the Tec 2G for a while in two gas mode, and this worked OK when I remembered which button to press for the gas switch, and that it requires a long press. Some functions require a short press and others a long press. After the switch it indicates which gas is active for only a few seconds, but from then on you have no confirmation about which gas it thinks you have. On more then one occasion while trying to confirm I had made the switch on the unit I accidently un-switched.

Now that I am using more than two gas mixes the "2G" feature is no use to me. I do like the software that was included. And the downloading to PC works like a charm using a IR dongle. The software is way better then the oceanic dive log software I got with my Datamax Pro.

What I hate most about the Tec 2G is the icons and numbers on the screen are way too small to be useful under water and there is too much info on the small screen. I have a real hard time seeing it under water.

I've had to review the user manual for the Tec 2G more then any other computer I've ever used. It not intuitive and the script and icons are too small to be useful.

I'm keeping it as backup stop timer but I'm shopping for something better.

MPM

 

[Sloth]

Hey, Seahound. Those in the DIR forum tend to not worry about gas functions on a dive computer since we only use it in gauge mode.

For us seconds display and resettable average as a back up to our brains average tracking is the nice part about it.

But yeah the button pushing sequence on the tec 2G is pretty madding.

 

[AndyNZ]

Looks like I'll stick with a Suunto.... the resetable timer is the only function that I really use when in gauge mode, but it sounds like the interface has not improved at all..... and I don't think the resetable average depth feature is worth the frustration of dealing with a Uwatec.

And as luck would have it, our Suunto distributor has just announced an Easter special on Vypers and Vyper 2s, making this a bit mroe affordable.

 

[DocWong]

I have the Tech 2G, Suunto Singer and D-9. for DIR use, the multi-gas functionality, etc was way overkill and all 3 work great as a bottom timer with the resettable timer for keeping track of your deco stops. What the Tech 2G has that the others don't is the resettable bottom time average. This can be useful for the ascending part of a multi-level dive to figure out deco on the fly.

I like the computerized dive log of the Tech 2G over the Suunto programs. The 2G is what I prefer to use in the cooler waters of California.

 

[Blackwood]

I have no difficulty using the T2G. That said, I only read the two pages of the manual discussing gauge mode, and it's never been used as anything else.

I sometimes forget which button resets the average depth, but it's pretty easy to figure out (oops, it wasn't that one, so it's this one).

For the dives I'm doing now, I get to depth pretty quickly. While resetting the average (as I fall past the deepest bottle) makes the mental math slightly easier, it doesn't add a whole heck of a lot of conservatism to my deco computations, so I rarely do it.

The stopwatch is nice, though.

 

[RTodd]

My Vytec depth sensor died too and I replaced it with a Tec mostly due to the price difference even at wholesale. I am now on my third replacement, which is a 2G. Needless to say, in my experience the Uwatecs are even lest robust than the Suuntos. As others have said I like the features but usually have to ask someone that uses it regularly which buttons to push to reset the timer vs the avg depth. I am usually doing both at the same time so it isn't that much of an issue to figure out in the water as well. Overall, I like the Tec because of the reset features better than my Uwatec bottom timer that is over a decade old. But, I never go anywhere without the more reliable bottom timer in my bag. I thought Uwatec was going to make an updated bottom timer with some of the Tec features. Does anyone know if this happened?