Another Tables vs. Computers Thread

[H2Andy]

bottom line is that deco is at bottom, a swag, from what i understand

you can get in the ballpark, but that's all there is, a ballpark. there's a lot
of room in that ballpark for differences.

this reminds me when i used to fly with Emory University trained pilots.
they wanted to calculate fuel consumption to the minute, with exact
headings, TODs, TOAs, and ETAs down to the minute.

i'm like, guys, the guy in Orlando sends you the wrong way around, and your
plan is toast. figure it out on the averages. that's going to be a lot closer
to the truth anyway.

 

[Scubakevdm]

A dive computer also gives you incredible flexibility on a recreational dive. You're not confined to this depth for this time... it makes the plan based on where you go, instead of where you go being dictated by the plan. This is especially handy for me when I'm trying to take pictures of animals that didn't participate in, or downright just don't care about the planning phase.

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

20.44 posts per day average over 2 1/2 years. That's incredible!

 

[H2Andy]

i type real fast

 

[Charlie99]

i type real fast

and succinctly.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

A dive computer also gives you incredible flexibility on a recreational dive. You're not confined to this depth for this time... it makes the plan based on where you go, instead of where you go being dictated by the plan. This is especially handy for me when I'm trying to take pictures of animals that didn't participate in, or downright just don't care about the planning phase.

That's because you don't understand how <gulp> "we" do it. This ain't rocket science, you just happened to have never had the opportunity to have someone show you how to do it for whatever reason.

I can't help that, but it is done all the time with all the flexibilty you desire. I am never confined to this depth for this time unless reserves dictate, something that is easily figured as well.

 

[Scubakevdm]

That's because you don't understand how <gulp> "we" do it. This ain't rocket science, you just happened to have never had the opportunity to have someone show you how to do it for whatever reason.

I can't help that, but it is done all the time with all the flexibilty you desire.

Au contraire... well I don't know how "you" dive but I can run snapshots. The problem is I get focused enough on taking pictures that I can't do snaphots while I'm taking snapshots, and on top of that I just don't like math as much as I like fish. I am obviously a considerably less gifted diver than "you", but I'm hopeful. I'll just keep at it I guess. Thanks for the nugget of wisdom.

 

[The Chairman]

You n' me brutha! I guess they just can't see how this looks.

I am obviously a considerably less gifted diver than "you", but I'm hopeful. I'll just keep at it I guess. Thanks for the nugget of wisdom.

 

[JeffG]

You n' me brutha! I guess they just can't see how this looks.

or maybe..your defensive.

 

[TSandM]

You can do a lot. We can all do a lot. We may choose not to.

If you dive with a camera and all your mental energy goes to finding your subjects and composing and capturing your shots, you probably need a computer. You've abdicated responsibility for that part of the thinking. That's fine -- it's a choice you make. You carry an expensive machine whose job is to keep track of where you've been and for how long, and tell you when you are pushing your limits. The machines ARE expensive in part because they're marketed to do precisely that.

I need a computer, because I'm not good enough yet to check my data at regular intervals and remember it. But I'm trying to acquire that skill. Furthermore, I've done a ton of studying so that I know what my computer is doing, and how it's doing it, and what MY computer is doing that might be different from YOURS . . .

OE2X posted a thread a couple of months ago about being able to dive and take pictures and maintain close buddy awareness. A lot of people didn't think it was possible. I think it is, and I think you can take pictures and maintain excellent awareness of your dive profile. You may need to sacrifice some of the attention to the pictures. If you are a professional photographer, you may not be able to do that at all, and then you depend on something other than your own continuous processing to monitor your dive. You're diving on autopilot. 90+ percent of the time, that's probably fine. A lot of people drive automatics, and some of them couldn't drive a stick if they had to. But you don't have to. On the other hand, you sacrifice some of the flexibility and performance you have with a stick shift.

Tables . . . computers . . . if you don't know where the numbers come from, they're much the same. If you use both, or at least study both, you can have some distant early warning when the computer has gone south. Otherwise, you are putting your safety in the hands of an electronic gadget. Given the number of times my computer has eaten my scubaboard posts, I'm ambivalent about allowing one of its species to regulate my diving . . .