Azza:
To be perfectly blunt, there is no excuse for bending a computer.
I dive a Suunto Vyper and while I mainly use it in gauge mode these days, I have done in excess of 250 dives on the computer in computer mode, including multiple dives over periods of weeks.
I have never bent the computer, ever!
If you do deep stops (I do) then simply accept the fact that if you want to dive with a computer instead of planning the dive yourself, you will have to ride out the deco obligation the computer subjects you too. Yes it is a PITA to do more deco than you have to but at the end of the day it doesnt hurt to hang around 6-3 metres for an extra 15 minutes or so.
A good way to make this easier is to plan the dive as a multilevel dive. Plan to spend 20 minutes at 5 metres checking out the growth on walls, or a shallow coral garden.
This should not bend the VR3 as you will be shallow enough to not be incurring anymore gas loading penalties. Do the deep stops the VR3 subjects you too, then do the shallow deco both computers subject you too...
Dude,
It is funny that you should mention that because that is what I do. However, for reasons that I would be more than happy to discuss in a technical forum, there is an issue with another 10 to 15 minutes at 15 ft. It has to do with the gas that I deco on and is beyond the scope of this thread.
I was using this as an example. As another poster stated, the original question was submitted by someone not interested in putting their computer into decompression, so the deep stops don't enter into play in the case of this gentleman.
The second example that I used was more to the point. That was no-deco diving, but it was amazing how the Suunto was NOT the most conservative computer on similar profiles to my buddies in all circumstances.
Have I bent a computer? Yep, I did it by not putting in the nitrox mix that I was diving (on my back-up) and it stayed with air. But, that was when I planned the dives on tables and slates and really didn't care about any aspect of what my Mosquito was telling me except time and depth. I was ascending on a run-time table and as long as I stayed with-in my schedule on the slate, that was fine. It is also funny how my VyTec tends to agree with my Voyager generated RT tables or my IANTD tables. I never even referred to it until I got on the surface as my VyTec didn't malfunction so I was never forced to refer to the back-up.
As to comparing the two that I use now... well let's just say that with the mixes that I am most frequently using, typically the VyTec is in Gauge mode. Guaranteed that I won't bend it that way. But again, those mixes are beyond the scope of the post. Most of the people that I dive with anymore are using two VR3's. That takes care of the different algorithm issues. If I am diving nitrox mixes, I tend to stay out of deco. So again, the difference in algorithms really doesn't matter as the one poster who corrected me pointed out. Yes, if I am diving nitrox in deco with both computers, I clear both of them and grin and bear it at 15 ft. while I wait for the deco to clear. But, that is a topic more suited for the tech forum than here.
But, bottom line is that I prefer to dive two computers to cover the eventuality that one will fail. That has happened more than once and would royally bite on a long Caribbean type trip.
