Banned from diving for a locked out backup computer?

[Charlie99]

Hello, I am fairly new to the board and to diving and just ran across this concept I wanted to run by you.

With less than 15 dives you are sweating the backup computer thing waaaay too much.

Unless you are on doubles or huge tanks, it will be a while before your air consumption will let you stay down long enough for the differences between the computers to become important.

Initially, you will probably even still be within square profile table limits. Next, you will find that, when doing multilevel dives, that you are past the limits of any square profie table, but well within the limits of the most conservative computers.

Only sometime after that will you be doing dives long enough to hit NDL at depths less than 70'.

My advice is to just stay with whatever you have, and dive for a while. Your needs, if any, for a backup computer will be a lot more clear after another 30 or 40 dives. By that time, you may also have found some buddies that you dive with regularly. Having the same computer as your most frequent buddy has some merit, independent of algorithm, conservatism, etc.

 

[rockjock3]

Then do as others have suggested. Toss the Suunto in a bag and dive the backup. I've never had an op ask to see my computer or even see my dive paln. Even running hard at 5 dives a day on a recent live-a-board they never asked. But, I also record my basic info after each dive so if I ever have to revert to tables I have the what's needed. It also helps me keep up with where I am and what I have left so to speak.

Have a great time diving and just remember the body still goes along for the ride. Keep it comefy...

Here, here. That is what notbody seems to be paying attention to. The simple, easy basics.

Keep track of your dives with your tables/wheel and log. Your computer is always the backup to those. Why is the computer a backup? It's because even as a newbie I know that computers fail. If you want to dive right and safe then your computer is the backup to the tables.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Of course, you can dive safely using a computer and if you want to use a second one as a backup to failure...dead battery, flood, etc...then go for it. Obviously, you'll want to use the most conservative as the primary. But, your backup cannot be used in the case of a lockout.

I don't see any sense in using a computer as a backup to tables. If you are going to use tables...use tables.

Likewise, there are many profiles where tables can not be used as a backup for a computer.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

hear my two cents I have gone into deco many time with my suunto cobra while my buddies oceanic didnt , I dive my plan and take into account mine will go into deco and we plan for same . two computers hum nope I use my charts, bottom timer and watch , you need more experence before you start going into this situation.

 

[Charlie99]

I am also a newbie, .....
A computer is a backup to your dive tables, not the other way around. If your are keeping track of your dive profiles then it won't matter if your computer fails as you will know where you sit with your PGs and RNT from your previous dives. .

Not to pick on you specifically rockjock3, but you and others (Carldarl among others) has posted statements like yours above and such as "But, I also record my basic info after each dive so if I ever have to revert to tables I have the what's needed. ".

How much data on your profile do you record?

What pressure group am I in if my dive sequence on air is 128' 47 min; 65 min SI; 86' 57min; 52 min SI; 55' 52 min. These are all no deco dives, btw.

Or even just the 2 dive sequence of 83' 65 minutes, 71min SI, 53' 64 minutes.

I do have a procedure I use, but I'm curious about what you, or others that advocate keeping track on tables also, would do.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Good point Charlie.

 

[Misplaced Priority]

It seems to me that you would want to use the same brand computer as a b/u or at least one that uses the same algorithm. Frankly, I never dive that close to the limits myself. Margin of error on top of margin of error keeps you from getting bent.

 

[The Chairman]

Great point Pasley!

Checking your dive profile AFTER the dive is a great idea. I spotted that I was only doing safety pauses, even though I KNEW that I was doing full stops. It can also be used to track air consumption as well as other factors.

 

[mason]

Charlie99,

That is my concern exactly. I don't have a computer, and recently went on a boat dive. I knew how long I could stay at 130' for the 1st dive, but my buddy and everyone on the boat had computers. We did multilevel for that one, and for the second and third dives that day, 100' max and 80' max, respectively. I didn't want to be an idiot and ask them what my pressure groups were, 'cause according to my chart, I was off the map, but 4 different brands of computers weren't whining, so I knew I was O.K. Crap, I don't even know if computers give you pressure groups.

I figured I would just calculate the approximate time at each level, and keep adding the RNT minutes to each new level for each dive, and that's all I could do. I have no clue how accurate that is compared to the wheel or to a computer, but until I decide on which one to get, that's all I could do.

 

[Charlie99]

I don't have a computer, and recently went on a boat dive. I knew how long I could stay at 130' for the 1st dive, but my buddy and everyone on the boat had computers. We did multilevel for that one, and for the second and third dives that day, 100' max and 80' max, respectively. I didn't want to be an idiot and ask them what my pressure groups were, 'cause according to my chart, I was off the map, but 4 different brands of computers weren't whining, so I knew I was O.K.

This is a classic case of a "trust me" dive. Very bad idea. You WERE an idiot, not for asking questions, but for NOT asking the question and getting it resolved before you got into the water. That may sound harsh, but you really are responsible for your own planning. Blindly following along, relying upon someone else's computer is a Very Bad Idea.

Get a computer. Get a wheel and do a multilevel plan. Dive a more limited profile that you have planned on a table. Sit out the dive. Any of those are acceptable options. Doing the dive because someone else says it's OK isn't an acceptable option.