Actually, the device records
pressure...
not depth. Depth is calculated in the Win/Palm/Mac/Linux software after data download based on the known or assumed value of the absolute pressure at the sea surface and the water type (salt/fresh). Check out the developer's manual available on the
Reefnet site.
OK, thanks for the info. The Reefnet product page (your link in a prior post) talks repeatedly about depth, but I can believe it actually records pressure and lets the external software do the conversion. Thanks for the correction.
I'm not sure why an AI version of the Sensus would be that compelling. I guess it would be a way of getting a more accurate, highly resolved (time-wise) SAC/RMV rate after the dive and analyzing how changing conditions during a dive caused the SAC to go up or down.
... so, frankly, I don't even see a point to having an AI version of the Sensus.
Yup, that's it. The idea of looking at SAC rates to monitor mental and physical state while diving, and as a base for gas planning, seems well accepted. But what we have is incredibly coarse, average depth and delta-P for the whole dive. Does SAC vary with depth? Activity? (That long swim at the end where we initially surfaced at the wrong boat). Or just as the dive progresses? Might we learn something more about our diving if we had what amounts to a SAC profile available?
If you look at say, the Cobra, all it needs to give you that is a little more flash memory and (maybe) a slightly faster CPU. It's almost bizarre how little memory capacity it actually has for something still on the market. Having been in the business, they probably can't buy such small flash memories these days; I'd guess they either did a last-time-buy, or use larger chips and just don't use 3/4 of them for external feature compatibility - and to avoid cannibalizing Cobra-2 sales.
OK, the Cobra is what it is, and I want an AI for the real-time air-time-remaining feature that you succinctly described. But if I had a Sensus-AI (tm) available to get an after-the-fact SAC profile, I might buy it. Especially if it was native-mac with open s/w development tools, like the Ultra. Heck, I might never even bother uploading my PDC, and then I might have an Oceanic Pro-Plus 2 with the bigger display instead of a Cobra, since mac software access was a decider in that decision.
I'd rather have it all in my PDC, and I think it ought to be, but it isn't.
Thanks for the discussion. Wish I
was diving this weekend. Enjoy yours.