Buying my first Dive Computer need a little help

[Diving Dubai]

That's a sweeping generalization. Some of us are geeks that like to understand how things work in mind-numbingly boring detail.

I did say the vast majority... And we love you geeks, because you can explain things to the rest of us when we're to lazy to study ourselves

 

[KeithG]

That's a sweeping generalization. Some of us are geeks that like to understand how things work in mind-numbingly boring detail.

"vast majority" tends to exclude the geek minority...

 

[scubadada]

I would be interested in learning just how different they are. My impression was that as long as you did not do deco dives (and did at least 60 minute SI for Suuntos) that most (many?, all?) dive computers produce very similar NDLs.

Does anyone have stats?

It's so frustrating dealing with folks who do not pay attention, or, have selective attention. Please see my post #26. These hyperbaric chamber simulated dives all have SIs of an hour or more. In reality, SIs are often a bit less than an hour. As you will see, the spread in NDLs is quite great, especially with repetitive dives. The 2016 ScubaLab tests will be posted soon, or so I am told. I would imagine they will be similar.

Divers are very attached to their computer brands, it's often difficult to communicate new information. I actually do not care what you are diving, I think new divers should be aware of what's out there.

 

[KeithG]

It's so frustrating dealing with folks who do not pay attention, or, have selective attention. Please see my post #26. These hyperbaric chamber simulated dives all have SIs of an hour or more. In reality, SIs are often a bit less than an hour. As you will see, the spread in NDLs is quite great, especially with repetitive dives. The 2016 ScubaLab tests will be posted soon, or so I am told. I would imagine they will be similar.

Divers are very attached to their computer brands, it's often difficult to communicate new information. I actually do not care what you are diving, I think new divers should be aware of what's out there.

Sorry, i tend to not follow onsite links so i missed that. Do you have any text that explains thetest tables? I can not figure them out....

 

[Nikole]

I currently own a Puck Pro. I am no expert by any means I hit 23 dives this past weekend while getting my Advanced Open Water. I do wish I would have spent a little more on a computer though.

Pros:
-Great ease of use
-Holds 25 dives (bought the cable and syncs with MacDive great)
-Shows depth, average depth, temp and all the basics I use at my level

Cons:
-Would love a wireless air transmitter option
-Wish the display was brighter with the light
-No Compass
-Single button can be annoying sometimes (double edge sword with ease of use, overall not bad)

None of the cons have been deal breakers so far. I can admit if I could add 2 things it would be wireless air then compass. I did not realize how nice it would be to have the air reading just as a easy glance feature but always to log my air usage and see what differences I am having a s I progress as a diver.

I am. Looking for those same 2 things in a dive computer. I know the suunto d4i novo has a wireless transmission but I am not exactly sure if it comes with a digital compass. But it's watch-sized... Some people say it's harder to read. I'm also watch shopping and have been looking g at this one.

I was also looking at the Oceanic Veo 2.0 and you can program 2 gases with it.. For example of you do a deep dive and you don't have enough air for your safety stop you can use the pony bottle hanging down from the surface and make that your second tank... That's a little too advance for me to as I'm still open water.

 

[scubadada]

Sorry, i tend to not follow onsite links so i missed that. Do you have any text that explains thetest tables? I can not figure them out....

Sorry giffenk, do you do any of your own research or only rely on others to feed you?
The Best Scuba Diving Computers Reviewed by ScubaLab

Objective Test Protocol

To gauge the performance of the computers’ algorithms, they were subjected together to a series of four dive simulations in the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.

Meant to simulate a day of diving, the dive profiles (shown in the four charts) were:

• 100 feet/60 minutes
• A one-hour surface interval
• 70 feet/45 minutes
• A two-hour surface interval
• 80 feet/45 minutes
• A one-hour surface interval
• 60 feet/40 minutes

The computers were placed in a tank of water inside the chamber, where a video camera was used to view and record each computer’s dive-screen data (listed in the spreadsheets).

Safety and conservative factors on the computers were set to their most liberal setting for the chamber dives. (In the case of Oceanic’s dual-logarithm OCi and ProPlus 3 computers, they were set to the PZ+ and DSAT logarithms respectively to gauge the differences between the algorithms.)

Note that while some computers display No Decompression Limit (NDL) data only in minutes (99 minutes) and others display hours and minutes (1:39), data is listed in the tables here in minutes only for clarity.

Special thanks to Catalina Chamber director Karl E. Huggins and chamber operators Paul Buechner, Scott Barnes and Kim Whiteside.

 

[scubadada]

I am. Looking for those same 2 things in a dive computer. I know the suunto d4i novo has a wireless transmission but I am not exactly sure if it comes with a digital compass. But it's watch-sized... Some people say it's harder to read. I'm also watch shopping and have been looking g at this one.

I was also looking at the Oceanic Veo 2.0 and you can program 2 gases with it.. For example of you do a deep dive and you don't have enough air for your safety stop you can use the pony bottle hanging down from the surface and make that your second tank... That's a little too advance for me to as I'm still open water.

Wow!, I have to stay out of the Basic Scuba Discussions. Suffice it to say, the above is just completely wrong. Someone else with patience can fix this, thanks.

 

[stuartv]

I would be interested in learning just how different they are. My impression was that as long as you did not do deco dives (and did at least 60 minute SI for Suuntos) that most (many?, all?) dive computers produce very similar NDLs.

Does anyone have stats?

scubadada already gave you most everything. But, if you read this thread:

So you want to buy a new computer?

When you get to post #36, you will find the links that scubadada posted, plus links to the similar 2012 test. And a link to a post from an Atomic Aquatics engineer where he talks about algorithms in dive computers versus the implementations of those algorithms.

In short: Your "impression" is an apt summary of what some members around here would have you believe. I've seen that notion posted many times. Those members seem to be often ones who are diving computers that tested out as being very conservative, and who seem to feel compelled to dispute any suggestion that the computer they use is any significant amount more conservative than other computers.

Another oft-posted idea is that recreational computer algorithms don't really matter because you'll be gas-limited before you run out of NDL anyway. But, in the real world, it seems to be the case that many people get to the point of being limited by NDL (and not gas) after not that many dives (if not immediately after completing OW certification). Some because they start using tanks that are bigger than an AL80. Some because they quickly achieve a decent SAC rate.

 

[dmaziuk]

I did say the vast majority... And we love you geeks, because you can explain things to the rest of us when we're to lazy to study ourselves

OK, for some values of "vast" I resemble that remark.

I do actually believe that vast majority learned enough, accepted it, and moved on. If we knew where the average level of understanding is, we could take a couple of SDs left and right and know exactly where the 95% majority sits.

 

[dmaziuk]

TUSA IQ-950 Zen Air Integrated Air / Nitrox Hoseless Computer Watch

It's not a bad deal if you want air integration and don't mind/want watch size. Cf. DG03 that's $250 + $350 transmitter + $100 cable. Without AI it's ~$150 for the Puck, but note that you wouldn't wear either DG03 or Puck as a watch. Unless you're in a fashion contest with Flavor Flav.