Can you help me learn about: gas management and basic deco therory?

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I am a new OW diver with about 50 dives so far. I want to expand my tiny bit on knowledge.

What books or resources would you be willing to point me toward to help me better understand gas managment and introductory deco theory. I am not planning any deco dives anytime soon, but want to better understand it both to avoid deco for now and then to prepare for it as my skills and gas management become better.

 

[Wildcard]

Of course you need to do AOW first. The deep dive will teach you some. The next step is Rescue but if you just want a some basic stuff, and Im gonna get flamed for this but oh well, get teh PADI Divemaster book and give it a read. That should be a good start for you.

 

[ianr33]

Download the trial version of V-Planner at http://www.hhssoftware.com/v-planner/index.html

Info on the VPM model
http://www.decompression.org/maiken/VPM/VPM_Program_Site_Map.htm

This is probably a lot more than you need for now but makes good reading for enquiring minds.
Compare some V-Planner profiles to those from your computer.The results can be interesting.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Read the 'battle filed calculations' and some of the other docs on this site. Good basic info.

http://www.5thd-x.com/xducation/pdf.html

 

[Christi]

Of course you need to do AOW first. The deep dive will teach you some. The next step is Rescue but if you just want a some basic stuff, and Im gonna get flamed for this but oh well, get teh PADI Divemaster book and give it a read. That should be a good start for you.

And I'll add to Wildcards suggestion...the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving has pretty thorough explanations on deco theory (as well as physics, physiology, etc.). This is required text for PADI DM Candidates.

If you can get your hands on an IANTD Deep Diver Manual, and/or Advanced Nitrox, there's also some good information there.

You asked for intro level resources and that is what these are and should get you started.

Good on you for seeking more knowledge

 

[TSandM]

For gas management, PM NWGratefulDiver for his gas management lecture handout. Also read lamont's paper on Rock Bottom which he links to in his signature line. If that's not enough, go to www.5thD-x.com, click on "learning center", and then on "battle cal" and it will pull up links to several PDFs, among them "Battlefield Calculations", which is a whole set of arithmetical shortcuts for doing gas planning calculations in your head.

For a gestalt look at decompression theory, read Doppler's article on the shape of the decompression curve. (You will have to register as a Deco Stop member to access it, if you haven't done that already.)

Lippmann & Mitchell's Deeper Diving is a very good read for a start on decompression theory. Once you've got through that, print out Erik Baker's Understanding M Values.

If you get through all that and are still hungry, PM me. I've got a notebook about three inches thick now of materials on decompression

 

[TheHobster]

And I'll add to Wildcards suggestion...the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving has pretty thorough explanations on deco theory (as well as physics, physiology, etc.). This is required text for PADI DM Candidates.

I agree with TS & M on the articles, also be patient, read some books as they come available, and if you follow Christi's advice and get the Encyclopedia I would recommend the CD version as it has a number of videos etc that explain things pretty well as well - I especially like the video where they show extruding aluminum tanks - another good reource is the Decompresion Procedures texts from the Tech agencies.

If you can find old copies of things like the NOAA manual or the Navy's 3 ring binder on diving procedures they would help as well - check and see if any of Karl Huggins articles are available as he did alot of research under Lee Somers I think

Dive Theory has been updated as technology has allowed us to more precisely know the mechanisms involved; especially as compared to when I learned to dive in 1973.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Thanks for the great replies so far. I feel like at this point I am floundering in the water so to speak looking for a direction to move forward not with just finning, but putting some knowledge in my head to keep the wheels up there spinning.

I will look forward to reading the info suggested above and would be grateful if anyone else can suggest some additional info or other areas that I should consider doing some reading on.

Many thanks again!!

 

[Wildcard]

If you get through all of those suggestions you can probably get a job with NASA. I don't know what your back ground is but if you havn't taken A&P, it will put you leaps and bounds ahead of most in understanding exactly what is going on with your body. The encyclopedia does a pretty good job with bare bones basics but a real A&P class is 20X that level. Good luck!

 

[H2Andy]

leah, i would consider taking the following classes:

Nitrox (if not yet done so)
Advanced Nitrox
Deco Procedures

that should introduce you to gas planning and basic deco theory

you'd probably benefit from them after doing some of the suggested reading, and that will give you a "hands on" reinforcement of the concepts