sharpenu:
Or take the time the truly understand what you're doing, so you don't have to follow arbitrary stupid rules like this one
LOL
Computer madness
- Thread starter sharpenu
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Or take the time the truly understand what you're doing, so you don't have to follow arbitrary stupid rules like this one
LOL
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I change the batteries in both of my computers every year with my reg service.
I test the old ones, and keep them as spares.
I test the old ones, and keep them as spares.
OP
sharpenu
Contributor
My point is that back up tables are rarely of any use, if you are all that worried about failures, you are better off with a second one, if it is that critical. Tables are of little use. My computer frequently has me FAR, FAR off the right side of the tables. That is why I dive computers.
Secondly, I have been a member of this board far too long to be a troll. Just because one doesn't agree with your opinion does not a troll make.
Third, I have a good idea of my NDL and decompression status at all times, because I look at my comp and guages regularly, so I don't need to follow the "arbitrary, stupid rule", but it is the rule. Break it at your own risk. We all break scuba rules on a regular basis, but you do so at your own peril after (hopefully) a consideration of the risk vs. benefits.
Secondly, I have been a member of this board far too long to be a troll. Just because one doesn't agree with your opinion does not a troll make.
Third, I have a good idea of my NDL and decompression status at all times, because I look at my comp and guages regularly, so I don't need to follow the "arbitrary, stupid rule", but it is the rule. Break it at your own risk. We all break scuba rules on a regular basis, but you do so at your own peril after (hopefully) a consideration of the risk vs. benefits.
I told them you weren't a troll Ernie... though your first post in this thread did have the stale odor of troll clinging to it so it is understandable that those who don't know you would think your thread was a troll.
Bob3
Contributor
Geeze, I never have the problem, OSHA says we can't use computers.
They're supposed to be revisiting the issue again in 2005, but so far I don't think any computer mfgrs have taken the trouble to attempt any documentation to indicate that computers can be at least as safe as tables.
They're supposed to be revisiting the issue again in 2005, but so far I don't think any computer mfgrs have taken the trouble to attempt any documentation to indicate that computers can be at least as safe as tables.
lamont
Contributor
ahhhh, just what i've been waiting for since last weekend, a nice computer debate...
last weekend i was diving the cape bretton with jimmie (kalvyn). i knew something was up when after about 10 mins at 100-110 fsw my computer started to go into deco on EAN30, which was less then an NDL on air from tables. i decided that it had gone insane and pretty much started ignoring what it was telling me. we swam around the breton some more until we hit about 25 mins into the dive, with 14 mins of mandatory deco showing on my bend-o-matic. at this point i was figuring that we'd probably hit our real NDL. i'd been doing on-the-fly gas calculations and knew that i was still good for gas, even if i did all the deco. i signalled jimmie and gave him a middle finger pointed at my computer. he stared at my computer a bit before giving me puzzled look and a tentative thumb. i shrugged and gave him a thumb back, so we started back.
interesting thing about the bend-o-matics is that its showing me 14 mins of mandatory deco between 10-13 fsw, and its just fine with me shooting up to 13 fsw at 30 fpm and then hanging there. i don't think that's particularly safe. we came up considerably slower doing deeper stops, although i think i was a bit antsy to get up to the point where it would start counting down and i probably could have slowed it down more. we had an uneventful time hanging there and got out.
first words out of jimmie's mouth are that i forgot to set my gas on the computer to 30%. doh!.
so, in post-dive analysis it turns out that we'd thumbed the dive right when jimmie's suunto had gone a minute or two into deco. i consider that perfect timing on a wreck that we were trying to maximize our diving on. of course my computer was now totally screwed up. the nitrogen loading was way too high, and there's no way to fix that -- i'm sure some lawyer at suunto is concerned that people would set their previous dives to 100% O2 in order to eliminate their surface intervals and get themselves bent to snot.
the nice thing with doing an extra 14 min hang there at the end is that i felt really good when i got out of the water. i was tired (sleep) and some exhaustion (excertion), but i felt mentally sharp after the dive and felt like it was a really good deco. i expect if you dopplered me i would have been pretty clean after that dive.
next dive we did the saskatchewan and both the suuntos punished the crap out of us for repetitive diving so we both went a few mins into deco again. that time at least i had the nitrox setting correct though.
not so impressed with my computer after last weekend...
yell all you want at me about how it was operator error and i should blame myself and not the computer, but it was an innocent mistake and there was no way to correct it after the dive started -- and i sure wasn't about to call that dive just because i set my computer wrong. no way.
if they didn't try to nanny you, computers would be more useful tools -- but i guess computers are designed for the crowd that really needs an underwater nanny...
last weekend i was diving the cape bretton with jimmie (kalvyn). i knew something was up when after about 10 mins at 100-110 fsw my computer started to go into deco on EAN30, which was less then an NDL on air from tables. i decided that it had gone insane and pretty much started ignoring what it was telling me. we swam around the breton some more until we hit about 25 mins into the dive, with 14 mins of mandatory deco showing on my bend-o-matic. at this point i was figuring that we'd probably hit our real NDL. i'd been doing on-the-fly gas calculations and knew that i was still good for gas, even if i did all the deco. i signalled jimmie and gave him a middle finger pointed at my computer. he stared at my computer a bit before giving me puzzled look and a tentative thumb. i shrugged and gave him a thumb back, so we started back.
interesting thing about the bend-o-matics is that its showing me 14 mins of mandatory deco between 10-13 fsw, and its just fine with me shooting up to 13 fsw at 30 fpm and then hanging there. i don't think that's particularly safe. we came up considerably slower doing deeper stops, although i think i was a bit antsy to get up to the point where it would start counting down and i probably could have slowed it down more. we had an uneventful time hanging there and got out.
first words out of jimmie's mouth are that i forgot to set my gas on the computer to 30%. doh!.
so, in post-dive analysis it turns out that we'd thumbed the dive right when jimmie's suunto had gone a minute or two into deco. i consider that perfect timing on a wreck that we were trying to maximize our diving on. of course my computer was now totally screwed up. the nitrogen loading was way too high, and there's no way to fix that -- i'm sure some lawyer at suunto is concerned that people would set their previous dives to 100% O2 in order to eliminate their surface intervals and get themselves bent to snot.
the nice thing with doing an extra 14 min hang there at the end is that i felt really good when i got out of the water. i was tired (sleep) and some exhaustion (excertion), but i felt mentally sharp after the dive and felt like it was a really good deco. i expect if you dopplered me i would have been pretty clean after that dive.
next dive we did the saskatchewan and both the suuntos punished the crap out of us for repetitive diving so we both went a few mins into deco again. that time at least i had the nitrox setting correct though.
not so impressed with my computer after last weekend...
yell all you want at me about how it was operator error and i should blame myself and not the computer, but it was an innocent mistake and there was no way to correct it after the dive started -- and i sure wasn't about to call that dive just because i set my computer wrong. no way.
if they didn't try to nanny you, computers would be more useful tools -- but i guess computers are designed for the crowd that really needs an underwater nanny...
jbisjim:
I just got a computer back from the shop. It had read 20% different depth than my other computer so they took it back and recalibrated it. Upon return it failed to track time correctly and the BT numbers jumped around, so back it went. Third time I was doing first dive after return and it gave me no deco ceiling after 150ft 25 min so back it went. My most recent dive I just about flipped when at 20 ft it only read 6 until I realized it had been set in metric mode during last repair. It seems to be working now but I won't be trusting my life to it. So my experience is computers do make mistakes and for deep dives I always carry a bailout table to back-up my computer.
OP
sharpenu
Contributor
I have also had the problem of wrong % dialed in. GIGO. I don't feel that I use comps for babysitting. I have found that use of computers has doubled (roughly) my bottom time. I used to dive tables until I started running out of NDT before air, so I went computer. Then, when it happened again, I went to nitrox. Now, 70-75 min dives in the 70 foot range are my average. I change the batteries every year when I annual my gear.
Properly maintained computers are a useful tool, but like the tables require practice and concentration to work properly. There is no replacement for a trained, practice mind. Your best safety device is between your ears.
Properly maintained computers are a useful tool, but like the tables require practice and concentration to work properly. There is no replacement for a trained, practice mind. Your best safety device is between your ears.
sharpenu:
I don't use a computer.
I don't care about running out of "no-decompression-time"
When I do run out of "no-decompression-time" I don't want to deco the way the computer does.
You are confusing Run Time with Bottom Time.sharpenu:
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