Computer madness

[Jason B]

You are confusing Run Time with Bottom Time.

Well put .

 

[Scuba_Steve]

You are confusing Run Time with Bottom Time.

Now THAT happens a lot in this forum!

 

[lamont]

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.

Of course I agree that the best safety device is between your ears.

I just have a problem with the fact that the computer won't let me solve the problem of an incorrect gas setting at depth. So, i'm just supposed to thumb the dive when the NDL on the computer gets to zero? I think if I did that my dive buddy would have shot me when we got back to the surface, if I didn't kill myself first.

 

[kalvyn]

You are confusing Run Time with Bottom Time.

Man, where were you last week UP? Oh yeah, having fun in Maui.

Jimmie

 

[kalvyn]

I just have a problem with the fact that the computer won't let me solve the problem of an incorrect gas setting at depth. So, i'm just supposed to thumb the dive when the NDL on the computer gets to zero? I think if I did that my dive buddy would have shot me when we got back to the surface, if I didn't kill myself first.

I wouldn't have shot you, anyone can call the dive at any time for any reason. Once I realized what the true problem was though (computer set to EAN21), I wasn't concerned at all. We just hung there to un-bend your computer. I was more worried that your computer had taken a digital dump, you were going to be SOL for the second dive and I had (foolishly) left my D3 at home.

The key here is that you recognized that the computer was giving you erroneous information. Hopefully everyone would be able to make that differentiation, but in my experience that has not been the case.

Jimmie

 

[lamont]

I wouldn't have shot you, anyone can call the dive at any time for any reason.

Well, we could have shot my computer at least...

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
Once I realized what the true problem was though (computer set to EAN21), I wasn't concerned at all. We just hung there to un-bend your computer.
..snip..

Most people I know would have just pulled out a spool and left just the computer hanging.
It's not uncommon to see this sort of "fishing" during SI. :11:

 

[Snowbear]

if they didn't try to nanny you, computers would be more useful tools...

I find my Vyper very useful. It doesn't babysit me either.

When it came as part of my ultimate cold water dive package (actually, I opted for that (as well as a compass on a retractor) instead of the air integrated Cobra, because in my OW dives I found the dashboard console cumbersome to manage and a PITA to keep from being a dangly), I read the manual and learned how to look at the depth and time numbers to know how deep I was, how long I'd been underwater and how much time I had before I hit the "NDL." I remember it said something about green, yellow and red zones, but I didn't pay much attention.

I was just getting my nitrox card, so being able to set the O2 level was pretty handy. It would also beep at me if I accidentally on purpose, just for a minute, exceeded the MOD...

I figured out what the little "ceiling" and "floor" arrows as well as the "ascent time" numbers were for. It also had warnings to tell me I was popping up too fast. Cool! I can exceed the "NDL" and my computer will tell me how long I need to hang out above 20' (but not over 10'!!!) so as not die a horrible death of the bends, as long as I brought along my handy dandy pony bottle in the event I needed a few more minutes of deco - you know, just to be "safe" - though I never "accidently" went into "deco" and that pony was *never* factored in to the gas "plan"

So... I was doing some dives from the local charter boat and the owner/dive instructor pointed out that if I didn't have it in nitrox mode for air dives, it would give me more useful information since the NDL# would be bigger (since the CNS O2 limits would not be displayed) and the color bars would be for NDL instead of for O2 pulmonary limits. Or something like that. I tried it, but found I didn't pay attention to the color bars at all. Huh. OK. I tried, it wasn't for me. Hey!! That means the computer's not rotting my brain, right!...???... right???

It said something in that manual about guage mode. I skimmed over that - why would I want that if it won't give me NDL??

Then I started reading some camel-faced closed-minded DIR moderator's posts about computers rotting your brain. I'd been diving about 2 months when he posted this recently resurrected thread. He kept talking about multi-level dives without a computer in this one as well Man, what a lot of math - even though the smart guy said it's not. Sheesh!! Why the heck would I wanna keep thinking about my dive profile instead of enjoying the dives!?!?

Well - I eventually figured out that it is impossible to "bend" my Vyper if I keep it in guage mode :11: It no longer dictates my bottom time or my run time for me. Trouble is, I had to actually keep track of my own dive profile. But holy guacamole!! I actually get longer run times (and enjoy them more and feel better after them!) than I did when my computer was a dive sitter! It took about 30 dives with a "backup" computer in my drysuit pocket before I trusted my own ability to actually create a more conservative multi level profile than the Vyper in computer mode could calculate for me.

I also noticed I didn't have the overwhelming urge to sleep all the way back to the dock after a couple of "NDL" dives