Codyjp
Contributor
darkpup:
Computer or Not
- Thread starter mfalco
- Start date
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Codyjp:
That's a good question. The kid just kicked Janeane, and she's awake (she's pregnant). She said sell it.
We have one of those knock off data cables we picked up off e-bay. It works well when you're not having to run Virtual PC on a Mac (stupid work around). It also has an X-strap rather than the stock strap (i.e. larger strap that can go from drysuit to wrist watch in a second).
She wants $200 for it. If you're up for it, it's yours. She said she knows where it is, but hey, she's pregnant and can't remember to remove the keys from the front door let alone where an unused dive computer is after a move last November. I'll follow up with her in the morning, and see if I can get some pictures of it.
~ Jason
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Hehe, in this forum, you're going to get a loaded total, but I dive with 2 on every dive, just in case.
Doing 4 air dives off of Cozumel last week, had to really work out the yellow, long stops to get to green.
Doing 4 air dives off of Cozumel last week, had to really work out the yellow, long stops to get to green.
mrjimboalaska
Contributor
Got 1 and looking for my second to back it up. Do it! I dont dive square, and I get much more Bottom time, actually, I don't know anyone who dives without one....
Do I dive with a computer? Well, actually, I dive with three of them -- a Cobra (air integrated), Mosquito (primary source of depth info) and the one above my neck (te overall coordinator of what I'm doing).
Having just finished my first "DIR" (well, maybe DIR -- at the very least baby DIR) class, I was interested to hear the instructor say, NO COMPUTERS -- COMPUTERS BAD! "NO" I quickly shout -- he glared (well sort of). But he was/is exactly correct in his criticisms of the use of computers -- and, to my always humble mind, many of the replies on this thread support his belief.
As with any thing else we do in Scuba, a computer is merely a tool -- and it is as good of a tool as our understanding of it. IF you actually have not spent the time and effort to understand deco (and I have certainly NOT) then relying on the computer to keep you safe is the ultimate in trust me diving.
However, DarkP -- as much as you (and yours) say you don't "rely" on computers, I really think you do -- they just happen to stay dry -- and then you rely on the one above your neck to remember and follow the plan the dry computer provided you!
BTW, I have two primary reasons for continuing to use my Cobra:
a. I really like the close to real time "air time remaining" feature -- it saves me from doing Scuba Math and is a good cross check on how I think I'm doing; and
b. On trips to the tropics (and do I LOVE warm water) when I'm on a charter, I can answer "YES, I'm diving a computer" and they don't hassle me about bottom time.
Having just finished my first "DIR" (well, maybe DIR -- at the very least baby DIR) class, I was interested to hear the instructor say, NO COMPUTERS -- COMPUTERS BAD! "NO" I quickly shout -- he glared (well sort of). But he was/is exactly correct in his criticisms of the use of computers -- and, to my always humble mind, many of the replies on this thread support his belief.
As with any thing else we do in Scuba, a computer is merely a tool -- and it is as good of a tool as our understanding of it. IF you actually have not spent the time and effort to understand deco (and I have certainly NOT) then relying on the computer to keep you safe is the ultimate in trust me diving.
However, DarkP -- as much as you (and yours) say you don't "rely" on computers, I really think you do -- they just happen to stay dry -- and then you rely on the one above your neck to remember and follow the plan the dry computer provided you!
BTW, I have two primary reasons for continuing to use my Cobra:
a. I really like the close to real time "air time remaining" feature -- it saves me from doing Scuba Math and is a good cross check on how I think I'm doing; and
b. On trips to the tropics (and do I LOVE warm water) when I'm on a charter, I can answer "YES, I'm diving a computer" and they don't hassle me about bottom time.
PerroneFord
Contributor
What I don't understand, is with the technology available today, so many computers still penalize you for time you spend offgassing. This is my only real knock against using them. If I dive to 100ft, and I spend time on deco at 50,40,30, and 20ft, the computer should NOT be penalizing me for that. It should be intelligent enough to realize that I am taking nitrogen out of my body.
Why do I need to spend $800 on a computer that can integrate deep stops, or has RGBM to do this? Until they come down in price, I'll stick with a depth guage or a comp in guage mode, and tables..
Why do I need to spend $800 on a computer that can integrate deep stops, or has RGBM to do this? Until they come down in price, I'll stick with a depth guage or a comp in guage mode, and tables..
*Floater*
Contributor
I voted "Have a computer, but don't need it," but I do need it in gauge mode, and I'm told some dive operations require you to have them for substantial repetitive diving, and buying a cheap one with good gauge mode probably won't cost much more than buying a bottom timer, so you might as well get one.
Opening disclaimer: I'm still a pretty novice diver, and I'm getting DIR training. (That way anybody reading this can have a framework for what I'm going to say 
)
After doing a whole bunch of research and reading, and asking questions, I'm pretty convinced that a diligent diver can manage a safe profile for a dive without the use of a computer, and probably without the use of tables, either (see UP's threads about "time shallow for time deep"). The shape of the decompression curve (see Doppler's posts on TDS entitled, "The Shape of the Curve") is fairly easy to understand. It does require that one spend the time and effort to track the dive as it is proceeding, and know how long one spent at the various depths involved, but I'm pretty convinced it's doable and can be safe if done intelligently.
What I'm still really uncertain about is how this is safely done with repetitive diving. I've asked that question, and gotten some information, and a recommendation to start playing with decompression software, which I have not yet done. At the moment, I'm quite sure I don't have the tools to manage a multiple dive/multiple day trip safely. On the other hand, although the algorithms used by the computers are not foolproof, they do have a pretty good safety track record in those circumstances. So, for now, until I learn more and feel very solid with my ability to manage that kind of thing without my computer, I will continue to use it.
)After doing a whole bunch of research and reading, and asking questions, I'm pretty convinced that a diligent diver can manage a safe profile for a dive without the use of a computer, and probably without the use of tables, either (see UP's threads about "time shallow for time deep"). The shape of the decompression curve (see Doppler's posts on TDS entitled, "The Shape of the Curve") is fairly easy to understand. It does require that one spend the time and effort to track the dive as it is proceeding, and know how long one spent at the various depths involved, but I'm pretty convinced it's doable and can be safe if done intelligently.
What I'm still really uncertain about is how this is safely done with repetitive diving. I've asked that question, and gotten some information, and a recommendation to start playing with decompression software, which I have not yet done. At the moment, I'm quite sure I don't have the tools to manage a multiple dive/multiple day trip safely. On the other hand, although the algorithms used by the computers are not foolproof, they do have a pretty good safety track record in those circumstances. So, for now, until I learn more and feel very solid with my ability to manage that kind of thing without my computer, I will continue to use it.
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