Computer Recommendations- Budget under 500

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Nitrox or Air?? If air and not integrated compass a must you can get a really good wrist mout computer used to get you out of a pinch for the sum of probably $75 used. You might be over thinking the compass part as stated above IMHO.
Either way, the Hollis DG03 not DG02 mentioned above is a great computer for the price or just period (can be had for $249 new, I won't paste the source, just google it) (same exact computer as Oceanic/Aeris, same support and service which is excellent in my experience), I own the Aeris version, have owned proplus 2 and older datamax versions etc, great for progressing into nitrox and does 3 gases. Shearwater is top notch, I own a predator, but you don't need that at this point if your profile is up to date, way overkill and actually lacks some features you might like soon in rec diving, like air integration. If you ever do need a predator class computer later the hollis can be put in gauge mode and used to run your backup tables in the event of a computer failure. My two cents, go for the Hollis.
Personally I would skip the hose version and go wrist, but just depends on where are and are headed. Sometimes the hosed versions with compass are great, nothing else to worry about putting on pre dive, just set it up and slap the stab jacket on a go. Sometimes nice to have everything attached, I perpetually misplace my wrist computers :(

Adding to post: One issue with the hollis/oceanic/aeris is the thermometer is flaky, slow to react, etc. I like accurate temp readings so I can eval temp vs suits over time to get a better feel for what to wear on trips, this is where that computer fails. But, I bought an $8 analog thermometer (little tiny thing) and strap it on the inflate hose and all is good. Also, DG02 is nice, but for the price diff, I would go DG03.
 
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The Hollis DG03 ...

This is the a very good computer for a very good price. It does air, nitrox and gauge mode. It is also large and easy to read. I will choose this over Zoop for gauge mode. Not sure what kind of deal Beaver can offer for XP-10, but as far as I know, it doesn't have gauge mode.
 
Thanks Guys. I guess the Holis DG03 is quiet tempting now, at the price. I wish there were other colors than black though. The latest version of libdivecomputer seems to support the DG03 so it could use it on Linux it looks like.
One question - is the usb interface connector propreitory and do I need to spend the $75 online or would it be easy to just shop locally for it and save money?

Edit: Another question : I dont want to reset the time everytime I travel to a new country. I just want to change the Time Zone and I want the DC to display local time. Do any of the popular DCs support this feature with DST settings? I want the DC permanently at UTC otherwise but displaying local time based on TZ.

--Pearlman

---------- Post added April 8th, 2013 at 03:09 PM ----------

I have a trip coming up and I already bought a regulator and looking for a computer right now /QUOTE]

Quick question why do you need to buy your own regulator when you rent the rest of the gear anyways?

-P
 
Yes, the cable is proprietary (most are that I know of) and is pricey but what you are paying for is the cable and the software essentially, they cover their software development with the cost of the cable I guess. Sounds like you might not be using the software though.
I have no idea about the time zone features, I don't recall anything like that offhand. Go to the website and download the user manual before you buy to see what the exact feature set is.
 
I checked the manual. Theres nothing. So I have to reset the time for every country. This means the dive log software needs to log the country in a text description somewhere. I've never used one so I dont know. but I am guessing any dive log software will have that. I guess its not very different from tracking International arrivals and departures by their local time at the airport.

Just that when one hears "computer" one tends to expect some basic functionality on the TZ front. Updating DST information from the web as it changes for a TZ is another challlenge.

--Pearlman
 
I dont know of any that have gps you would need that so it would know about time zones
 
Also, when you move away from the manufacturer software and go to something open source or even paid for apps you will lose some data logging features ocassionaly. And/Or, the fields may get mixed up. The software for that computer has an amazing amount of info logged, but I've also had trouble with it and switched to DiveLog 5.0, good software able to import form various computers, but sometimes at the cost of some data fields or some fields getting mixed up, still one of the best IMO.
Even with today's technology, detailed logging of dives for the long term can still be quite labor intensive, especially if you change computers or dive more than one and want to merge everything into one log.
But, you will find that if you spend the time looking at the data from the dive and thinking about it all while you enter and tweak the info for future use that you will absorb alot more info into your head that will help you later and give you a better overall big picture, you get to enjoy the dive agian to a degree, reflect and learn all at once. So IMO some manual data entry isn't so bad. You still have to go in and enter the sites, and other data that isn't logged.
Now, go make some dives and have some fun :)
 
Thanks. You are right, a bit of manual works helps recollect the experiences with more immediacy later.

Here is the response I got from Hollis Tech Support:


The cable is proprietary. There are three part numbers you can go by, all will work, it’s just three brands, in case you have difficulty finding one.

Hollis part number 204.8486
Oceanic part number 04.9610
Aeris part number 10.0104

It looks like the Hollis cable is cheaper by 7-8$ when purchased along with the DC. I am just so afraid of misplacing and losing these things, the cable cost is a downer.

DG03 it is then. Later in the day .. I just woke up...

Now the hunt for a camera begins...

-P
 
I'm going to buy the xp-10 from beaverdivers got an awesome deal on it
Congratulations.
Now make sure you learn how to properly use it.

Alberto (aka eDiver)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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