Computer + SPG? Or am I crazy?

[drbill]

What's the point of having a hoseless air integrated computer if you're going to keep the hose for SPG anyway?

Added safety... of course I don't see the point of the hose-less air integrated computer in the first place.

 

[jhelmuth]

Having a redundant SPG with an Air-integrated dive computer has no signifcant value in recreational, no decompression diving.

Assuming your dive computer "goes bad", you call the dive then and there. There should be no question about that at all.

Assuming that you call the dive, your gas supply will not change one way or the other as you abort your dive. Having an SPG will only provide some small measure of assurance that you still have gas. But in any case, as long as you've not been stupid and gone well beyond safe diving practice, you will have a sufficient supply of gas to get to the surface.

Even in the rare (and should never happen) case where you've been a reall dumb-ass and ran your gas supply too low to perform a saftey stop (remeber - it optional), you can still make it to the surface.

Regardless of any redundancy, your diving is done for 24 hours if your computer has failed AND you've been diving the computer and not tables. So at that point, you can go and get an SPG, timing device, and MDI depth gauge and dive tables the rest of the trip.


Personally, I'm not into hoseless air integration (or air integration in general), but it has it's place and I don't eschew it either...

 

[Arizona_SVO]

Perhaps it's from years in working in aviation, but the thought of having an analog guage as a backup to me is just good planning. Aircraft have analog pressure guages that work when you have full failure of all electronics, and I have my analog guages right there in case my computer decides that it's time to go.

Personally, if I am only 1/2 done with the dive and my computer goes away, I see no need to surface immediately as I can finish the dive with my analog guages quite easily. Then I can record everything on the ole book, plan and execute the next one... If I had no analog backup, guess I'd still be okay to get to the surface, but then I would have no way to do the next dive without borrowing from somebody.

 

[Randy43068]

Keep it simple, use one gauge.

If the computer fails, dive over it should not be a big deal to gracefully end your dive. However.......... my personal experience with AI ( air integrated ) is that you have more connections to maintain. I lost some dives once because of the quick disconnect on an AI computer I was using at the time. Never again!

I've learned a little along the way, I now don't use any more stuff than I have to use. It's easier to maintain, easier to keep track of things on the dive, too.

Hey everyone!

I just completed my confined water dives and with any luck I'll be doing my OW dives within the next 2 weeks. Woohoo!

I know this is an equipment question but I thought I would try here first in case this is a really silly question. Anyways I have been looking around here and there at dive computers and I like how the air-integrated computers operate, like the ProPlus II. Seems convenient to have everything right there for you to see on one screen. Maybe I'm being over cautious, but I got to thinking that it might be a good idea to have a spare analog SPG + depth gauge hooked up also in case of o-ring & battery failure. Does anyone do this or am I just over thinking? Is it even possible with most 1st stage regs?

 

[jhelmuth]

Perhaps it's from years in working in aviation, but the thought of having an analog guage as a backup to me is just good planning. Aircraft have analog pressure guages that work when you have full failure of all electronics, and I have my analog guages right there in case my computer decides that it's time to go.

Personally, if I am only 1/2 done with the dive and my computer goes away, I see no need to surface immediately as I can finish the dive with my analog guages quite easily. Then I can record everything on the ole book, plan and execute the next one... If I had no analog backup, guess I'd still be okay to get to the surface, but then I would have no way to do the next dive without borrowing from somebody.

How will you properly plan your remaining dives and keep proper track of you inert gas loading under your proposed plan? please elabourate.

Stop and think through the problem, and you'll come to the same conclusion. Not doing the next dive (for 24 hours anyway) is not a tragedy - just a safe and proper practice underr the described circumstance.

UNLESS you had been diving tables (and then why have the computer), you MUST abandon all diving for a period of 24 hours (per table rules) to get back to a known saturation (for the puropse of table diving - or even to go to a new computer for that matter). Once you've established a new know basis, you can finish up diving.

Continuing a dive (under the portrayed AI computer failure) without a full set of gauges is a foolish thing to do. The proper and prudent procedure would be to abort the dive, get to a know state of saturation and pick up the diving from there.

You can do what you want - but the proper procedure (as I described it) is a well thought out plan for such a case. But you can obviously do whatever you want...


All the best,

Jim

 

[orm]

I say keep it simple.

I've never really trusted computer stuff where I've not needed to.

 

[Arizona_SVO]

How will you properly plan your remaining dives and keep proper track of you inert gas loading under your proposed plan? please elabourate.

Stop and think through the problem, and you'll come to the same conclusion. Not doing the next dive (for 24 hours anyway) is not a tragedy - just a safe and proper practice underr the described circumstance.

UNLESS you had been diving tables (and then why have the computer), you MUST abandon all diving for a period of 24 hours (per table rules) to get back to a known saturation (for the puropse of table diving - or even to go to a new computer for that matter). Once you've established a new know basis, you can finish up diving.

Continuing a dive (under the portrayed AI computer failure) without a full set of gauges is a foolish thing to do. The proper and prudent procedure would be to abort the dive, get to a know state of saturation and pick up the diving from there.

You can do what you want - but the proper procedure (as I described it) is a well thought out plan for such a case. But you can obviously do whatever you want...


All the best,

Jim

Umm, no.

Seeing as how I have planned the dive to begin with, I know what the expected depth and time are, I kept track of my depth (analog), and my analog guages kept track of the time - I can easily put this information into the tables (and if they allow) continue on the day. I do dive a full set of analog guages and my computer. I do not advocate other.

It is extremely easy to 'bust' the tables this way, and then I agree with you, I am done. However, if, based on time and depth, I am still 'in-the-zone' so to speak, then I am good to go. I tend to keep track of where I have been and how long I have been there.

So, there is some truth to both of our posts - but there is nothing that says I MUST do anything.

While this is NOT my primary reason for analog guages, it is one of the benefits.

Now, where I am screwed is typically if the failure occurs on the second dive of the day, mostly becasue I am almost guaranteed to have 'busted' the tables according to times, depths, and square profiles. then it's 'out-of-the-pool' for a good 24.

 

[Randy43068]

Personally I'd be hard pressed to scrub dives following a computer failure. I'd have a long surface interval to be sure, but I keep track of the dive as I'm going along.

I personally would have no trouble bailing out to tables after the computer failed.

Now folks, that's ME and how I would do it. You do it however you want to and keep the flames away. I feel comfortable enough with dive planning that I could figure my N2 loading pretty closely if the damn computer broke on a dive.

Umm, no.

Seeing as how I have planned the dive to begin with, I know what the expected depth and time are, I kept track of my depth (analog), and my analog guages kept track of the time - I can easily put this information into the tables (and if they allow) continue on the day. I do dive a full set of analog guages and my computer. I do not advocate other.

It is extremely easy to 'bust' the tables this way, and then I agree with you, I am done. However, if, based on time and depth, I am still 'in-the-zone' so to speak, then I am good to go. I tend to keep track of where I have been and how long I have been there.

So, there is some truth to both of our posts - but there is nothing that says I MUST do anything.

While this is NOT my primary reason for analog guages, it is one of the benefits.

Now, where I am screwed is typically if the failure occurs on the second dive of the day, mostly becasue I am almost guaranteed to have 'busted' the tables according to times, depths, and square profiles. then it's 'out-of-the-pool' for a good 24.

 

[Randy43068]

Added safety... of course I don't see the point of the hose-less air integrated computer in the first place.

we agree!!

 

[jhelmuth]

Umm, no.

Seeing as how I have planned the dive to begin with, I know what the expected depth and time are, I kept track of my depth (analog), and my analog guages kept track of the time - I can easily put this information into the tables (and if they allow) continue on the day. I do dive a full set of analog guages and my computer. I do not advocate other.

It is extremely easy to 'bust' the tables this way, and then I agree with you, I am done. However, if, based on time and depth, I am still 'in-the-zone' so to speak, then I am good to go. I tend to keep track of where I have been and how long I have been there.

So, there is some truth to both of our posts - but there is nothing that says I MUST do anything.

While this is NOT my primary reason for analog guages, it is one of the benefits.

Now, where I am screwed is typically if the failure occurs on the second dive of the day, mostly becasue I am almost guaranteed to have 'busted' the tables according to times, depths, and square profiles. then it's 'out-of-the-pool' for a good 24.

UNLESS you had been diving tables (and then why have the computer), you MUST abandon all diving for a period of 24 hours (per table rules) to get back to a known saturation (for the puropse of table diving - or even to go to a new computer for that matter). Once you've established a new know basis, you can finish up diving.

Continuing a dive (under the portrayed AI computer failure) without a full set of gauges is a foolish thing to do. The proper and prudent procedure would be to abort the dive, get to a know state of saturation and pick up the diving from there...

OK... so what you are now revealing is that you are diving with a full set of gauges, and that you might be OK as long as you don't bust the tables (which IS table diving).

Note that is EXACTLY what I posted/said...


All the best,

Jim