Dive Computer + Air Integration – Yay or Nay?

[SixtyFeetUnder]

Your trip wasn't ruined because you had redundancy, not BECAUSE of the AI, and that's the point. Sure, have AI if you can afford it, but an spg is your backup.

This. I learned from other disciplines that two is one, and one is none (I.e. plan on failures). I love my AI, but also back it up with an SPG. Part of my pre-dive check is to verify that the pressures correlate between the two.

 

[Shabaday]

The point of my post was to show most people want redundancy for possible failure of their AI. My mechanical SPG was the one that failed! Not what I had expected but happy that I had redundancy to continue on with both my dives

 

[doctormike]

Oh I agree, I know it's me... it's just hard switching from all the way doing one thing to doing another that was at one time riddled with disconnects and some issues. The spg was already on my kit, I added the trans.. it wasn't hard to leave the spg on there for comfort.

When I fly I pay the pilot to do his job, when I dive it's my job to think things through and know what I'm getting myself into, lol.

Yeah, and absolutely no reason to switch. Some people really like the data logging or seeing their tank pressure on one gague, but tank pressure is not something that you have to continually monitor like PO2. Especially once a diver gets experience, and gas usage becomes more and more predictable.

 

[Blackcrusader]

AFAIK, dc is compulsory in Philippines but whether being enforced is another story.

Don't know where you got this information from. As I have written over the last three decades of diving in the Philippines I see many divers who do not have a DC. I have only seen students on training courses required to have a DC which are provided or rented to them for training dives. In the PDF below a DC is not mentioned as required scuba equipment. If it was a requirement I'm sure dive centers would love to enforce it and sell cheap dive computers.

Do you have a link that shows having a DC in the Philippines is a legal requirement? I just asked an instructor buddy who lives there and he replied no such requirement to have a DC on a dive. His reply to me

[5:41 PM, 3/16/2022] Only during a course students should have dive computer
[5:42 PM, 3/16/2022] Depth gauge and watch is the normal practice for fun divers as they should know how to use a table

http://www.divephilippines.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PCSSD_IRR_2003.pdf

 

[Centrals]

Don't know where you got this information from. As I have written over the last three decades of diving in the Philippines I see many divers who do not have a DC. I have only seen students on training courses required to have a DC which are provided or rented to them for training dives. In the PDF below a DC is not mentioned as required scuba equipment. If it was a requirement I'm sure dive centers would love to enforce it and sell cheap dive computers.

Do you have a link that shows having a DC in the Philippines is a legal requirement? I just asked an instructor buddy who lives there and he replied no such requirement to have a DC on a dive. His reply to me

[5:41 PM, 3/16/2022] Only during a course students should have dive computer
[5:42 PM, 3/16/2022] Depth gauge and watch is the normal practice for fun divers as they should know how to use a table

http://www.divephilippines.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PCSSD_IRR_2003.pdf

What you do not know you do not know.
Do you understand the meaning of enforceable? Probably NOT. LOL.

http://www.divephilippines.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PCSSD_IRR_2003.pdf

How many operators you know following this?
Plenty to learn and keep leraning.

 

[Blackcrusader]

What you do not know you do not know.
Do you understand the meaning of enforceable? Probably NOT. LOL.

http://www.divephilippines.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PCSSD_IRR_2003.pdf

How many operators you know following this?
Plenty to learn and keep leraning.

It is not a legal requirement to have a DC when diving in the Philippines is what I was advised by an instructor there.
Some local areas like Subic bay require one but no national law that I can find.

Can you quote a law showing it is required? You are the one claiming is it required with no evidence to back up your claim.
It's only as far as you know with no proof of anything.

 

[Centrals]

Advised by an instructor!!!! Far out.
Look it up.

 

[Marie13]

For those of you fretting about redundancy, lots of cave divers using AI only. No backup SPG. I do it myself. I have SPGs in my save a dive kit, but Shearwarer computers and the transmitters used with them are pretty damned reliable.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I like the look and feel of the shiny metal SPG with the glass face and moving needle. It's like steampunk jewelry. Fun to unclip and look at. For similar reasons I have a paper dive log, but that's a different dead horse to beat.

If I know my starting pressure and am paying attention to my depth, I can estimate with pretty good accuracy what my tank pressure should be throughout the dive. The SPG should just confirm what I believe it should read. No need to clutter my computer screen with that additional information. I check the SPG about every five minutes. If the needle were to get stuck, I'd notice it.

 

[Marie13]

I like the look and feel of the shiny metal SPG with the glass face and moving needle. It's like steampunk jewelry. Fun to unclip and look at. For similar reasons I have a paper dive log, but that's a different dead horse to beat.

If I know my starting pressure and am paying attention to my depth, I can estimate with pretty good accuracy what my tank pressure should be throughout the dive. The SPG should just confirm what I believe it should read. No need to clutter my computer screen with that additional information. I check the SPG about every five minutes. If the needle were to get stuck, I'd notice it.

For sidemount, AI is a really nice thing to have. You switch regs every X number of PSI. Not having to bother with SPGs for that is damned convenient.