Dive Computer Alarms: should we even have them?
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Brian G
Contributor
OTF's comment was about computers where the alarms are customizable, like being able to set a gas reserve vs always alarming at some not-super-useful number.
OTF
Coney Island Whitefish Biologist
Gas reserve in particular is a tough one.
My Perdix gives a warning at 750psi. I've been meaning to lower it to 500. Hitting 750psi unexpectedly in the middle of a deco dive would certainly be alarm worthy. But I'm always tracking the pressure anyway and getting caught off guard by tank pressure is harder to imagine than accidentally approaching high PO2 or ascending too fast. On shallow shore dives with big tanks it IS just a nuisance. It's not unusual for me to breathe down to like ~200psi messing around at the end.
I guess the ideal thing would be to change it for every dive. But that's a lot of settings to mess with or forget to update.
This is entering tangent territory, but maybe computers should force you to go through a quick menu "dive setup" routine EVERY time before hitting the water. Or at least confirm gas mixes. Computer settings seem to be the easiest gearup step to forget. Setting the wrong gas is much more likely to hurt you silently than say jumping in the water without fins, which you'd realize immediately.
My Perdix gives a warning at 750psi. I've been meaning to lower it to 500. Hitting 750psi unexpectedly in the middle of a deco dive would certainly be alarm worthy. But I'm always tracking the pressure anyway and getting caught off guard by tank pressure is harder to imagine than accidentally approaching high PO2 or ascending too fast. On shallow shore dives with big tanks it IS just a nuisance. It's not unusual for me to breathe down to like ~200psi messing around at the end.
I guess the ideal thing would be to change it for every dive. But that's a lot of settings to mess with or forget to update.
This is entering tangent territory, but maybe computers should force you to go through a quick menu "dive setup" routine EVERY time before hitting the water. Or at least confirm gas mixes. Computer settings seem to be the easiest gearup step to forget. Setting the wrong gas is much more likely to hurt you silently than say jumping in the water without fins, which you'd realize immediately.
Yes. That's why I gave my Atomic Cobalt to my son. It beeps a set amount of time upon reaching your safety stop. You cannot disable it. It beeps even longer (maybe continuously, I can't remember) when you go below min gas (?300-400 psi).
So there I am, noodling along a shallow reef in Bonaire, regularly transiting between 30 feet and 18 feet. And the alarm goes off, over and over and over. I can't acknowledge it quickly after one beep. It has to go through its 10 sec of madness.
Then, I'm at the end of my dive, looking up at the boat hull with 120' vis at 15 feet. Lots of pretty stuff around. I've got <400 psi and I want to just dive some more, finishing with 150-200, say, on a no stop dive AFTER my safety stop. But NOOOO, the computer alarms continuously, and everyone is looking, and I'm trying to pretend it's not me. Finally, screw it. I give up. And I end my lovely dive 10 min earlier than I had to. Grrrr!
The Eon allows you to turn all off, all on or select some off
If you set the min gas to 35bar/500psi it still alarms at 50bar /750 psi.. Because metric
To use my earlier example - I'm being tumbled in current and it's bleeping - is that an ascent alarm, PO2, Max depth (user programmed) or low gas (I hope not)? You don't know because they all use the same tone for every alarm warning
FFS it's not that hard or shouldn't be
LOL
I hear you.
The Eon, if you make a too fast ascent even after teh SS it'll go off on one until you drop down again (also if you bin teh SS)
I'm a big boy, if I'm binnin ga SS there's a good reason and I'm not going back down again.
Why oh why can't I acknowledge the alarm and mute it (and have it cease when it switches into surface mode) but oh no, it carries on chirping for 15 mins. Let me acknowledge and mute it, penalise me on the next dive if you must, but stfu
The reason I have a different colour of line on the last 5m of my spool, is.....
Oops! You just pinged my obsession. Unless you've binned the SS for some other emergency consideration, the last fifteen feet are the most important place to avoid a fast ascent. But you know that...
:: end rant ::
:: end off-topic digression ::
In normal circumstances I'm very slow up the last 5m (1m/min).
If I'm not there's a reason (normally too dangerous to remain underwater)
So in principle I've no problem with the alarm (because the computer has to serve all levels of divers. My beef is that I can't acknowledge to mute the alarm. Happy if it wants to penalise my next dive etc
What do I mean by dangerous in my location? Seeing your dsmb get sucked downwards from the surface from a vortice that's just formed or having to hold the stop against an up current with your reef hook, and despite being neg with a near empty tank, there's only one way you're going when you let go. 1m/min is not achievable
I can't hear them so no not necessary.
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