Dive Log Software

[naplestreasures]

Excel requires Excel knowledge.....LOL
I was thinking something ready made that you can just enter your info and save it.

 

[BradnerBoy]

I'm not speaking for travelpro here, but I am curious myself about the same question and from the answers (or lack thereof), it makes me wonder why more people DON'T use software.

Of course, writing it down in your log book makes sense and all if us do it. I doubt travelpro was suggesting you replace a hard copy with software only. However, the advantage to software is the ability to a) record your dives AND print a hardcopy for your log book b) have an electronic backup copy (I lost my original log book about 15 years ago and REALLY wish I had it now) and finally c) with a software-based log, you could post your dives online to share with others.

I'll continue to search the SB for more ideas/answers on this, but hopefully others will post in this thread and keep it going.

 

[rdolmat]

I use my logbook at the dive site, and then transfer to diverecord.com for all it's useful info it gathers from your data (deepest dive to date, longest dive, coldest dive etc...).

I've used it for all NINE of my dives!

 

[BradnerBoy]

I use my logbook at the dive site, and then transfer to diverecord.com for all it's useful info it gathers from your data (deepest dive to date, longest dive, coldest dive etc...).

I've used it for all NINE of my dives!

I haven't looked at it in great detail yet, but does it also have the ability to print a log book page with the data you've added?

 

[reefduffer]

. ... However, the advantage to software is the ability to a) record your dives AND print a hardcopy for your log book b) have an electronic backup copy (I lost my original log book about 15 years ago and REALLY wish I had it now) ...

I've mentioned it in prior threads, but I back up my paper logbook by scanning it to a pdf file. Multifunction inkjet printers that print/copy/scan/fax are pretty common these days. A 300 dpi b/w scan is quite readable, and 2 pages (2 dives) scanned to a page is roughly a 1 MByte file. Two thousand dives will fit in 1 GByte, which makes it reasonable to carry almost anyone's entire dive history logs on their laptop hard disk, or on a USB thumb drive, or on their iPod, etc. Scanning a dozen dives after a trip takes about a minute a page or so. Neither terribly time consuming, or much data compared to e.g. photos or mp3s.

I also upload my Cobra to DiveLog on my Mac, and then back that up both as the native xml data file, and formatted/printed with profile graphs etc. to a pdf file on disk. With that saved off on both my external hard drive backup, and an archive DVD, I got to thinking about my paper logbook with all the anecdotal stuff, and how I'd hate to lose it. I thought about photocopying it, but then realized how much more flexible and compact it is to scan it to disk.

I have both forms of log (pdf image of Divelog printed output, and pdf file scan of my paper log) on my laptop, and also on my iPod touch (using Air Sharing, see Avatron Software Products ). Always with me on any dive trip.

One other related thought: I also keep scans of my passport, drivers license, C-cards, and DAN card on my laptop and iPod. Higher-res jpg color scans for those. Another form of backup.

 

[willembad]

DiveRecord.com works pretty well. It's not perfect, but it's free and to me seems easier to use and access than a paper log. You can easily print your entire log out as a hard-copy, just click "all dives" and then "printer friendly version".

If someone has your user id they can look at your log, like a operator that you supply with that info for example. Go to

Welcome to DiveRecord.com

and type in "willembad" for an id. There's my logbook. Please no flaming for anything you read in there.

Willem

 

[travelpro]

Hey Reefduffer, keeping the backup data on your iPod is a great idea.

 

[DiverBizz]

I use the hard copy of my dive log at the dive site and make special notes or whatever other important things I want to remember. I include a lot of information. Then I also download to my computer using Suunto Dive Manager from my Cobra. Also I use DiveRecord.com. The only down side is that my laptop is a Mac and Suunto Dive Manage does not print out the same as a PC.

 

[snorkl]

I dive with a stinger but record my dives with this.

ReefNet Inc. | Sensus Ultra

 

[siikik]

I like the idea of an online version because it allows you to get to it from anywhere, provided you have Internet access. But I get a lot more information when I upload the dives... I have my computer set to a two second sample rate. (Did I mention all that data gives me warm fuzzies too?)

I haven't thought of writing an Excel "program" just because I thought somebody would have done it already. Perhaps I'll work on it in my spare time.


Ken