Do you really understand your computer, or is it a threat to you?

[jbd]

If the instructor relies on the PPT slides or the video and doesn't put a computer in the student's hand they haven't spent enough time. It goes back to the simple principles of learning:

'I hear and I forget.
I see and I believe.
I do and I understand.'
—Confucius (551-479 BC)

What computer should I put in the students hand :06:

 

[emtdan]

I have had my computer for just about as long as i have been diving, 3 years. I bought it right after my last cert dive.
I deffinatly understand it, but i also dont rely on it. I carry backups for a lot of what i do. I have a slate with my profile and air mix, i carry air and nitrox tables in my BC, i have a watch with which i set the bezel when i descend. I have an analog air gauge, but unfortunatly, no depth guage backup.
I have done a lot of playing around with it, and i trust it a lot. [one thing i dont like is how conservitive it's ascent rate is.]
I often turn my computer on when on an airplane, and i think it recognizes that i am not diving, just at great altitude.
:doctor:

Last summer, when doing a dive off a boat, i lost my computer when doing my giant stride. I had some time until descending, and started looking for it. I could not find it, and did my dive using my friends computer as my depth gauge. As i was getting ready to get out of the water, i found my computer right under my jump point.
I free-dove down and got it. The problem was, i couldnt use it for a few days because it thought i was in deco for being down for so long.


:diver: :fruit:

 

[DandyDon]

I free-dove down and got it. The problem was, i couldnt use it for a few days because it thought i was in deco for being down for so long.

That's dangerous, you know - to free dive after loading up on N2. Would have been safer to send the buddy with a good computer still tracking his diving in it's entirity, I think?

 

[RiverRat]

Do you really understand your computer, or is it a threat to you?

I work with computers daily so they're not a threat to me. Although I get annoyed with the suckers from time to time I think it's CRITICAL that a diver be intimately familier with what exactly his computer is telling him and how it relates to the tables taught in OW. The computer is nothing more than a fancy calculator/timing device that is giving you "credit" for depth changes/time during a dive. It's merely re-writing your dive plan on-the-fly according to it's built in "tables". As we all know there isn't a table written to cover ALL divers under ALL scenarios, although they've done a pretty good job for the most part. This is why some divers get un-deseved hits. When using a computer to get in a nice, long (gas permitting) multi-level dive, we are really "pushing the envelope". We may even "ride the edge" of the NDL's. It's critical to know what the computer is "thinking" and have a backup plan in case the thing craps out. Adding deep stops and extended safety stops is a great idea and understanding what happens when your computer goes into deco should be fully understood. I've heard some things on dive trips that made me cringe......Ahhh...what exactly is a ceiling??? Keep in mind this trip was diving deep (120 +- fsw) on wrecks. Just the type of dives where one might go into deco. What if it craps out after you went into deco? Knowing that adding only several minutes or so to your plan may keep you from getting bent is comforting to me.

So ,YES, I understand my computer. If it threatened me to understand it I would seek out the knowledge to learn to use it properly.

 

[lostinspace]

just gotta say - I rely on my computer heavily, but all my training was with tables (in BSAC). In the club after I had qualified and during my 5 OW practical dives I borrowed the club's computers and was "trained" how to work those - I then went out and bought the more recent version of the club computers.

 

[Davetul]

I've been diving off and on for about 5 years now (mostly off, but that's been fixed). I just bought a new Sherwood Wisdom from a friend who upgraded(?) to a Viper.

I have read the manual about 4 times already, and played with the thing so much I think I shortened the battery life by about a year. And that's only in the first 2 days. I'm not going to be in the water with it for at least another week, but when I do, I'm going to know exactly what it's doing and telling me.

I don't think my family would like being dadless just because I trusted something that I didn't understand...

-Dave

 

[BigJetDriver]

I've been diving off and on for about 5 years now (mostly off, but that's been fixed). I just bought a new Sherwood Wisdom from a friend who upgraded(?) to a Viper.

I have read the manual about 4 times already, and played with the thing so much I think I shortened the battery life by about a year. And that's only in the first 2 days. I'm not going to be in the water with it for at least another week, but when I do, I'm going to know exactly what it's doing and telling me.

I don't think my family would like being dadless just because I trusted something that I didn't understand...

-Dave

What a concept!!! here is some one who is actually studying the manual!!! :11:

Cheers!

 

[flounderboy]

My 2 cents
forget the computer and use your mind
I own a dacor darwin and use it only in gauge mode
now have a oms bottom timer to go with it

Dive safe
and know what the hell you are doing


Mark s

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I agree that Pelagic's chocie on Default settings is not what I like, but my message is that with so many divers buying Aires and Oceanic puters, they'd better learn Default settings, as should other puter owners, along with all the other settings.[/QUOTE]

I wholeheartedly agree!

In the manual for my Oceanic Data Plus, the reason for this is explained in writing - one more advantage for reading the manual.

And, in my Dive Rite NiTek3 manual, the condition of 'FO2 Default', actions the computer will take in 'FO2 default' mode, when it occurs, and what actions the computer user is to take are spelled out.

I expect each brand would welcome email or telephone questions about anything in their manuals from owners.

If you lose your manual, most brands' web sites have links to many models that you can access or download. Older generations and brands no longer being marketed are less likely to be available via the web though.

 

[DandyDon]

Then there's the all too common: "Great dive, but my computer kept beeping. What was that about? Maye I need to read the plastic sheet again." :wacko:

One thing I'm not seeing in these otherwise great responses is support for using the Simulation feature - running Sim Dives to get used to the computer's reactions to different situations...?