Does anyone dive with tables anymore?

[Scubadam]

I use dive tables most of the time. Dive computers can get expensive, and your scuba school should give you dive tables when you sign up for their open water course if you are not already certified. If your scuba school requires you to have one for the course you should rent one, and rent the same computer whenever you travel. It takes away the guess work that comes with using a new computer every time you dive.

 

[SlicerDicer]

You are right it is "plum Krazy" but that's the real world of mass commercial recreational dive business. People on vacation spending maxinum money to 'go diving' REQUIRE EVERYTHING done for them and that's exactly what you do.

Independent thinking is what is lacking in society at their own peril. People do not consider that they are taking a risk and thus do not account for it properly. The idea that you are with somebody who is "experienced" means that they need to know nothing and thus can continue to behave in whatever way. At the end of the day they believe that if they have a issue you are there to save them and you are going to. Nothing bad can happen and these areas are selected for their safety. Nevermind that its inherently dangerous to be even 5 ft underwater.

I've signed a lot of dive log books but very seldom do I see the profile history recorded or dive tables referenced. Computers are the future,I do my banking,photos,music,dive history,record keeping,Facebook,Myspace,email,and darn near everything else on one. IMPO diving is no exception.
KT

I fill out my dive tables and everything associated with them.

No, and nope.

Any way one slices it, fifteen hundred for a recreational dive computer is nuts. Those of you who misspent that kind of money on one can defend it all day, but it really makes no good sense.

Glad I only spent 1200

 

[dmoore19]

its starting to look like "big computers to make up for small.....um...never mind....:cool2:

That is particularly true when diving in cold water.

 

[USdiver1]

Been diving for 34 years with tables. Started off with the Navy tables and have "advanced" to the PADI RDP plastic cards. I find the tables are just as good as a computer if your dive profile is at a specific depth for the whole of your dive. For the typical recreational diver on a coral reef, there is obviously an advantage to going to a computer with it's constant recalculations as you change depth throughout the dive. Additionally with the availability of Nitrox, the recreational diver can potentially extend no deco limits to greatly exceed the confines of the air RDP tables. Don't do it without the proper training though, and always stuff an RDP and DSAT EAD table in your vest pocket for the inevitable computer failure.

 

[DMDavid]

Independent thinking is what is lacking in society at their own peril. People do not consider that they are taking a risk and thus do not account for it properly. The idea that you are with somebody who is "experienced" means that they need to know nothing and thus can continue to behave in whatever way. At the end of the day they believe that if they have a issue you are there to save them and you are going to. Nothing bad can happen and these areas are selected for their safety. Nevermind that its inherently dangerous to be even 5 ft underwater.

This is why I no longer mention that I'm a divemaster when on a commercial diveboat full of strangers.

 

[rhwestfall]

This is why I no longer mention that I'm a divemaster when on a commercial diveboat full of strangers.

That's why I never got the card, or dive on cattle boat charters.... I watched that responsibility ruin my buddy. I was his Sunday "therapy" to go dive without anyone else... bless you folks who have stepped up to the role....

 

[rhwestfall]

on another note: anybody remember (can't remember the brand) one of the "early" AI (not wireless computers) that the display was a tank that "empties" representing air consumption, and a "diver" that "fills" representing NDL. That alone, convinced me that my tables were a necessity..... Thank goodness we have come much further in this realm.... though I will still state that the PDC is an ACCESSORY, albeit a great one......

 

[Baracuda Smile]

I teach all three. The Open Water Students get Dive Tables in their crew pack along with a log book and a text book. I also have the Electronic Recreational Dive Planner (eRDP) a non-submersable electronic multilevel dive planner. Finally if any student owns a dive computer I will teach them that in addition to the Dive Tables, and eRDP. I find that each have thier plusses and minuses. +Tables are submersible, +conservitive, +Can find ending and surface interval pressure groups,- They introduce rounding errors because you have to round up for both time and depth, so add in the excess conservitism. +eRDP add multilevel diving, +Can find ending and surface interval pressure groups, -non-submersible, -introduce rounding errors, +Dive computer are submersable, +calculate real time nitrogen absorbtion, +no rounding errors, +accent rate indicators, +No fly indicators, +NITROX settings, +Down load to laptop, +Records start time, depth, temp, and stop time. +keeps running total of surface interval, +Count down untill No-Deco time, Re-calculates emergency decompression if going into deco mode, -does not give a equivalant pressure group for either surface interval nor repetitive dives, -Has batteries that can fail. I personally use all three especailly on a dive vacation. I dive two dive computers and I bring tables in my BCD pocket case the batterys fail, and to check on my surface interval time. I use the eRDP when I return to my hotel to help in logging my dives with the pressure groups. I also down load my dives from the dive computer to my laptop so I can track the residual nitrogen in my body for diving multiple dives over a muli-day dive vacation, because I want to have everything clear before I fly home. I will check my dive computer by running the numbers of through the eRDP, so if the eRDP is clear then I know I am clear to fly as it is more conservitive than my dive computer. I hope this helps.

PS A good name brand dive computer that has laptop download and NITROX can be found between $200 ~ $300, if you shop around.

 

[packeteer]

i find them too big and heavy. plus the drag is a killer!

fwiw, when I started diving I decided NOT to use a computer. I wanted to learn using just my watch + depth gauge + tables. For single dives this was fine, but once I started doing multiple dives it was difficult to keep track. So I broke down and bought the computer

 

[BoltSnap]

on another note: anybody remember (can't remember the brand) one of the "early" AI (not wireless computers) that the display was a tank that "empties" representing air consumption, and a "diver" that "fills" representing NDL. That alone, convinced me that my tables were a necessity..... Thank goodness we have come much further in this realm.... though I will still state that the PDC is an ACCESSORY, albeit a great one......

This goes WAY back. It was the TUSA computer I think.