Does anyone still use the RDP?

[TheRedHead]

I stole this from another thread.

I'm the only one on the boat that breaks out the RDP and to check times...I have a computer but I still like to stay fresh with the basics..I've never seen another diver check....I would think that alot of them have probably dove that site before but not all...maybe I'm just paranoid

I didn't train with PADI so I never used it. And I've never seen anyone else use it. I carry a couple of IANTD tables printed on vinyl and rolled up in my pocket. Is the RDP really a useful gizmo? To me, the RDP is sort of like a slide rule and not "basic." I have a lot of the common times/depths memorized from looking at tables. I don't think the RDP is conducive to this and therefore not truly basic.

 

[Damselfish]

the RDP usually refers to the PADI table, not the wheel.

 

[TheRedHead]

I see the "Wheel" marketed as the RDP wheel.

http://www.diverswarehouse.com/p1066

I was referring to the wheel.

 

[sasscuba]

No more tables since computer.

 

[Knight1989]

Even with the use of my computer, I still use my tables/wheel. I like being able to have a backup and its good to keep the knowledge fresh incase I ever dive without a computer for some reason. My computer is just an aid, but all of my planning is still done using old fashon tables and or the wheel.

 

[TheRedHead]

My premise is that the PADI wheel is an inferior type of computer. I don't think I could see the numbers on the thing underwater, which is the place I would need to go to my backup tables if my computer failed. That's not entirely true, I know the NDLs for most of the depths on my table, but I would probably double check the table in my pocket.

Another point I tried to make is that I've been on at least 200 boat dives with lots of strangers and never noticed anyone using the wheel.

 

[divingjd]

I'm not PADI-trained either, but I do not typically use tables to plan a dive. I use the dive planning mode of my computer. I use a backup computer with the same algorithm in case I have a computer failure. If the main computer, which is air-integrated, would fail during a dive, I would abort that dive (because I would have no way to monitor my gas supply), switch over to the backup SPG I carry in my dive bag, and plan the next dive with the backup computer.

 

[Damselfish]

I see the "Wheel" marketed as the RDP wheel.

http://www.diverswarehouse.com/p1066

I was referring to the wheel.

yeah I know you were referring to the wheel, but I think the person you quoted was referring to the table. I think they're officially "RDP wheel" and "RDP table" but I think most people just say wheel when they mean the wheel.

Anywho, I've never seen anyone use a wheel, anywhere. Only rarely have I seen someone with a table.

 

[Charlie99]

My premise is that the PADI wheel is an inferior type of computer.

Inferior to a real dive computer. Superior to a square profile table if one is doing multilevel dives.

I rarely see anybody consult a regular table, and those are much more common than the wheel.

I have been on guided dives where a multilevel profile is called out in the dive briefing, and the profile is described as being generated by the wheel. I doubt that they have the wheel on the boat, though, since they just develop the profile one time, then dive it repeatedly.

 

[Don Wray]

I was referring to the regular dive tables for a square profile...I have a wheel also which would be used for multilevel diving...My memory isn't as good as it used to be so I still check the NDL's on the table to be conservative.