Garmin Descent S1 Buoy -- Surveys

[Nick_Radov]

The Suex device looks interesting but it looks like it needs to be integrated a Suex DPV.

No Suex DPV is required. The Seika transmits GPS location to the Eron D-1 via radio. It can either be mounted on a DPV handle or worn on your wrist.

Eron : Full control over your browsing - Suex

Eron D1-Connect is much more than just a computer. Through the wireless connection with the scooter, it can provide data that was previously impossible to obtain.

www.suex.it

 

[tursiops]

The Seika transmits GPS location to the Eron D-1 via radio

How do you know it uses radio, and not acoustics? I can find nothing on their website.
If radio, what frequency, etc?

 

[Nick_Radov]

How do you know it uses radio, and not acoustics? I can find nothing on their website.
If radio, what frequency, etc?

I don't have one myself but the manual on their website says it uses radio. No idea on the details.

 

[Rick Brant]

Yes, we currently do a variation on that. We get close on the surface, using a GPS waypoint. Then we drop a reel for a float, pull the line tight, check the coordinates, hopefully still close. It sounds easy but with swell it is a challenge. That's why we use a visual reference to make sure. We're only looking for about 1m accuracy but still, it is a challenge.

 

[Rick Brant]

What are the challenges you face with locating a site on the surface (presumably with GPS) and then dropping down onto it? What kind of depths are you working with? What level of accuracy is required (10s of meters, within a meter)?

The challenge is mostly swell, but the sun is also a factor. It can be tough to read the GPS reliably on the surface, working from a float. We have the GPS attached to a riser on the float, we can see it but it is not ideal. A remote readout, especially underwater, would be much better. The bottom is highly featured so it is not like we can easily spot where we are headed. Depth is usually 25' or less. Sometimes we have five or more coordinates per survey so just being able to cycle through coordinates below would be very nice.

 

[tursiops]

.

 

[tursiops]

I don't have one myself but the manual on their website says it uses radio. No idea on the details.

They do not talk about telemetry range nor frequency nor protocol. The batteries in the surface unit are 3xAA, so they haven't got a lot of power to play with. I speculate the system is not very good, or they would be providing at least things like range. I assume they need an FCC ID if they are using radio; a search of FCC IDs for "SUEX" reveals nothing. I assume they have an FCC ID....they sell in the US.

 

[soerenbalko]

This product has been out for a while now but I have still not been able to get an answer to this simple question. Can a diver note or navigate to a GPS location underwater? In other words, repeatably navigate to a specific spot on the sea floor.

We do reef surveys and need to locate specific locations using GPS. It is very difficult to do this using a regular GPS. I doubt the Buoy can do this but they do mention reef surveys in one their videos.

On a different note, Garmin has a very poor support system. There is no contact for asking questions like this. Whatever your support issue is, the Garmin site will funnel you to a FAQ that in this case at least, is not helpful.

I have just purchased the S1 buoy alongside the Garmin X50i and T2 transmitter. Have only tried it on a single dive. AFAICS, the X50i has a special widget for the S1, which shows the heading back to the buoy on a compass. I haven’t seen a feature like “mark this position”. But I also have yet to fully understand all of the X50i’s features. If it is currently absent then I would not be surprised if Garmin adds it in a future firmware update. Right now, support for th X50i seems pretty barebones, I even had to update the firmware to make the computer work with the buoy to begin with.