Hollis DG03

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rickthompson

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
136
Reaction score
14
Location
Coral Gables, Florida, United States
# of dives
200 - 499
Some of you may have seen my previous post about the DG03 vs Nitek Duo. I've decided that the DG03 is probably the better choice simply because I can't seem to find the Nitek Duo/Trio anywhere. Dive Gear Express carried them up to a few weeks ago, and I've been meaning to call them to see if they are permanently out of stock or not, but it's looking like the DG03 is going to be much easier to acquire.

Does anyone have a DG03 and want to share their experiences with it? Pros, cons, comments...

Thanks!
 
I only have about 10 dives on mine but so far I am pleased. I got the DSS mount for mine. My only complaint is that current depth and max depth are not on the same screen. DGE has these on sale right now for $250. I wish I waited to buy mine.
 
My wife and I have used them for about 18 dives.

Only used them in one gas mode with air and nitrox.
We also have the transmitters.

No problems with them so far and signal loss from the transmitter have been non-existent while diving.

Only been to 67 feet with them in cold water.

Find them a little hard to read sometimes...we are in our forties.
Might be switching in the new year to Shearwater or Liquivision for the OLED or LCD brightness.
 
I posted in another thread but about this computer but i'll repost it here.

I own this computer and have used it for deco dives within 150ft range. It does 3 gas switches fairly easy although I have only used it for one gas switch (either Nitrox 50 or Oxygen).


I've maybe only used it for 15 deco dives so I can't comment that heavily on it but so far it's been easy to use, numbers are big and stops are clearly labeled.

I probably have about 40 total dives with this computer and overall I've been very happy.

Screen is definitely not as easy to read as a Shearwater or Liquidvision. I did have some issues reading it in a very very low viz/silty environment but that's to be expected.
 
Some of you may have seen my previous post about the DG03 vs Nitek Duo. I've decided that the DG03 is probably the better choice simply because I can't seem to find the Nitek Duo/Trio anywhere. Dive Gear Express carried them up to a few weeks ago, and I've been meaning to call them to see if they are permanently out of stock or not, but it's looking like the DG03 is going to be much easier to acquire.

Does anyone have a DG03 and want to share their experiences with it? Pros, cons, comments...

Thanks!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...ve-rite-nitek-trio-computer-only-8-dives.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...-watches-analyzers/440795-dive-rite-trio.html
 
I've been using the Aeris Elite T3 for three years now. They're the same computers except that the Hollis has the Buhlmann algorithm versus the other brand's DSAT algorithm.

Once you have learned how to decipher the mumbo jumbo that is pretty much standard for a dive computer's operation manual, it's pretty easy to use. Even with my bad eyes, I don't have a problem with reading the display.
 
I've done 27 dives with the DG03, all but a few of these non-deco dives. Most of my dives are between 35 and 50 meters using two gases, and I used a third gas during TEC50 training, just because it was part of the course and the computer functioned perfectly. handling the three gases. Setting the mix and switching between them is quite straightforward (once you understand the damn manual, more on that later).

I want to like the Hollis, as it's an inexpensive three gas computer, but I'm finding it hard to do so. After 5 dives the screen malfunctioned (cosmetic issue - some of the non-essential information doesn't get displayed) and after 26 dives (about 45 hours total diving) I now have a low battery issue. It should last 300 hours, not 45!

I recognize I may just had a bad one, and I do feel confident that Hollis will honor their warranty, but I'm in Bali, so getting service here for it is simply not possible.

The two real complaints I have are the manual and the interface. The manual is just awful. I mean awful. Download it and see for yourself. This thing breaks records for crapness.

The bigger complaint is that the interface has some real challenges. It IS a confusing computer to dive with.

The display shows far too much useless information (the day of the week and the time, always helpful at 45meters!!!!) and hides the really important stuff like max depth and RUNTIME.

Let me say that again. RUNTIME is not displayed on the main screen, You have to press two buttons to access this information.

This makes following a dive plan just that bit more challenging because you have to keep pressing the damn buttons to see the runtime.

Most of my dives are deco dives and as soon as you go into deco, the DG03 tries to get you to make your first stop at 9m. That's far too big a gap from 45m, so you NEED tables to plan the dive and HAVE to dive the plan with this computer. And for that you NEED the runtime!!

Conservatism-wise it runs at the same level as V-Planner on conservative level 5, so it is conservative, but I can't fault that.

So, overall, yes I like that it is an inexpensive computer with some good functionality, but there is scope for improvement by Hollis. I will keep using this one until it dies, but I probably would not buy another.

Again, to be fair, I am using this in a Technical environment, it's not really quite up to it, but it does work, and I have to give it credit for that - It's not a $1500 Liquivision, but it does do the job where many low priced computers would not be able to.

My feeling is that this is good tool for Open Water Divers moving into Tec or advanced diving with multiple tanks/gases, but once you start to do more dives, you will outgrow it. Certainly it beats many of the other computers out there.

Just my 2c. Hope it helps.
 
I have a DG03 as does my primary dive buddy. Both of us use AI Tx and bungee mounts. Except for the DC taking a little time to learn (and yes, the manual most definitely sucks), we have not experienced any issues whatsoever. For the price that DGX is selling it for, I don't think there is a better deal to be found if you're a non-HE, advanced diver.
 
My DG03 always starts the safety stop timer at 7 to 8 mtrs when I set to 5 or 6m. After many frustrating dives I have now set the safety depth to 3m so hopefully it will trigger at 5m from the next dive onwards.
I agree not showing the running time on main screen was stupid - what were the designers thinking?

P
 
I have two nitek trios for sale right now.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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