How did uploading your dive profile to a PC help improve your diving?

[janosik]

I am debating whether I should purchase a data link kit to upload dive profiles from my Suunto into a PC. The idea of staring at my dive profiles appeals to me for rather irrational and unsophisticated reasons: colourful charts look very cool, pro, and scientific, I have no problem cooking up a hundred of reasons why it is essential for me to own such a gadget, most of which are probably bogus. The more rational part of me refuses to yield to monopolistic extortion practices and pay $75 for the stupid cable as a matter of principle (that third-party thing probably comes up to about the same after all the tax and shipment).

Assuming that some folks out there really analyze your uploaded dive profiles: can you help me with examples of something unexpected you learned or a problem you have avoided?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I can't think of how downloading dive profiles to my Mac/PC really improved my diving, per se.

Get the "data link" kit if you want to as long as it's in your budget.
It can be nice to keep your divelog and dive profile in the same location for future reference.
If you get behind in formally logging your dives, a dive profile and date/time can help jog your memory.

 

[lowviz]

....//.....Assuming that some folks out there really analyze your uploaded dive profiles: can you help me with examples of something unexpected you learned or a problem you have avoided?

Yes, very valuable for a new diver. Repeat a few of your dives after getting "perfectly" weighted. Repeat dives again with about 10# extra weight. You should see a more pronounced "sawtooth" effect on the "overweight" graph. Compare these graphs to your already logged dives. -stay on the lookout for this pattern as you change gear.

Watch how your descents change with experience.

ALWAYS pay particular notice to your ascents at the final 10 feet. A bit of searching will tell you why this is so important to get right at the outset.

Stay safe.

 

[reefduffer]

I'd say the biggest objective value-add is the ability to identify all the times I was ascending too fast and got a "slow" warning in the log. I've made it a goal to eliminate them from my diving as recorded in the history, and while it's theoretically possible to do this "manually" by looking at the page-4 profile scroll in the logbook display on the Suunto, that's not realistically going to happen - even for me, and I'm more AR than most.

Related to that is being able to observe how smooth the profile is, as a measure of how good my buoyancy control is during various parts of the drive. As the project management saying goes, what gets measured gets controlled.

The other stuff you mention has value to me, and the software on the PC (Divelog on the Mac in my case) encourages me to add details (Dive Op, boat name, etc.) that might not make it to the paper log and therefore might get lost. Some don't care, and they're not wrong, but I do.

Also, you don't say what model Suunto you have. If it's an AI, the PC software will compute your SAC rate. I initially do that manually by recording the Suunto display of logbook pages 1-3 that include average depth, delta-P, and bottom time, but it's nice to have it doublechecked by the PC software.

Unless you get lucky with a used one, the cable isn't cheap, but look on eBay. More like $60 including shipping than $75. That's where I got mine, and it's worked fine.

 

[Jorgy]

I made a difference for me - once I saw how bouncy I was was and how many time I got the slow warning - I changed the way I dive...

It also helped with managing bottom time and really understanding NDL......

Now I only down load to keep a log (some places require a log).....so i print my last 10 dive and bring it.....

M

 

[janosik]

Thank you all for your responses. This sounds very interesting, I especially like the buoyancy aspect. On somewhat unrelated note, I have a question about the SAC. Is your SAC rate changing much over the course of the dive? I have a Zoop, which unfortunately does not measure my pressure. I wonder how accurate and useful the result would be if I computed my SAC based on the average depth.

 

[lowviz]

Thank you all for your responses. This sounds very interesting, I especially like the buoyancy aspect. On somewhat unrelated note, I have a question about the SAC. Is your SAC rate changing much over the course of the dive? I have a Zoop, which unfortunately does not measure my pressure. I wonder how accurate and useful the result would be if I computed my SAC based on the average depth.

SAC is your gas consumption referenced to the surface, don't expect it to change much. However, it is a great indicator of stress. That would be interesting...

 

[Bubbletrubble]

This sounds very interesting, I especially like the buoyancy aspect. On somewhat unrelated note, I have a question about the SAC. Is your SAC rate changing much over the course of the dive? I have a Zoop, which unfortunately does not measure my pressure. I wonder how accurate and useful the result would be if I computed my SAC based on the average depth.

Your SAC/RMV rate will increase...when you breathe more.
When you are exerting yourself more underwater (e.g., finning against current, chasing down your buddy, just working harder than normal, experiencing increased task-loading) or are anxious, your breathing can change and your respiratory rate might increase. I don't think you need an AI computer to tell you that.

For the purposes of dive planning, it's perfectly acceptable to calculate an average SAC/RMV rate across the entire dive -- using average depth data, total psi used, total run time, capacity/service pressure of tank). That's what I do.

I also don't think you need downloaded dive profiles to tell you that you're bouncing up and down in the water column and exhibiting poor buoyancy control...but that's just me.

 

[janosik]

Ok, so to summarize, an experienced diver with good situational awareness will recognize many or all of the aforementioned problems, but the profile does help to jog memory and pay more attention to some of those key performance indicators following the dive, and it helps as a learning tool.

What other interesting things can you read from your uploaded profiles besides excessive ascent rate, buoyancy problems, or periods of increased SAC due to stress or other factors?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

What other interesting things can you read from your uploaded profiles besides excessive ascent rate, buoyancy problems, or periods of increased SAC due to stress or other factors?

With my Suunto, I can press a button on the computer during a dive to insert a "bookmark." The marker will be shown as a "Diver Attention" symbol once the dive profile is downloaded. This neat-o feature sounds a lot more useful than it really is.

I get it. You're trying to rationalize getting the download cable.
Make the purchase because you want to.
Downloading your profiles won't make you a better or safer diver.
I've dived with lots of novice divers (fresh out of OW class) who demonstrated quite good situational awareness and satisfactory buoyancy control. I've also dived with a few divers who were bouncing up-and-down in the water column. They felt the pressure changes in their ears, observed fluctuations in computer/gauge depth, and used visual cues in the UW environment to notice that they weren't holding position in the water column. They were very aware of saw-toothing without reviewing the downloaded profile after the dive.

I agree that Suunto charges too much for the cable. It's downright ridiculous that one can buy a Zoop for $210 from an authorized Suunto dealer...but the download cable has a MSRP of about $100. That's almost 50% of the cost of the computer!
Vote with your money. Purchase the cable from that German company on Ebay.