I died because of my slate - looking for articles/info on slate abbrev.

[ianr33]

I take the output from V-planner for the planned dive plus a few contingencies and print it.(Much easier to read than smudged pencil) Then I use clear packing tape to stick the profile to my slate. One day I will get really sophisticated and laminate the cut out table. Gas switches can be made obvious with a highlighter pen.

e.g for 25 minutes on air with O2 for deco. Run times are in parenthesis.

120, 25 120, 30 130, 25
(25) (30) (25)
60 0 (28)
50 0 (28) 1 (34) 2 (30)
40 3 (31) 4 (38) 4 (34)
30 4 (35) 6 (44) 5 (39)
20 3 (38) 4 (48) 4 (43)
10 6 (44) 7 (55) 6 (49)

The formatting came out a bit screwy,but hopefully the idea is clear

 

[grazie42]

150ft, 20mins, 21/35

Gas.....Depth..ST.....RT
21/35...150.....-......20
-----------------------
50........70......2......24
50........40......2......26
50........30......2......28
-----------------------
100......20 .....10.....38

+5min ---> +10mins
+15ft ---> +10mins

Pretty much like the others (this is just an example and not a real schedule)...
I tend to memorize the stops and only keep the slate as a reference...
I´ll also just write a few "likely" scenarios and the added deco-times (I have a good idea of where to add them)...

Of course I do this in metric...

ymmv

 

[birdwrasse]

i bought a laminator... use word and type out everything... usually the cards end up being about the same size of the multifold slate... AND i can run contingencies for time/depth/gas...

all my tech dives are planned manually and then double checked with diving software... no on the fly tech dives...!!! i do have flexible IANTD deco tables for "general" runs, but am conservative with them.

use grommets and 1/16" bungee on wrist...

sure its a lot of work, but when i went through cave, i was experiencing the same issues... too much info on the slate and bottles and it gets lost due to the limits of writing on those things. i bring the slate to tell the other diver with me "pass the time" info...


good luck!




cheers,




--c

p.s. on the bottles, i've taken off all numbers and run a strip of duct tape on the side and by the neck of bottle for verification and referrence. i use and vary the gasses so much, that the 70 or 20 on the bottle ended up being covered most of the time, anyway... buy a huge marks-a-lot marker and with grey or white duct tape, its easy for others to see, too!

you can use white duct tape and put those on the slates and write with a sharpie, too. it's clearer than using a pencil!



--c--c

 

[Flightlead]

How were you taught to handle, carry, and switch deco mixes?

when I started tech is was with naui who stack all bottles on the left side, first gas on top. with padi/dsat they typically train with bottles on left and right, rich right lean left, however I'm free in this course to choose. I have been diving with left/right, but find getting to my emergency pocket (right side) a pain with a bottle there. I may switch to all on the left.

in terms of switching - NO TOX
N - note name and MOD label on cylinder
O - observe current depth <= MOD
T - turn on valve
O - orient regulator and hose (ie unstow reg, pull out hose etc)
X - exchange regulator and examine team mate(s) to ensure correct gas

if team mate observed with wrong gas, assume you are on the wrong gas also, signal teammate and offer long hose while switching to backup reg on back gas....then argue about it

 

[battles2a5]

How did you and your buddy switch to the wrong gas if you were observing this protocol? Was it a task-loading FUBAR or was it an oversight? Not trying to criticize, just want to understand how it happened so we can offer some more direct feedback.

 

[birdwrasse]

you could always unclip the bottom bolt snap and lift the bottom of the bottle for your buddy to see the mod, then hit him on the head with the bottle and tell him "he could have had a v-8" ...LOL... but the bottle thing still works!




--c

 

[birdwrasse]

p.s. try to minimize multi-stage decos, too... if a bailout can be ean36 and you can deco off it, bring it in an 80... covers a few things... hang a bottle of higher gas on the line to accelerate deco or to pad... you can use it or not... add it to your multi-gas compter, JIC... deco is part of the dive... the lake is getting warmer (lake mead), so we no longer have cold decos! yeah! its about time. starting deeper decos, a lot of the time, times out the same as gas switching at multi-levels... you have to run the programs to be sure. i don't fuss about a minute... i use "nautilus."


--c

 

[Jason B]

in terms of switching - NO TOX
N - note name and MOD label on cylinder
O - observe current depth <= MOD
T - turn on valve
O - orient regulator and hose (ie unstow reg, pull out hose etc)
X - exchange regulator and examine team mate(s) to ensure correct gas

How about when you turn the valve on, only crack it, then turn it off - now deploy reg and purge the reg (that you are getting ready to go to) and watch the spg of the bottle to ensure the needle drops to zero. If it does then you have the correct reg in your hand so open the valve all the way and insert reg (after checking depth one last time).

 

[birdwrasse]

ooooh! i like that technique! will have to try that one. thanks!


--c

How about when you turn the valve on, only crack it, then turn it off - now deploy reg and purge the reg (that you are getting ready to go to) and watch the spg of the bottle to ensure the needle drops to zero. If it does then you have the correct reg in your hand so open the valve all the way and insert reg (after checking depth one last time).

 

[rainman_02]

I don't want to turn this into a religious argument, but...

To play devil's advocate for a second, I have heard of way way too many stories of GUE-trained divers switching, or attempting to switch to the wrong gas. Enough to make me wonder if the way we do it (T1 == 1 deco gas, T2 == 2 or more) is making people who do alot of diving at the T1 level get complacent about their switching protocols. To a degree that maybe if they had more than one bottle since day one (or, relatively early on) they wouldn't develop the complacency....

*Knock on wood*


I've not been GUE trained...however, it was AG training...

Dove with two bottles multiple times. Every time, the complete gas switch protocol gets followed. I have not dove with two deco gasses...but grabbing a deco gas on descent when you wanted the bottom stage...is not good either.

The bottle switch "failsafe" is multi-fold when followed properly. I check my depth and the MOD of the gas. All gasses are charged but off. I grab the knob of the bottle I want, trace the hose, grab the reg and pull it free. A quick purge cleans out any debris as well as lets me watch the pressure of the charged but off regulator decrease. I then trace the hose of the known correct regulator back to the knob and turn it on. I check my depth, put the reg in my mouth, and breathe. If I get more than one breath, I've pretty much got the right reg. However, as an additional precaution, I show my teammates my gas selection and they verify I'm on the right gas.

If you do all that (and it takes an astounding 30 seconds, if that)...there should never be more than one or two breaths on the wrong mix...and should rarely, if ever, get the wrong mix in the first place.