ISC Remora or APECS controller wanted/needed

[mr_v]

Personally, I like my rebreather controller to do one thing: control the rebreather. I don't like having everything on one unit. The more complexity you add, the more likely something trivial is going to cause a problem. Like I would bet the thing that takes out a controller with wireless comms is the wireless comms and not the rebreather brain part. I like simple and basic, it tends to be resilient.

Wireless connectivity is on-the-chip capability now. Keep the cables for underwater communication, but allow computers to connect to the the cloud wirelessly on the surface. APECS4 does it to a degree. Not sure if you played with it, but there are some nice features.

They wanted it for sump diving where they could log the profile on the way in and when they got out the sump on the other side they could export the profile from the data logger to the planner and plan the deco for the exit trip using accurate profile info. If I remember right their goal was exploring the far side of the Ressel so these were non-trivial dives and an accurate plan could make a significant difference to the time you spent in the water.

Do you have any more info on that capability? That's what I'd like to use for complex rebreather dives. Right now, I create a potential dive profile in MultiDeco, log it in the notes. Once the dive is complete, I updated the notes based on the actual data so that when I dive the next time, the plan is more realistic. Helps with timing, bailout requirements, etc. Eventually, I'd like to overlay these dives plans with cave maps, so that people can look at sample dive profiles and minimize guessing.

These days, a $10 ESP32 could easily do live deco calcs in a manageable wrist mounted unit. Now DIY'ing a dive computer is really just about getting a practical housing made. The electronics and software are fairly insignificant by comparison. In the past it was the other way around, doing the guts took a lot of technical skill.

I'd ask ISC about their APECS supplier. Best form factor. The button placement alone makes me like it more than Shearwater and other computers.

 

[Geo7]

As a complete layperson when it comes to software and electrical engineering, I approach all this from the perspective of reliability: Are failure rates of current CCR controllers as low as we want/need them to be? If the answer is yes, it may indicate that the small CCR companies are able to handle the challenges and might be ready to add cool new features. If the answer is no, perhaps they need more ressources, more time for development and testing, or they may need to simplify the product to where they can focus their ressources to control the vital aspects of it. Again: layperson here. You guys tell me...

The one advanced feature I do kinda need is to download the dives into Excel to log them for work, and the bluetooth download has been such a headache with some dive computers.

 

[mr_v]

As a complete layperson when it comes to software and electrical engineering, I approach all this from the perspective of reliability: Are failure rates of current CCR controllers as low as we want/need them to be? If the answer is yes, it may indicate that the small CCR companies are able to handle the challenges and might be ready to add cool new features. If the answer is no, perhaps they need more ressources, more time for development and testing, or they may need to simplify the product to where they can focus their ressources to control the vital aspects of it. Again: layperson here. You guys tell me...

The one advanced feature I do kinda need is to download the dives into Excel to log them for work, and the bluetooth download has been such a headache with some dive computers.

Software and hardware are straightforward commodities. There are ways to ensure quality and verify system robustness, especially in systems with limited complexities, like controllers. Thus, most of the issues are due to wear and tear.