looking for Tec Dive computer for a good price

[skankpile]

You'll need 2 of them..

Monetary consideration in technical diving will soon become ancillary to the tools value and purpose. Your goals and timing may change but not your needs.

 

[corvettejoe]

I'll give another +1 for Petrel.
Cost me $875 new from one of my LDS's.
I absolutely love mine.

When choosing the best tech diving PC there's really only three choices currently: Shearwater Petrel, or one of Liquivision's two higher end models (Xeo or X1).

After comparing them all for a couple weeks, I ended up choosing the Petrel.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

You'll need 2 of them.

Well, she'll surely want two of them; I know I do. But $700 for a like new Predator with all the trimmings and VPM unlocked was just too good of a deal and now I have a hard time justifying the cost of selling the Predator and buying a second Petrel.

But really, all she needs is at least one back-up to the computer. That could be another, cheaper computer in gage mode + tables, or just a dive watch, tables, and a depth gage. I'll take one backup for 'lighter' dives, usually a dive watch and either a cut table or my knowledge of the site and the deco required for the mix I'm diving for given bottom times, and at least two computers plus cut tables for dives where the deco obligation starts to get complicated.

 

[beaverdivers]

Hi guys

I'm looking for a technical computer for tec 50, for and reasonable price. One which alow me set my own plan and gradient factors. Which would you guys recomend me considering price v/s quality?
I also heard there is some one which can be uptade for trimix if i decide go further. What do you think about those ones?

Thanks:blinking:

Paula

The Scubapro Aladin 2G is an excellent Tech computer at a great price.

The Scubapro Galileo Sol is also an option, but more expensive. However, it can be upgraded to Trimix for Free!

 

[Dr. Lecter]

The Scubapro Aladin 2G is an excellent Tech computer at a great price.

The Scubapro Galileo Sol is also an option, but more expensive. However, it can be upgraded to Trimix for Free!

Both of those are functional as dive computers, but relative to modern technical computers can only be called outdated pieces of junk. The OP should read their respective manuals and decide for herself if she wants to buy an overpriced Ti-89 graphing calculator pretending to be a tech computer.

And in your rush to push the outdated tech your favored brand gives you to sell, you ignored the OP's requirement that the computer have variable gradient factors. These two use SP's own weird and not very useful algorithm.‎

 

[paula paz]

The Scubapro Aladin 2G is an excellent Tech computer at a great price.

The Scubapro Galileo Sol is also an option, but more expensive. However, it can be upgraded to Trimix for Free!

Thank youbeaverdivers. But I already have an Uwatec Aladin pro and a Tusa element IQ 750. I'm looking for something more advanced. That realy can help me underwater if something go not in the way I planned.



I'm almost sure for the Petrel, however I'm wondering if is necessary to buy the VPM-B upgrade or just the Buhlmann can do it.
I just download the V-planner and it is in VPM. Now the second question is, can I plan in VPM and dive with Buhlmann? what happend if I need to "re-plan" an emergency underwater?

Sorry all the question, for some of you it may be obvious, but I'm just starting

Cheers

 

[boulderjohn]

I just download the V-planner and it is in VPM. Now the second question is, can I plan in VPM and dive with Buhlmann? what happend if I need to "re-plan" an emergency underwater?

So I dived with a group last year that planned the dive using V-Planner. They were using Liquivision X-1s on VPM for backup. I agreed to follow their plan, using my Predator on Buhlmann as an extra backup. After I wrote the V-Planner profile in my wet notes, I punched everything into my Predator to see how it compared. They were not even close. The Predator had my first deep stop much shallower, with much more time at the shallower stops, but less overall time, as you might expect. I had no real concerns, as the Predator does not get snippy and go into gauge mode like a Suunto if it realizes you are just using it for backup and are following another plan.

Our dive was to 300 feet, so we had lots of time for my computer to keep adjusting to what I was doing while following the VPM profile. It just kept adjusting and adjusting. At the end of the planned final stop, the Liquivision computers all cleared, as expected, and my Predator cleared about 30 seconds later. In its adjustment, it ended up fully accepting the VPM plan.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

By working the high and low gradient factors you can shape the Petrel's deco curve to fit a VPM profile of a given conservatism setting, and doing so may be quite enlightening as to exactly what VPM is doing in comparison to a theoretical leading compartment at any given point. As boulderjohn notes, the default settings on a Predator heavily favor shallow stops, while VPM puts more time on deeper stops and is often longer overall.

But by changing your low GF, you can trigger a deep stop earlier, and by changing your high GF you can change how long your various stops are/when you surface. Understanding why and how that works is valuable. That said, I found the $75 VPM unlock a much easier way of doing things in the real world, where I plan dives and cut tables on V-Planner.

Side note: there's also a hybrid mode enabled by the VPM unlock, VPM/GFS. For long air exposures at or below 200', where I'm going to have to do quite a bit of heavy physical exertion right after surfacing (hauling double 130s and a pair of AL80s back up a ladder), I like using VPM with a limiting surfacing GF of 70-75%, because I find I feel a lot better.

 

[gekodivebali]

Sorry for what I'm about to say: why do you even consider training Trimix if 350$ difference on a computer matters to you? Have you looked at prices of gas for oc trimix dives?

 

[mathauck0814]

I'm almost sure for the Petrel, however I'm wondering if is necessary to buy the VPM-B upgrade or just the Buhlmann can do it.
I just download the V-planner and it is in VPM. Now the second question is, can I plan in VPM and dive with Buhlmann? what happend if I need to "re-plan" an emergency underwater?

This is exactly the type of question to pose to your instructor and let them talk you through it. Short answer is that at "intro to tech" levels, they're pretty darn similar. The long answer is more nuanced and will lead you to a dozen more questions (hence, talk to your instructor answer).

For quick and dirty comparisons, download the iDeco Pro smart phone app (which runs Buhlmann and is a reliable planner) then compare it against the output from V-Planner. You'll continue to do this after your class as you plan dives and decide which works better for you.