Mares Sirius, another computer running Buhlmann

[quietlife4me]

My Mares/SSI LDS can’t get their hands on any. As of last week he was told none are in the USA yet.

 

[scubadada]

I have been looking for a new wrist-worn computer that I would like to double as a daily watch. I am not a Garmin fan, I live down the street from their headquarters and hear all kinds of stuff like no one who works on the product line, actually likes to dive. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Teric, but saw this and it gave me pause. Not much in the form of videos or reviews to compare to. But if anyone has had real-world comparisons to share, I would certainly welcome it. My local dive shop is working on getting a demo model to play with, but I would like something in the meantime. I know this thing is brand new and it will probably take some time, but this is the first spot I thought to check-in.

Thank in advance.

Might work out fine if a GF high max of 90 is OK

 

[Belzelbub]

I have been looking for a new wrist-worn computer that I would like to dI am not a Garmin fan, I live down the street from their headquarters and hear all kinds of stuff like no one who works on the product line, actually likes to dive. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Teric, but saw this and it gave me pause.

Just a couple points. As a daily wear watch, the Garmin beats the Teric. No contest. The Teric can function as a watch, but that’s not really what it was designed for. The Garmins, on the other hand work well as daily watches, smart watches, activity trackers, and as dive computers. They work well. I generally dive with a Shearwater Perdix on one wrist and a Garmin MK2s on the other. Both are great.

Regarding your statement that “no one who works on the product line, actually likes to dive,” I say, “So?” I work for a large manufacturer. In my career, I’ve been involved with all sorts of products. Some have been rather bland, but some products I’ve worked on are on rockets, currently on Mars, and implanted in humans. I have never been to space, and would really prefer not to have any of the implants I’m working on, but that doesn’t mean the products are not top quality.

I, personally, have no issues if the Garmin R&D team involved with the Descent series does not dive. I’d only hope that someone involved with the project has talked to divers to get a product that divers want. I’m confident this has happened.

Without a doubt, the Perdix is more intuitive out of the box. The Garmin has a bit of a learning curve, but in large part this is due to the broader capabilities. It just took some time customizing the interface and just wearing the Descent to have it become more or less second nature.

I’ve not used the Mares Sirius, but would have no problems recommending either a Shearwater or a Garmin.

 

[Diver.Jason]

I have no problem with Garmin and I am sure the product is great, It's just not for me. I interviewed with several of the team members that manage that product line. I just found it strange that they couldn't get anyone to get in the water with to test the dive computer (this was disclosed to me during the interview). Being so close to the headquarters, everyone around here has one. I would prefer to be different and the price point is a bit higher than I would like to spend. I also have three sons that are certified, which means if I get one, they are going to want one too... 2K x 3....

 

[Jai Bar]

Thank you, forgot about this one. The one from 2004 appears to be unobtainable, which curiously coincides with Maiken's rant:


-- VPM Algorithim

Out of curiousity, how far did you get with your matlab sim? I find the couple of Wienke's papers that have actual formulae in them somewhat... handwave-y. But anyway, in the context of this thread: I don't know if Mares has any computers in their product line that implement "full" RGBM: AFAIK all low-end devices run something called "folded RGBM" and only high-end Suuntos implement the "real RGBM" (but only if you go deep enough long enough). I.e. whatever's actually implemented in most "RGBM" computers remains anyone's guess.

So then you have a next generation of programmers trying to retrofit that to the next generation of microprocessors with at best a very fuzzy idea of FTW they're looking at... I'd ditch it and go ZH-L too, and save a bundle on the licensing fees in the process, even if bubble models weren't falling out of fashion.

I got the initial idea many years ago (too many) after reading Sutart Morrison's page: DIY DECOMPRESSION he basically wrote a recipe for Buhlman ZH-L16 model ready for implementation. The implementation for Haldanean model is even simpler (as Buhlman's model is a modification of Haldane's original decompression model mainly the number of compartments and half-times, plus the introduction of gradient factors).
VPM (varying permeability model) and RGBM, which in a way remotely derived from it, are more complex.
I used Wienke's algorithm from this document which is described in detail:

https://www.tecvault.t101.ro/ModernDecompression_Wienke.pdf

At the time I used the above to get a better understanding of what happens when doing sawtooth profiles, too slow ascent, adding a deep stop, reverse profile diving etc. one can learn a lot from this experimentation. At some point I wanted to amuse by comparing the results by tying my dive computer on a line and throwing it in the water repeating the same crazy profiles, but never got to it.
You can get several Buhlman ZH-L16 source code projects on GitHub: Python, Java, C, C++ etc. some of them are quite nice to begin with.

 

[L13]

I have been looking for a new wrist-worn computer that I would like to double as a daily watch. I am not a Garmin fan, I live down the street from their headquarters and hear all kinds of stuff like no one who works on the product line, actually likes to dive. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Teric, but saw this and it gave me pause. Not much in the form of videos or reviews to compare to. But if anyone has had real-world comparisons to share, I would certainly welcome it. My local dive shop is working on getting a demo model to play with, but I would like something in the meantime. I know this thing is brand new and it will probably take some time, but this is the first spot I thought to check-in.

Thank in advance.

The Teric is not that great as an everyday watch (other than the rest of the day on dive trips). It is a great dive computer, especially if you have old eyes. As a dive computer, it is worth it's price if you want the features it has, but it adds very little value as an every day watch. There are several lower end dive computers (Deep6 etc.) that might do the trick. Or you could go with an Apple if you are Rec only and don't want AI.

Personally I would recommend the Garmin for that niche in the dive computer/everyday watch market, but I understand personal preferences might force another choice. I have the same reaction to Apple, even though I think it works well for its target market I would never own one.

 

[Jai Bar]

Thank you, forgot about this one. The one from 2004 appears to be unobtainable, which curiously coincides with Maiken's rant:


-- VPM Algorithim

Out of curiousity, how far did you get with your matlab sim? I find the couple of Wienke's papers that have actual formulae in them somewhat... handwave-y. But anyway, in the context of this thread: I don't know if Mares has any computers in their product line that implement "full" RGBM: AFAIK all low-end devices run something called "folded RGBM" and only high-end Suuntos implement the "real RGBM" (but only if you go deep enough long enough). I.e. whatever's actually implemented in most "RGBM" computers remains anyone's guess.

So then you have a next generation of programmers trying to retrofit that to the next generation of microprocessors with at best a very fuzzy idea of FTW they're looking at... I'd ditch it and go ZH-L too, and save a bundle on the licensing fees in the process, even if bubble models weren't falling out of fashion.

Funny, I tried digging in old backup stuff looking if I have somewhere these Matlab scripts saved from some 15 years ago, in the meantime amused myself with chatGPT asking him- it- to do some VPM and RGBM Python coding, and compare simple square dive profiles with regular PADI tables. The thing needs polishing and tweaking of initial parameters and boundary contidions, but it is quite good. Skynet may be upon us sooner than expected ;-)

 

[dmaziuk]

Well, if it's chatGPT writing dive computer firmware, I am switching to tables when/if my Leo dies. Hopefully not soon: those ancient Seikos were built to last.

 

[scubadada]

The Mares Sirius and transmitter appear on the Divers Supply website, $1000 + $370 Mares Sirius Computer Black