Mass confusion about computers????

[Steve_C]

If you are doing a shorter SI than Suuntos mandatory 60 minues then your Zoop will be penalizing you by reducing your NDL on your subsequent dives.

Good reason to have switched computers.

 

[Steve_C]

Not necessarily: if you came up fast enough to "grow the bubble past critical radius", it may slow your off-gassing rate and give you less SI credit than table 2 does. So you start your next dive in a different pressure group than you think.

That's why you can't meaningfully compare their NDLs without also looking at their calculated gas loading: there may be compounding effects. There may not be. Who knows.

Understand. Although I go up slow to the safety stop. And then slow to the surface.

 

[lowviz]

Ok, so I’m not a huge computer guy but recently have been paying more attention to computers, algorithms, costs, features, etc. here on SB. ...

BTDT

...//... I bought an Mares Puck a few years ago figuring that it was just a simple basic computer that did everything I needed including nitrox, user battery change, guage mode, auto turn on , etc.
What I didn’t know at the time that I’m reading now is how rediculously conservative they are even to the point of being a nuisance.

Long story short, I started with a ScubaPro SmartPro brick, upper left. (secretly love it) I was doing bigger dives so I jumped on a mass purchase VR3 deal with my dive shop years ago. That thing would take me on any dive I could ever imagine in my next three lifetimes. Problem is, the user interface is a total pain in the ass. Next comes my Cressi, I just put it on when I need to show that I have a DC. Turn it on and never look at it. Perfect for ice or stream diving. If I lose it, so what?

Now comes my Petrel. Other than that lovely compass, I don't think it can do anything more than my VR3 can. However, the user interface is brilliant. I use that one for my real dives. It is like an old shoe.

Last is my slate. I use it for doubles. I splash with only so much air, like to come up with a grand in gas. 15 minutes of deco is just fine with me. Longer is dangerous, cold, boring, and nothing down there that I care about.

You know how to dive and have a good sense of how long to stay down. Find a DC that doesn't grind your gears and realize that some DC's will put you into deco by just promoting your optional safety stop to mandatory. So what? Do the time for the crime. The other 'gotcha' is that some are more aggressive at penalizing you for too much exposure to oxygen in highly repetitive diving. Just check them with the tables and you will quickly come to know what to be concerned about.

...//... I thought I had a fairly good grasp on this stuff but apparently not. Is there some sort of resource someone can direct me to with a table or graph that might list the different computers and where they sit on the conservative <> liberal scale?

IMHO lose the conservative/aggressive mindset. Find a DC you like and do the light deco requirement.

 

[tridacna]

IMHO lose the conservative/aggressive mindset. Find a DC you like and do the light deco requirement.

OP stated categorically that he is not a tech diver. What’s all this about “light deco”?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Has it been a nuisance to you on your dives?

No not yet. But so far I’ve only used it locally for beach dives, and rarely do we go past 60’ for any length of time. Usually our gas supply is the limiting factor.
However I do plan to do some travelling and also some offshore dives in Socal. Somewhere like Farnsworth Bank off the backside of Catalina would be a very unfriendly place for the Mares as would be the oil rigs.
My plan is just to keep using the Puck locally as a “beater” since it’s cheap and I can just use it in gauge mode. I also don’t care if it gets all beat up and scratched.
All this started when I was reading some posts about how horrible Mares are and how some people would never use them. This kind of got me spooked.

I’m guessing the reason some companies do this is strictly for liability reasons.
I’m tempted to do a deep table dive and see if I can intentionally bend the Mares.

So DSAT would be basically what the second gen PADI tables are based on, correct?

 

[lowviz]

@tridacna I'm not up for a fight today. Violating a conservative computer is deco while an aggressive one is still fine.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[tridacna]

@tridacna I'm not up for a fight today. Violating a conservative computer is deco while an aggressive one is still fine.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

Of course I do. I wore a Perdix on my left wrist and a Novo Zoop on my right on in the Caribbean a few weeks ago. Perdix had me in heaven while the Suunto had me in purgatory after 12 aggressive dives. Ended up donating the Zoop to the dive staff. But - I still would not advocate for violating that on a public board.

 

[Umuntu]

I’m guessing the reason some companies do this is strictly for liability reasons.
I’m tempted to do a deep table dive and see if I can intentionally bend the Mares.

I would not be too surprised if it was the case. Many of the new entrants to the DC market (e.g. Aqualung) have deliberately chosen conservative algorithms. Pelagic is in a position to offer a smorgasbord of Algorithm choices. Aqualung now owns Pelagic.

If you're looking for a liberal DC that is not too complex in the range of features it offers, which also has an inexpensive screen protector to deal with the inevitable scratches and scrapes of shore entries and exits, I would go with an Oceanic.

Oceanic's also give you a choice of DSAT (liberal) or Buhlmann (conservative) Algorithms.

 

[lowviz]

...//... But - I still would not advocate for violating that on a public board.

Yeah, that is the problem. But it was ERIC who asked.

A bit more balls may be in order.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Here’s the thing.
I’ve been diving tables including Navy tables and variants for years.
I’m not completely ignorant when it comes to deco, bottom times, repetitive dives, SI, pressure groups, etc.
What I DO NOT WANT is to be diving along looking at time and depth then suddenly realize that some stupid computer algorithm is freaking out when I know based on what I know, I still have plenty of time and in no danger of violating rec profiles.
Other people including buddies have all switched to computers so I’m figuring it’s probably time for me to get with the times. My fear is that I’ll br using some cheap computer with a goofy algorithm and screw up my buddies dive or bench myself, or get srewed out of precious UW time.
I don’t want to be doing deco for overstaying some rediculously conservative bottom time when that time could be spent enjoying the dive.
I’m still having a lot of trouble trying to surrender my freedom and become a slave to the screen, especially if it’s a totally bogus OS.
But at the same time I’m not into spending a fortune. But maybe that’s just part of the new times?