New diver, looking at Suunto D5

[Divin'Papaw]

It a choice about what to do, lock people out, like Suunto, or not, like Shearwater.

Bingo! As many of us have shared, this is a design decision that is absolutely critical to us. We want no business with a computer that selects the "lock out" path (nanny-mode) for how to handle these situations. We want a computer that leaves the decision making to us (computer-as-a-tool-mode) while continuing to function and run the algorithm over time as it should.

Truth be told, I am a very conservative diver and have never had a computer lock me out. However, knowing the design decision that the computer manufacturer has built into the software running on my wrist is extremely important to me.

 

[scubadada]

For the dissolved gas models, which these computers all are really, there are two things happening.

The first is constantly calculating the actual gas tensions in the model’s compartments. The second is comparing those gas tensions with some limit.

If you go over the limit then you can carry on calculating the actual tensions (1) eventually though the tensions will drop below the limit (as the diver off gases) and the ceiling will be above (2) the ambient again. It a choice about what to do, lock people out, before you surface, like Suunto, or not, like Shearwater.

or, lock you out after you surface to teach you a lesson

In over 2200 dives with a computer, including about 5% with light deco, I have never violated a decompression stop. Any of the 3 mechanisms would work for me, though I disagree with the Suunto procedure.

My old Oceanic computer would lock me out for 24 hours after I surfaced. My Teric is, well, a Teric.

 

[Martha A Page]

I passed my OW cert in Monterey yesterday, now it looks like my credit card is going to be punished. I'm torn on what wrist dive computer to get. I understand the buy once, cry once view, but I might be crying more than I need.

I know I want AI. I have no plans on ever doing anything other than rec diving. I don't want to go crazy deep, push my limits, etc. I want to explore beautiful sites under the surface, probably taking a nitrox class in the near future. I've been looking at the D5, which is already over my original top budget of $1,000 (Ha! I had no idea how expensive of a hobby I was getting myself into when I saw that Discover Scuba booth by the hotel pool). The only reason I haven't bought it yet is because I keep seeing things about 48 hour lock outs if you do something wrong. I honestly don't think it would be an issue for me because at the moment I am still a tiny bit apprehensive about diving. But then I've seen a couple things where people were locked out in a pool, or diving at 6 meters and there should be no reason for it to lock. I would be super upset if that happened while on a trip. I like the size of the watch, my close up vision is not awesome, so the big numbers on the screen work for me, I like the looks of the app / downloaded logs.

I started off with first looking at the Aqualung i470TC, but I like the color screen of the D5 better. The other wrist watch I see everywhere is the Teric, which looks like a superior computer. But I can't justify the price as a newbie. Maybe if I get 100 dives under my belt I will be ok with crying again?

I bought my D5 right after my checkout dives, and I LOVE IT! The AI has been flawless, and it’s easy to see depth, air, and dive time all on the same screen while diving. Its alerts always let me know when I’m ascending too quickly and what my safety stop time is. I love the way it syncs to logbook, and even shows the dive profile on its face post dive.
Hope you love it!

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

We’re those problems strictly with the teric or the perdix/petrel?

So. it's alright for Shearwater to have issues and failures but no other brand of computers?

 

[Wibble]

Suunto…. So I buys the best dive computer money can buy (according to the Suunto marketing BS) and loved this symbol of "look at me, I is a proper diver!".

Waited for weeks until the summer holidays and the flight to Spain, always proudly wearing the Suunto D9tx — did you know it does trimix, ooooh.

Finally get to the villa, pulled on the budgie smugglers, and jumped into the pool. Obviously not a dive, so I’d set it to Gauge mode, yes, knew how it worked, I’d read the manual. Swam around and "free dived" the pool (isn’t that the modern term for swimming underwater?). Lovely. Could see that the pool is 2.1m/8ft deep!

Couldn’t wait for the next day when I’d be diving with scuba stuff and all that. So set the Suunto to dive mode ready for the dive. But it wouldn’t go into dive mode. No siree. Gauge only.

WTF?? Mr Google answered why as on page 123, in tiny letters, it says it is locked out of Dive mode for 48 hours because some bloody idiot developer and their imbecile Pointy Haired Boss thought it would be funny.

I discovered that it was 48 hours and not two days as…. I got the thing wet on the third day a few hours before the 48h was up. Of course the ******ing useless and expensive bracelet reset to another 48 hours.

We were in Spain for two weeks so did manage to use it as a dive computer.

However, my hatred of Suunto had began in earnest.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

You missed a huge selling point for Shearwater and why so many of us own them and are on our 2nd or 3rd or in my case 4th and 5th. Rock solid customer service. I've heard story after story after story from fellow divers firsthand who have had the exact opposite from Suunto. I've heard Oceanic (Huish) offers solid support too. I have no clue about the quality of support from other brands (ratio, deep 6, etc).

The reason Shearwater has such good customer service is because they have had a lot of practice repairing their computers.
When I get a new computer, it will be a Ratio iX3M. It's a more advanced & reliable computer.

 

[Wibble]

The reason Shearwater has such good customer service is because they have had a lot of practice repairing their computers.
When I get a new computer, it will be a Ratio iX3M. It's a more advanced & reliable computer.

How many rebreather manufacturers use Ratio computers? None.
How many rebreather manufacturers use Shearwater computers? Most.

Why? Because they work and are well tested with millions(?) of dives.

 

[scubadada]

Changing to or from gauge mode or free dive mode with the Teric resets the deco tissues. The diver is responsible for taking this into consideration.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Changing to or from gauge mode or free dive mode with the Teric resets the deco tissues. The diver is responsible for taking this into consideration.

And what percentage of Shearwater customers actually do this? Very, very, VERY few people are going to care.

 

[scubadada]

And what percentage of Shearwater customers actually do this? Very, very, VERY few people are going to care.

Got me, I never use gauge mode and do not free dive. The point is, you are not locked out from switching to dive mode for any arbitrary amount of time and the computer is perfectly useable for you.

At least @Wibble was pissed that he could not switch from gauge mode to dive mode on his Suunto computer for 48 hours.

I guess it can happen.