New Meridian computer from Scubapro

[teknofly]

I'm really happy with it. So far I've racked up a dozen dives on it (all in shallow water, some deep ones to come).

The display is nice and easy either in clearwater with good lighting or on a silted out night dive down in the river. The interface is pretty intuitive and the menu system is really easy to navigate and make changes although I did have to go back to the manual a couple of times to find out where the functions were hidden. Big fan of the inverted backlight (numbers lit against a dark background) as it makes it a breeze to read during a night dive.

I haven't set off any of the ascent rate warnings or the like underwater yet but the audible tones from menu switching are easily heard underwater. All the information is presented in a nice clean format and, from my perspective at least, a logical one.

The unit is sufficiently small that it is comfortable enough to be worn as a day to day watch although it is heavier than the average watch and is quite pronounced on the wrist (yes I've already grazed it against a door frame). The strap is comfortable but the natural curvature does fit my wrist well, this may be an issue for someone with rather thin wrists but then it is smaller than most wrist based dive computers. I may look at getting the longer strap but at this stage it fits over my wetsuit (4mm) and glove (2mm) with a hole or two to spare.

The PC interface cradle and the software all worked without an issue although I did notice that the metal spring on the cradle does leave a small scratch mark on the side of the computer when removed and replaced.

One thing you may find useful is disabling the water sensor if you are wearing the computer day to day as it tends to switch to scuba mode upon contact with the skin when you move your hand.

I haven't played with the microbubble settings so haven't used any of the mid-ascent stops or the like.

Given that this is my first wrist computer I can only compare it based on observations and trying on the Luna and Icon in the store and I have to say that I MUCH prefer the smaller Meridian.

Unit feels solid and haven't had any issues yet.

 

[scubanski]

I got mine last Monday and left for Roatan on Wednesday. I don't like this watch. i had it in free dive apnea mode for my first afternoon when I was snorkeling. The log only tells you how long you were in the water and the max depth. It doesn't tell you how many times I dove down while snorkeling and how long each sort of free dive was, my old Mares Excel did which I really liked. This just says 33 feet and 40 minutes for one of my snorkeling excursions. It just adds the total time and the max depth. I liked having each dive down right there which I could see when I came up, like "oh I just went down to 40 feet for 40 seconds and then the next one was 27 feet for 39 seconds" type of thing which i could see in the water while on the surface really easily. It was also great for setting an anchor or checking depth for friends sailboats which can draw a lot. This is useless for that purpose and mode.

Also you can't switch modes for 24 hours after you use it in another mode. It was stuck in apnea mode when I went on my first dive the next morning after the previous afternoons snorkeling excursion essentially just working as a max depth and time gauge giving me no info during my dive. I thought it was in scuba mode but then re-read the manual which is written by crackheads by the way, way too confusing. I hate the menu.

I had it on still after my first two dives sort of using it as a watch and went to the pool bar to grab a beer, approximately a two foot depth and it reset its 24 hour cycle.

The display reminds me of my speak and spell kids device from when I was 5, that's what the word font looks like anyway. You can't put it in a low power state either when not on vacation. i also just need nitrox, I don't need the other mixes. The planner isn't really helpful to me either. it is just a menu function that I can't disable and you can't even look at if it is stuck in gauge or apnea mode.

I finally got it into scuba mode by taking it off for 24 hours and leaving it in my room. Basically If I do two tanks in the morning and want to go snorkeling the next day I cannot change modes or even if I want to use it in free dive or gauge mode that afternoon after diving in the morning.

When using it as a watch it has the seconds ticking which I find annoying, it's like a digital watch with seconds. No way to remove the seconds. It just logged a dive when I washed my hands in the sink for 20 seconds. You can't put it into a watch only mode either

Going through the menu with the buttons is not user friendly.

I know this has a better algorithm but I liked my mares so much better.

i'm not sure if there are ways around some of my problems but as of right now I haven't figured any out. If anyone has any advice please let me know. i would also love to hear any other experiences. If I can't change some of these features then I am going to sell this and buy the mares excel again or the new matrix.

cool looking watch but it's not for me unless there are ways to fix some of these issues. i do like some features but probably only dive about 40 tanks a year when I do 3 weeks of beach vacations.

 

[teknofly]

The log only tells you how long you were in the water and the max depth. It doesn't tell you how many times I dove down while snorkeling and how long each sort of free dive was.

While the on screen log only tracks the maximum depth and the duration if you download the dive data to your computer it will provide you with a full dive profile showing all your surface intervals and the depth profile for each "free dive". Between each "free dive" it will continue to display the max depth and the duration while you remain at the surface. I'm guessing this is due to the limitations associated with a watch face display the size of the Meridian.

Also you can't switch modes for 24 hours after you use it in another mode. It was stuck in apnea mode when I went on my first dive the next morning after the previous afternoons snorkeling excursion essentially just working as a max depth and time gauge giving me no info during my dive.

The manual clearly states the reasoning behind this (the nitrogen loading is not tracked during apnea and gauge modes) and it is in fact a safety feature. You can override this by resetting the desaturation in the "Scuba" menu. I don't have mine with me or the manual at hand but it is listed in the manual as desaturation reset or something. In order to do so you need to put in the override code (313 off the top of my head) which is in place to avoid accidental switching, just bear in mind that you are overriding a safety protocol and I'm not advocating doing so. Also the lockout should be 48 hours.

I thought it was in scuba mode but then re-read the manual which is written by crackheads by the way, way too confusing. I hate the menu.

Actually the first screen that should come on when you hit the water (assuming that you have water contacts activated) or after a delay with them switched off, is the Algorithm and Gas type (if in scuba mode) or your current desaturation times.
As for menu settings, the fact that it has four buttons with a sequential menu system is, I find, quite intuitive. I did have to go back to the manual to find out what some of the abbreviations and the symbols meant but other than that once you get the hang of it you can get to the options you need with relative ease. The manual itself has a whole host of flow charts to describe the button sequences which are pretty easy to follow.

I had it on still after my first two dives sort of using it as a watch and went to the pool bar to grab a beer, approximately a two foot depth and it reset its 24 hour cycle.

I've managed to go swimming in mine without it logging it as a dive but then I have turned off water contacts unless I'm about to go diving.

The display reminds me of my speak and spell kids device from when I was 5, that's what the word font looks like anyway. You can't put it in a low power state either when not on vacation. i also just need nitrox, I don't need the other mixes. The planner isn't really helpful to me either. it is just a menu function that I can't disable and you can't even look at if it is stuck in gauge or apnea mode.

The Meridian only handles Nitrox however it has the option to set a second gas mixture in the even that you are planning a staged decon. This is optional and unless you actually plug a value into the "d Gas" setting in the Scuba menu it won't actually affect your dive at all. The planner is actually very useful for doing multiple dives so that you can make the most of your second, third, fourth etc.. dives. All you have to do is plug in the expected surface interval (defaults to current SI) the expected depth and it will give you the maximum bottom time before you go into deco. Again, if you are not doing multiple dives then this won't come into play but it is a very handy feature to have.

I finally got it into scuba mode by taking it off for 24 hours and leaving it in my room. Basically If I do two tanks in the morning and want to go snorkeling the next day I cannot change modes or even if I want to use it in free dive or gauge mode that afternoon after diving in the morning.

As per previous comments taking the watch off for 24 hours is probably a little on the extreme side. As I mentioned in my brief review I too found the water contact to be a little too sensitive to leave on all the time but I haven't had it register any moisture as a dive including getting it wet when cleaning gear and boat after a dive.

Hopefully a few of those suggestions help you to get a little more out of the Meridian Scubanski but I definitely recommend turning off the water contact while not diving.