Nitrox cert by correspondence or online?

[drew52]

As per an earlier post: http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/elearning/dean.asp

PADI offers the discover nitrox which you can do online. This can then be converted to the full PADI EANX Specialty Course fairly easily.

Alternatively get the Crew Pack, watch the DVD, complete the knowledge reviews. Write the exam and complete the dives on holiday. At least you can then save the classroom time while you're away. Just a short amount to ensure you understand everything (a run through of your knowledge reviews). Just ensure the place where you are headed offers the Nitrox Specialty)

 

[Blackwood]

1: Easily? That would have to be a silly stupid mix for that dive. The NOAA table gives a single dive time limit of 120 minutes at 1.5 PPO2. That's diving for 2 hours at 99fsw on Ean38 to burn your entire O2 clock on a single dive.

2: I still don't see where that has anything to do with being ready for a buddy going into an O2 seizure. You will have to explain more.

1. Yah, I came back and re-phrased it.

However, on EAN40, NOAA gives you 45 minutes at 99FSW. Many people don't pay attention to anything but their air supply and nitrogen loading...


2. All I'm saying is this: diving with hyperoxic gasses necessitates a higher level of awareness than normoxic gasses. Were I a Nitrox instructor leading a student on a checkout dive and I felt that he was either unable to recognize the danger or was otherwise unable to help me out should I go clonic, I'd fail him.

 

[Don Burke]

I can't go diving for the next three weeks because I'm on-call at work and my backup is out of the country. After that, I'm off on a diving vacation. I really want to get Nitrox certified before I go. Is it possible? Can I take a class online or by correspondence? A friend of mine loaned me the PADI video and I watched it ... it's pretty simple stuff. I know PADI requires a few dives to complete the cert though, so I won't be able to do the PADI course. I guess I could take it while on vacation, but if there's a way to do it beforehand, please let me know...

My searching isn't turning much up other than the TDI class, and there isn't a TDI shop convenient to me.

Thanks!

I think you are SOL for an online full nitrox course. Some places will let you self study and take the test. I believe it is important to at least go through the topics with an instructor.

I would look into doing the PADI coursework and testing near home and getting a referral to the destination for the actual dives. Since you are going to dive there anyway, the dives are a moot point.

 

[PerroneFord]

I thought the OTU clock was about 1440 units per 24 hours? That's pretty darn difficult to accumulate on recreational nitrox isn't it?

** Warning I am not a certified nitrox diver yet **

 

[AndyNZ]

Somewhat anecdotal, but a friend of mine did his (PADI) Nitrox cert a few years ago - even though they didn't have to, the instructor accompanied the two students on the dive. The instructor dove marginally deeper than the MOD for the mix the students were diving and beckoned the students down to look at something. My friend refused as he was aware of the MoD, whilst the other student went down. The instructor refused to certify the second diver.

A little unfair in my opinion, you tend to assume that "the instructor knows best" on training dives (how naive!) but then the student wasn't even aware of the actual depth they were at in the first place.

I often accompany divers doing Nitrox check-out dives and always ask them to calculate their PP02, MOD, COD and 02E using the tables and then compare it to the values from their computer. Sometimes the students can't rememer how to do this, even though they were in the classroom just a day or two before hand. The dives give them a chance to reinforce what they should know, and also learn the "real world" practicalities of diving on Nirox.

 

[serambin]

I assume you don't do the 'hands on' analysis check while under water...

Stan

 

[Kupu]

Whether you think its ok or not is not the question here, does anyone know where it can be done? if so pony up

http://coralspringsscuba.com/tdi_tech/tek_n2o2_remote.htm

 

[BarryNL]

I don't think the dives are necessary. But the PADI class is not a big burden to do on vacation anyway, especially if you have already read the book at home and worked through the exercises. Possibly watch a video, take a test which doesn't take much time, and analyze a few tanks. Then dive, which you were going to do anyway. Some places it's even a good deal, with special rates on Nitrox for the rest of your visit.

You can try to do the class on vacation, but make sure you arrange it in advance, otherwise you risk problems such as an instructor not being available for a few days, or the operator needs a couple of days notice to get Nitrox tanks filled and available.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but you can do the PADI "Discover Enriched Air" course online and then dive with EANx under indirect supervision of an EAN qualified instructor - which you will probably be doing on holiday anyway.

Check: http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/elearning/dean.asp

 

[BarryNL]

2. All I'm saying is this: diving with hyperoxic gasses necessitates a higher level of awareness than normoxic gasses. Were I a Nitrox instructor leading a student on a checkout dive and I felt that he was either unable to recognize the danger or was otherwise unable to help me out should I go clonic, I'd fail him.

So, on that basis, you'd withhold Nitrox training from anyone below Rescue Diver level, as they are going to be unable to competently help someone suffering oxygen seizure?

OTOH, the deepest I went on my Nitrox course was 13m - not much worry about having to deal with O2 seizures there!

 

[BarryNL]

Most of you need way more instruction than you think you do.........and that's the real problem.

Quite frankly, diving Nitrox correctly basically eliminates the requirement to track O2 exposure at all. I teach it as per the book, and then go on and add quite a bit of reality to it, which the students from my understanding, find invaluable. O totally agree that folks should know HOW to track it, then I give them a way to not really worry about it, then I enforce that on the required dives.

So, are you going to open your method up to internet scrutiny or just claim you have this magic bullet but not tell us what it is?