Oceanic Geo 4.0 review

[KenGordon]

Ideally you’d have planning software that matches, but in your example if the plan was a reasonable plan then dive the plan and bend the computer. Is it very likely? Do some dives and see how it goes. Start with simple short ones and work up. a 30 minute difference should not come as a surprise.

I think that the fashion on SB does expect people to spend a lot of money on dive computers. The idea that it has to be a multi gas zhl16 computer leaves a small
selection of computers, the reliable brands (Divesoft, OSTC and Shearwater) are about £700 up.

On the other hand people can buy much cheaper air/nitrox computer for less than half the price. It will adapt to the actual profile in the water, being a significant advantage over the planned square profile dives with a gauge, and actually go diving.

 

[stuartv]

Ideally you’d have planning software that matches, but in your example if the plan was a reasonable plan then dive the plan and bend the computer. Is it very likely? Do some dives and see how it goes. Start with simple short ones and work up. a 30 minute difference should not come as a surprise.

I think that the fashion on SB does expect people to spend a lot of money on dive computers. The idea that it has to be a multi gas zhl16 computer leaves a small
selection of computers, the reliable brands (Divesoft, OSTC and Shearwater) are about £700 up.

On the other hand people can buy much cheaper air/nitrox computer for less than half the price. It will adapt to the actual profile in the water, being a significant advantage over the planned square profile dives with a gauge, and actually go diving.

Just curious, do you know any tech instructors who would teach diving the way you're talking about, to a new tech student?

Are you yourself a tech instructor who teaches new tech students that diving like that is okay?

Would you tell someone with no tech training that it's okay to do multi-gas diving, with small amounts of decompression, by following a Geo?

Disclaimer: I am NOT a tech instructor.

 

[KenGordon]

Just curious, do you know any tech instructors who would teach diving the way you're talking about, to a new tech student?

Are you yourself a tech instructor who teaches new tech students that diving like that is okay?

Would you tell someone with no tech training that it's okay to do multi-gas diving, with small amounts of decompression, by following a Geo?

Disclaimer: I am NOT a tech instructor.

They can have a plan on a slate and follow the more conservative of the slate and the computer

I was taught exactly like that although my computer was a Helo2 so I could plan with DM5. We were using BSAC88 tables which are much faster than any computer. Subsequently I was taught in a similar fashion on ANDP by a proper TDI bloke, cutting plans with VPlanner and executing them using slates and whatever computers the team members had.

No, I would not tell anyone that has not trained to do deco dives, with a Geo, Shearwater, tables or guessing.

I would happily teach someone with a multi gas computer how to do deco using that computer, but since planning is the key to such diving we’d need to see how the deco it wanted related to the plan. In those circumstances the slate plan is king until you see how the Z+ deco turns out.

Entry level is still about a written plan and two sources of time/depth. Now that means that sticking to the plan is quite important. This is why teaching executing proper accent rates, or at least ascent rates that match the plan, is important. It is why hitting stops on time is important. An advantage of a computer, for execution, is that being slightly late or very early is taken care of. For example, if a diver gets a leaky suit, or a some other failure, they know it is ok to return to the surface. I think that means using something like a Geo or i300C is quite advantageous vs gauge mode.

When advising new divers what computer to buy I will suggest spending an extra £50 to get something like a Vyper or i300C which can handle accelerated deco should they go that far. I would not suggest spending an extra £500.

 

[dmaziuk]

Are you yourself a tech instructor who teaches new tech students that diving like that is okay?

I hear over in BSAC land you don't have to be a tech student to do a 50 m dive with a "non-optional safety" stop.

 

[Edward3c]

Just curious, do you know any tech instructors who would teach diving the way you're talking about, to a new tech student?

Are you yourself a tech instructor who teaches new tech students that diving like that is okay?

Would you tell someone with no tech training that it's okay to do multi-gas diving, with small amounts of decompression, by following a Geo?

Disclaimer: I am NOT a tech instructor.

BSAC core training for Sports Diver includes simulated mandatory deco stops. BSAC members wanting to dive greater than 30m are encouraged to do the Accelerated Decompression Procedures where higher O2 mixes are used for mandatory deco stops.

Any BSAC OWI who’s done the course or took the old Advanced Nitrox can teach the course. There’s nothing magical about diving with mandatory deco stops, just good gas planning and management.

 

[KenGordon]

I hear over in BSAC land you don't have to be a tech student to do a 50 m dive with a "non-optional safety" stop.

Sports Divers can do deco dives to 35m, 40 with twinset and ADP, 50 with Sports Mixed Gas. Dive Leader and above can do 50m backgas deco dives. The tables for SD and ADP don’t have safety stops and would generally be regarded as really quite aggressive.

What actually happens is people go to places like Scapa, find that doing backgas deco all week is tedious and do ADP or ANDP to make it faster next time.

 

[dmaziuk]

What actually happens is people go to places like Scapa, find that doing backgas deco all week is tedious and do ADP or ANDP to make it faster next time.

Fair enough. Still, this involves having multiple cylinders and planned deco, so it would be regarded as a "tech" dive here in leftpondia.

 

[KenGordon]

Fair enough. Still, this involves having multiple cylinders and planned deco, so it would be regarded as a "tech" dive here in leftpondia.

I left off a dig about not needing to self identify as ‘technical’ in case it was deemed too offensive...

Personally I don’t think of back gas deco as technical, but accelerated deco I think is. There are extra skills about gas switches which mean it is another step up. BSAC label ADP as “club diving” and ‘Technical’ starts with Sports Mixed Gas (20/30 ish 50m). The point of ADP though is really the “Accelerated” part, so normal deco dives but faster deco.

We can’t help it if you lot have been being sold a dud all these years. Diving, for divers.

 

[dmaziuk]

We can’t help it if you lot have been being sold a dud all these years. Diving, for divers.

Well, since I have no plans to go look at wrecks in 50m of cold darkness, I'll take the piecemeal approach to my dive training. And a $150 single gas computer with that.

 

[KenGordon]

Well, since I have no plans to go look at wrecks in 50m of cold darkness, I'll take the piecemeal approach to my dive training. And a $150 single gas computer with that.

Take a torch, and use a drysuit. It is like a Disney movie...

A cheap computer is fine too. Comparatively few people get involved with multiple gases and those that do can just bend the computer if it doesn’t support the deco gas.

What I dislike is the all or nothing approach pushed here. Where there is no room for people doing occasional simple deco diving when necessary, either it is entirely not allowed (AOW) or full on twinset, deco stage, ANDP style.