Oceanlog 2.1.8 SAC calculation problem

[ocpaul]

It appears that an old SAC calculation gremlin has crept back in with the release of version 2.1.8 of Oceanlog. The SAC calculation that is being done does NOT appear to take into consideration the average depth of the dive.

I sent a DLG file to customer service on 2/5/08. Haven't heard anything back yet.

OC

 

[NJMike]

Oceanlog continues to be the only second rate characteristic of an otherwise #1 dive equipment manufacturer.

The only thing Oceanlog is good for is producing the export log which can then be imported into a better dive log application.

I use Scubase Dive Log. Even though it cost me additional bucks, it is a good program.

 

[ocpaul]

I went to Scubase some time ago because of all the shortcomings of Oceanlog. It has not been totally workable, because every time Oceanic updates Oceanlog, some type of problem is created in the export file that is used by Scubase.

The most recent release of Oceanlog 2.1.8 creates a file that cannot be imported into Scubase without some manual massaging of the data file.

STILL have not heard any kind of response from Oceanic on the SAC calculation.

 

[vondo]

Oceanlog continues to be the only second rate characteristic of an otherwise #1 dive equipment manufacturer.

The only thing Oceanlog is good for is producing the export log which can then be imported into a better dive log application.

I use Scubase Dive Log. Even though it cost me additional bucks, it is a good program.

For the life of me I will never understand why a company whose business is selling hardware doesn't open up the source for the programs they use to support that hardware. Surely there are no technical secrets in how the computer outputs what is basically a CSV file of time, depth, temp, and air pressure.

They make no money from this software and they do such a half-a**ed job with it. I gather the other manufacturer supplied programs aren't any better, but if one was, that would certainly be a major selling point in my book.

 

[Doug Krause]

ocpaul - my apologies for the late response. Your report has been forwarded to the programmers - as soon as we've got it corrected, I'll post back to this thread.

I went to Scubase some time ago because of all the shortcomings of Oceanlog. It has not been totally workable, because every time Oceanic updates Oceanlog, some type of problem is created in the export file that is used by Scubase.

The most recent release of Oceanlog 2.1.8 creates a file that cannot be imported into Scubase without some manual massaging of the data file.

STILL have not heard any kind of response from Oceanic on the SAC calculation.

 

[Doug Krause]

Vondo - we're not just in the hardware business - we're running a proprietary algorithm and programming that has been fiercely protected for more than 20 years. There are concerns that open access may compromise that. Nothing is impossible - some things just take longer than others.

For the life of me I will never understand why a company whose business is selling hardware doesn't open up the source for the programs they use to support that hardware. Surely there are no technical secrets in how the computer outputs what is basically a CSV file of time, depth, temp, and air pressure.

They make no money from this software and they do such a half-a**ed job with it. I gather the other manufacturer supplied programs aren't any better, but if one was, that would certainly be a major selling point in my book.

 

[Doug Krause]

As for as the functionality of OceanLog - we have spent the last 2 years soliciting and implementing feedback from users - primarily from scubaboard. I believe that I, and the company, have shown that we are receptive to such feedback, and make significant efforts to make the changes that are requested.

We welcome constructive criticism - even in a public forum such as this. However, vague, comments don't enable us to address whatever it is that irks you.

 

[vondo]

Vondo - we're not just in the hardware business - we're running a proprietary algorithm and programming that has been fiercely protected for more than 20 years. There are concerns that open access may compromise that. Nothing is impossible - some things just take longer than others.

You'll forgive me for not buying that explanation.

1) I suspect such an algorithm is in the dive computer which is not what I was suggesting opening up.
2) Even if it's in OceanLog, I imagine that if any competitor was really interested in your algorithm, they'd be able to reverse engineer it rather easily.

In the meantime, you've saddled a very nice product which is very reasonably priced with substandard* software. And, from what I can tell, the support from your company for its hardware is superb.

So, having been so harsh, I want to thank you for at least coming here to answer this question (usually these kinds of questions are just met with silence). So I hope you are seriously considering this.

* When I say substandard, I mean some very broad categories:

1) There are several bugs reported on this forum. They seem to take a while to fix, which isn't so great. There seems to be very little effort put into this software.
2) The user interface for Oceanlog is pretty bad. It's typical for in house hardware development, but still not very intuitive.
3) Metric. I dive it, Oceanlog has lots of issues properly supporting it. 0F is not 0C so "0" is not an appropriate value to store when no temperature data is available. Also, tank and thus SAC calculations are done completely differently in metric and SAE. When I switched over, I had to go back and re-enter the size of every single tank.

 

[vondo]

As for as the functionality of OceanLog - we have spent the last 2 years soliciting and implementing feedback from users - primarily from scubaboard. I believe that I, and the company, have shown that we are receptive to such feedback, and make significant efforts to make the changes that are requested.

We welcome constructive criticism - even in a public forum such as this. However, vague, comments don't enable us to address whatever it is that irks you.

When I get back from my next dive trip and have to enter the data from my next round of dives, I promise I will give you a long list of everything that irks me about your interface.

The metric issues I mention above are things you could fix before I get back.

One thing I can mention now: I gave up entering the equipment I use on a dive because it was so cumbersome to use. As I recall (and I haven't done it in a while) it wasn't possible to have a standard set up but take a deviation from it (say add a hood) without saving that as another gear set up. That means with a reasonable amount of gear, there could be hundreds of possible diving configurations. My apologies if I am remembering wrong or this has been changed since I tried it.

 

[Codyjp]

I find that the SAC rate calculator isn't accurate on v 2.1.8. I run the exact numbers in my Excel spreadsheet and I get different numbers.

tell me if I am correct:
tank size: 133
PSI rating: 3442
Avg. Depth: 40
time: 49
PSI used: 1600psi
start pres: 3400
End press: 1600
SAC rate from oceanlog: .813
SAC rate from my Calcs: .57
I have attached my calculator that I used.

Am i wrong with my calcs or is oceanlog off?



All also find that when I enter anything in any box i must save it as soon as I am done. It will not retain it until I close the problem. If i switch views, See-ya! it deletes it all. I also can't change my dive gear profile as stated before.

Lastly, why is the dive type (dry, night etc) located under the Location page?