Okay, I'm looking for a little computer advice...

[GearHead]

I've got the Mozzie, but I'm seriously thinking about either a D3 or the Stinger down the road. Being the cheap-a$$ that I am, I'm leaning toward the D3, but for the short term, the Skeeter can do a decent job of being a bottom timer.

It's true that Freediving mode won't give you bottom timer abilities, but in normal CPU dive mode, you have depth, cumulative dive time, and temperature (plus average depth after the dive is over).

The only thing you don't have is a count up/down timer for deco, though you could use a slate or Wetnotes to scribble time and calculate deco that way. So, I've got the CPU data if I want it, but I still plan my dives with the table and use the Mozzie as my quasi-bottom-timer. It keeps me from excess brain rot.

I wouldn't recommend the Mozzie for anyone who's planning on going the tech-diving route (i.e. you SeaJay), but for those of us who already have one and plan to go toward DIR, then it serves a purpose for the time being at least.

 

[SeaJay]

O-ring once bubbled...

I guess they didn't realize how good I was at freediving when they designed it then, eh?

Hahahhaaaa!!!

I wouldn't recommend the Mozzie for anyone who's planning on going the tech-diving route (i.e. you SeaJay), but for those of us who already have one and plan to go toward DIR, then it serves a purpose for the time being at least.

That's flattering. I never thought of myself as going the "tech-diving route." And I never really thought of it as different from DIR.

Is there a difference? I don't know if I'd want to do any "tech diving" (i.e.: deco, penetration, over 130 feet, etc.) without the skills that DIR teaches. Or the 7' hose. Or the necklaced secondary. Or a bp/wings. Or... Well, you get the idea.

I considered DIR as a step towards a safer dive while simultaneously being able to further my limits. In other words, "tech diving."

I can tell you this... After taking the DIR-F class this past weekend, I sure am glad I didn't try penetrating our local big wreck (80 fsw) without some of those skills. The thought of doing that with my own shortcomings in the shape they were in... Well, that's just plain scary.

So you're heading towards DIR too?

 

[GearHead]

That's a great point, SeaJay. I was actually using the terms interchangeably in that post, but it's important to make the distinction between purely tech diving (Deco, Wrecks, Caves), and DIR, which really is about diving safely at any level of diving. Thanks for the correction!

And yes, I'm slowly becoming more and more DIR. One of my last bastions of unsafe laziness was my CPU that I bought a couple of years ago. But I'm realizing how irresponsible it can be to completely trust that little thing on your wrist without having a complete grasp and comfort level with diving tables. Data is one thing, judgment is another.

Yes, CPU dependent divers mostly stay within recreational depths, and no, most of them don't experience DCI, but I'd still call 'em lucky, myself included. Truth be told, I didn't feel truly "on top of" my dive tables until I took my EAN class last year, of which I'm very glad.

Point being, I agree with JJ, as written in DIR-F, that the most important computer is the one between your ears!

Rick

SeaJay once bubbled...

That's flattering. I never thought of myself as going the "tech-diving route." And I never really thought of it as different from DIR.

Is there a difference? I don't know if I'd want to do any "tech diving" (i.e.: deco, penetration, over 130 feet, etc.) without the skills that DIR teaches. Or the 7' hose. Or the necklaced secondary. Or a bp/wings. Or... Well, you get the idea.

 

[boomx5]

I bought the D3 and I really like it. I also have had no problems with reading it while underwater. I don't free dive so it works just fine in gauge mode. I am also looking at maybe getting the Uwatec bottom timer and using it as a backup. As far as compasses go, I just bought the SK-6 from Dive-Inn for twenty something bucks, and it seems better than the Oceanic one I was using.

 

[mh1143]

Seajay,

I'll put a vote in for the vytec WITHOUT the transmitter. That's the setup I have and still keep an SPG clipped off at my waist. The vytec can be used as a regular computer, put into guage mode, and can handle three nitrox gas mixes for doing decompression, should you decide to go that route in the future.

If you just want a digital guage/bottom timer, have a look at the Uwatec digital or it's clone made by OMS. I have one of these as well for a backup to my vytec.

Whatever you decide, make sure to keep up your skills with using tables. Using a computer doesn't make one a bad diver. What does make a bad diver is using a computer because you're too lazy to learn dive tables.

 

[SeaJay]

boomx5 once bubbled...
I bought the D3 and I really like it. I also have had no problems with reading it while underwater. I don't free dive so it works just fine in gauge mode. I am also looking at maybe getting the Uwatec bottom timer and using it as a backup. As far as compasses go, I just bought the SK-6 from Dive-Inn for twenty something bucks, and it seems better than the Oceanic one I was using.

So it does have a guage mode? I understood that it only had a freediving mode, meaning that it'd complain if you were down for more than 5 minutes.

Checking UWATEC stuff...

 

[JeffAustin]

My Stinger switches from free to gauge after five minutes, it doesn't go into error mode. the stinger crystal is flat, and glass(pretty sure) , the D-3 crystal is plastic and curved, to my eyes, the display in the stinger looks sharper. I like the Vytec in gauge mode, the numbers are big, with a big timer with minutes and seconds in the center, which can be reset for deco. There is a separate total dive time counter in the lower rt. corner. Regarding the transmitter, it's a nice feature, but I would not dive without a std. SPG. By interface, I was talking about downloading the dive info onto your PC. (just noticed i didn't mention the pressure transmitter in my original reply, don't want any confusion ) So far, no problems with the Vytec. If you get a Vytec, make sure it is a new model with a sn# above 234,000( I think that is the right number) because they had problems with earlier models.