opinions on air integrated computers?

[fnfalman]

AsI understand that and that's why I said that the prediction is for where you are at the moment so if you are at 100 fsw it may say you only have 10 minutes but that's only if you were planning to stay there for 10 minutes. If you are planning to be there for 5 minutes and then plan to go to 50 feet that doesn't mean much. When you get to 50 fsw of course it will now say you have 20 minutes or whatever.

I think it creates a non-thinking diver in some sense. If you want to stay at 100fsw until your computer tells you you have no more air so you then go up to 50 fsw and it now tells you that you now have 20 minutes that's fine but it doesn't seem like the best way to dive to me.

I realize that you can be a thinking diver and have AI but in most cases then it won't be of any use then.

I could have a computer in my car that told me how long my gas would last at my present speed as opposed to just having a gas guage but I don't find that particularly useful either.

As a recreational diver who has zero knowledge of a particular dive site other than the Captain telling you what the depth to anchor is, how are you going to plan for your dive down to a gnat's ass?

How are you going to know that you're going to stay 5-minutes at 100-ft, then proceeded to 80-ft and remained for 10-minutes then go to 50-ft for 20-minutes?

You go to find what's interesting to see. If I see something cool at 50-ft then that's where I'm going. After that, maybe the next cool thing is at 30-ft, or it may be at 60-ft, or it may be at 90-ft. Tell me how you're going to calculate your air bottom time on the fly like that? Not all dives are wall dives so that you can plan out a true multi-level dives. Even when you do a wall dive, what happen if you see something really cool at 100-ft that you wanted to remain there for longer than anticipated? Or maybe something that captured you at 60-ft and you're staying there longer than anticipated? Are you going to both enjoy the site AND doing algebra in your head, recalculating your bottom time as you go along?

As far as the car analogy goes, I don't really care if I have to stop for gas at 296-miles or 320-miles because when I drive, I don't have fun. When I dive, it's funner than heck and I want to maximize bottom time.

 

[fnfalman]

Why stop at AI computer because they're not "necessary"? Why just do away with computers all together? Dive computers are far from necessary. Divers have been doing their thing since 1940s without any fancy dandy "dive computer"?

Hell, you have your brain, plus dive tables and stop watches/depth gauge. It's all good.

Don't even need a pressure gauge. Back in the days we slap on a J-valve and go for it.

BCD? Bah!!! A real diver does it with only weight belt and tank harness. Not even the Mae West/horse collar. Jacques Cousteau didn't need none of that stuff.

Don't need no fancy dandy modern equipment to do diving if you plan your dive and dive your plan.

 

[Damselfish]

The trick is to have low enough air consumption so that gas is never the gating factor, then you'll have little interest in AI.

 

[idocsteve]

As a recreational diver who has zero knowledge of a particular dive site other than the Captain telling you what the depth to anchor is, how are you going to plan for your dive down to a gnat's ass?

Are you going to both enjoy the site AND doing algebra in your head, recalculating your bottom time as you go along?

As far as the car analogy goes, I don't really care if I have to stop for gas at 296-miles or 320-miles because when I drive, I don't have fun. When I dive, it's funner than heck and I want to maximize bottom time.

Well said!

I always enjoy reading a post that says what I tried to say much better than I did.

 

[idocsteve]

I've looked at buddies AI computers underwater a few times.

You're not supposed to do that, it's cheating.

Did you look over at your buddies test paper when you were in school?

Just curious I'm testing a theory.

 

[fnfalman]

The trick is to have low enough air consumption so that gas is never the gating factor, then you'll have little interest in AI.

Or carry a bigger tank. Or carry double tanks. Or carry a big pony bottle.
Or go into tech diving where the rule is 1/3 gas in, 1/3 gas out, 1/3 gas reserve. Go strictly off the tables (preplanned your dive and write your deco schedules onto slates) that way you won't even need any sort of dive computer at all.

 

[Pudsky]

I don't understand what this whole debate is about. No matter what, every diver needs some way to moniter air pressure left in their tank. With either a high pressure hose and analog guage, or air integrated computer, wireless or not. If you can, why not use the air integrated computer and let it help you. If you want to calculate air consumption in your head, go ahead and do that, but you will have a digital guage at least, or a backup electronic calculation at your disposal, and benefit. Plus one less hose using wireless computer offers one less failure point for an air leak.

 

[fnfalman]

I don't understand what this whole debate is about. No matter what, every diver needs some way to moniter air pressure left in their tank. With either a high pressure hose and analog guage, or air integrated computer, wireless or not. If you can, why not use the air integrated computer and let it help you. If you want to calculate air consumption in your head, go ahead and do that, but you will have a digital guage at least, or a backup electronic calculation at your disposal, and benefit. Plus one less hose using wireless computer offers one less failure point for an air leak.

Because people like to engage in absurdity. AI computers are not "needed", but somehow regular dive computers are "needed".

If you're going to go low-tech, then go all the way.

 

[Damselfish]

ummm, no. Different people find different features useful. Isn't it great there are choices?

 

[fnfalman]

ummm, no. Different people find different features useful. Isn't it great there are choices?

Exactly.

I just find it laughable that the dive computer people poopooing the AI dive computer people as having "unnecessary" feature. Face it, dive computers are entirely unnecessary, AI or non-AI.