Opinions on DSAT TecRec courses

[DCBC]

CCR I found that I can stay in the water a lot longer since I moved to rebreather. Usually the loop temperature is about 8 to 10 degree F higher than the water temp. it's not much but enough to keep me warmer longer, my longest dive in 40 degree F. water is 203 minutes, I don't think I could have done the same dive on OC. Oh yeah the cost of gas including Helium for a dive to 300' a big $15.

Hi Al,

Yes CCR has many advantages. I usually use a Divex SLS CCR as a bailout in the event of failure of the primary umbilical when I dive deep saturation. It provides up to 13 minutes of warmed gas up to a maximum depth 1350' (twice that at 500'). A CCR just doesn't have the legs for a primary breathing source at depth, but it's perfect for what you use it for! Really nice!

Wayne

 

[boomx5]

Oh yeah the cost of gas including Helium for a dive to 300' a big $15.

Al

You should be banned for throwing numbers like that around! J/K Doing that same dive on OC costs so much money it starts to get rediculious when planning multiple dives. Once I get some extra scratch I'd like to move to a CCR...I just don't have an extra $10k+ for toys right now. Hopefully next year though.

 

[AndyNZ]

Seriously Andy, it really is pretty much your Distinctive Specialty without the emphasis on independence and redundancy.

Yup, put in a twin tank option as well plus actually make some of the skills in the pool session to be mandatory.... and it's not far off "Fundies Lite".

 

[newmanl]

Hi Folks,

To the OP's question (if they are still around reading this as this thread was started over a year ago), I just finished a DSAT Tec45 course. I have no experience with any of the other tech agencies, so I'll restrict my comments to what I actually experienced. The only other bit of "fine print" is that the shop the instructor teaches from is also a UTD facility.

We (my classmate and I) started the course in late July with a dive, with the instructor, the purpose of which was to assess our skill level - buoyancy, gas comsumption and gear handling. We were using the standard tech rig - doubles, long hose... etc. After the dive, we were instructed on the skills we were to practice and the advised on the gear we'd need to officially get started with the program.

Then, we did four days of training - two in the classroom using the DSAT Tec Deep Manual and two in the ocean (no deeper than about 30') learning and practicing skills - valve drills, S-drills, having our fin kick technique observed, deployment of an SMB, ascent produres, simulated deco stops, deploying a line on the bottom (no overhead) and following it, and signalling. There were likely others... All of this was video taped and reviewed after the dives. Then, on the second day we practiced the skills again and got into "senarios" - post failures, fixable and not, manifold failures, masks off, line entanglements and OOA situations - at times, with more than one issue going on at a time. Again, the whole drama was video taped for our education. This weekend also included one deco bottle and associated gas switches.

Then twice a week for almost 8 weeks, my classmate and I went diving to practice skills as well as to practice more skills, but also to practice skills.

We then got together with the instructor for another classroom session and planned our graduation dives - two weekends, two weeks apart with more practice inbetween. Wrote the final exam, handed in the knowledge reviews (went over them, and the exam) and handed in prepared dive plans.

I took the course largely in an effort to update myself - I had been "tech" diving in the late 80's and very early 90's before there were accessible courses around. We "borrowed" from the Florida cave divers and east-coast wreck divers to do what we were doing. I felt the course was very good - I learned a lot. Also, at no time ever, were we allowed, encouraged, or was it even suggested, we could start the skills on our knees on the bottom! Despite what the photos show in the manual!

I felt the content was good and the instructor very good - a good teacher and an active tech diver himself. I'm already signed up for the next DSAT course that we're planning to start in Jan/Feb next year. In the meantime, dive, dive, dive.

Hope that helps.

Lee

 

[rjack321]

I know we've hijacked this thread and maybe it should be split off but, in your studies did you find that the hot water suit did anything to the decompression? I know Jeff uses a heated vest, and I know of other people who use or have used heated vests with mixed results. From what I've heard it gives them weird results on the decompressions. Maybe it's because the heat is not distributed efficiantly throughout the body and it's extremities. I'm just curious, any thoughts?

I have a heated vest and it works great. I flip on the vest during ascent and it lasts about 50-60mins. Long enough to keep my core temp up and extremeties vasodilated for a good chunk of the deco. I get out feeling better for sure.

 

[boomx5]

I have a heated vest and it works great. I flip on the vest during ascent and it lasts about 50-60mins. Long enough to keep my core temp up and extremeties vasodilated for a good chunk of the deco. I get out feeling better for sure.

Fantastic! Thanks!

 

[gr8fuldiverNC]

Tec40 can be taught in a GUE/UTD-esque style - 32% backgas and accelerated deco using up to 100% O2. Training dives are limited to 10 minutes non-adjusted deco - I'm not sure if that's a post-graduation limit as well. Tec40 has a lot of appeal - we have many wrecks in the 30m range where it's nice to have the option to introduce accelerated deco and give students the skills required to handle stage bottles and extended bottom times without having to do GUE Tech 1.

.

tec 40 can only be taught using up to 50% O2 for deco, and only to pad the deco stops, not for accelerated deco

 

[IDS_Bill]

tec 40 can only be taught using up to 50% O2 for deco, and only to pad the deco stops, not for accelerated deco

Correct - Along with a max depth of 130 and max deco time of 10min.

 

[danishDiver]

I am going to become an DSAT Tec Rec Deep instructor next spring.

I did take the TDI Advanced Nitrox, and TDI Decompression Procedures, with one of the worlds best technical divers. And TDI Entry Level Trimix with another good instructor.

The instructors where very good, but the manuals from TDI was crap, boring black&white, written badly.
And another problem was, it didnt look like TDI has made a definition about what & when to use signals while diving.
The first instructor wanted us to use signals for switching gas, the 2. didnt.

Quite annoying.

These things is some of the reasons i am becoming a DSAT instructor instead, because everything is specified, and the manual are very good.

 

[hobodiver]

Although Argon is often used as a dry suit inflation gas, our tests at DCIEM showed mixed results. Argon increases urinary output. As such it increases heat loss and dehydration (which causes another problem), however the thermal conductivity of Argon is about 30% less than air.

Sorry, but why would using Argon for drysuit inflation cause an increase in urinary output?