According to the manual the stops don't show seconds (would be nice). The safety stop countdown will start about meter before the assigned depth and stops when you go above the assigned depth, only carrying on when you get to the depth or slightly below it. Its an odd quirk of their computers that took me a couple of dive to get used to, but works for me. I have the GPS enabled version having gotten it from Santa as I was a good boy this year. But so far have had limited usage for it, its very slow to get a lock on to the satellite, to the point of it being near useless. But have not had much dive time with the Computer, having a play with it tomorrow evening so plan to test the GPS and everything a little more in an un obstructed environment so will see. But so far love the computer and does everything it says on the tin at a decent price, compared to the Idive Colour watch styles its so much more quicker and powerful. Those things software is sluggish in comparison.
Ratio Dive Computers Announces New iX3M 2!! Our Best Dive Computer yet!
- Thread starter BoltSnap
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Thanks for the comment! Really glad I didn't decide to sell the non-GPS version to get the GPS one based on your feedback.
I stay within 1m up or down with my safety stop set for 5m, so I have no idea why the safety stops take so long. Honestly, there's a lot of real estate on the Ix3m 2 and not offering a more detailed countdown is a HUGE flaw for me as it's the same for deco stops as far as I've experienced (but I'm not yet a tech diver, so only a few deco stops experienced).
Does anyone know why Ratio hasn't added this to a firmware update?
I think after this trip I'll be selling mine and getting a Shearwater (even though I really wanted a rechargeable computer that didn't need battery changes as my old Mares Quad Air flooded a lot). A Teric would be great as it's rechargeable, but I need larger screen as my eyes degrade and there isn't a model that fits that need.
I like a ton of things about the ix3m 2 computer. It is miles better than the new Apeks which was utter garbage that I returned after 10 dives. But some things I'm not willing to just accept, and not knowing the actual length of deco and safety stops is definitely one.
Really frustrated with the available computers on the market right now.
I stay within 1m up or down with my safety stop set for 5m, so I have no idea why the safety stops take so long. Honestly, there's a lot of real estate on the Ix3m 2 and not offering a more detailed countdown is a HUGE flaw for me as it's the same for deco stops as far as I've experienced (but I'm not yet a tech diver, so only a few deco stops experienced).
Does anyone know why Ratio hasn't added this to a firmware update?
I think after this trip I'll be selling mine and getting a Shearwater (even though I really wanted a rechargeable computer that didn't need battery changes as my old Mares Quad Air flooded a lot). A Teric would be great as it's rechargeable, but I need larger screen as my eyes degrade and there isn't a model that fits that need.
I like a ton of things about the ix3m 2 computer. It is miles better than the new Apeks which was utter garbage that I returned after 10 dives. But some things I'm not willing to just accept, and not knowing the actual length of deco and safety stops is definitely one.
Really frustrated with the available computers on the market right now.
Unless you're aiming to get to Trimix, it sounds like a Shearwater Peregrine is what you want?
I have Old Man Eyes myself. When I had a Teric and a Perdix at the same time, I found the Teric screen to be just as easy for me to read. I guess because of the better brightness and contrast of the Teric's AMOLED screen. And that is with my Teric set to "Normal" layout, versus "Big" mode.
Thus I sold my Perdix and bought a 2nd Teric as backup. Had them since right after the Teric came out (2018? ish). No regrets whatsoever.
SS counter can indeed be improved. I have it set to 5 minutes and for most of my dives it never clears (although I stay in SS depths for even 10minutes or more for some dives). I take a mental note at what time I reach 6m for first time and after 5 minutes (assuming not going any deeper) I know I am done, although I usually stay there much longer.
Peregrine is an option. It is missing "only" air integration, compass and a bit of the screen size compared to iX3m 2. I have both - iX3m 2 is my main (for AI, basic NDL etc) and the Peregrine as backup plus to see things like SurfGF, GF99, precise SS when/if needed.
If you go above the safety stop depth the countdown pauses so thats probably why your safety stops take longer. You need to stay either exactly at the depth or less than a meter under the depth. Its a quirk with the Ratio line of computers.
Mothball71
Registered
Yeah, I finally came to the same conclusion. In my comment above, I was still assuming that the GPS worked underwater. When I read Ratio had a computer with GPS, I thought Navy SEALs, not Google Maps... I've since realized another item, Ratio's colored transmitters - you can't see the colors at any depth... smh
Mothball71
Registered
I read that a couple of years ago also. I didn't have money to buy a pre-ban version at the time that they were available. As you can read in my posts in this thread, these post-ban computers don't do what I thought they would do. It's possible that I might have misunderstood what was being offered at that time also. Garmin or Google can help you hump your gear through the forest to your favorite cenote just as well it seems....
I'm not sure I understand what are you talking about. The transmitters are not colored themselves. They have a (bright) blinking LED light that emits at a given interval different colors. The point being this:
- It shows you (approximate) battery charge level of the AI pod at the beginning (when you first pressurize your regs): Green for good, yellow for needs charging (<50%), red empty (<30%).
- It then flashes now and then at different color depending on your tank pressure: Green above 100bars, yellow between 50-100 bars and red below 50 bars. Interval, light intensity, pressure limits for different colors etc can all be all adjusted by software at user's will with a PC.
For the diver him/herself indeed there is not much use underwater (you should know your tank pressure with your DC/SPG), but your buddy can know approximately your remaining gas just by looking at your regs- and also it can be used as a visual id for night dives. The led is quite bright and it can definitely be seen even underwater.
So been testing the GPS recently in open beach areas with nothing to hinder the signal, and its not overly great to be honest. Still take at least 3 minutes for a GPS lock, kind makes it useless if you wanted to pop up and mark a location. If there is even a hint of obstruction you can forget about getting a signal lock. Bit disappointing but not a deal breaker, more annoyed I cannot add a GPS position in to the computer manually. Otherwise the computer worked a treat
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