Recent Opinions On Air Integrated Computers For Technical Diving

[Nasser]

I'm all for progress and embracing new technology that I feel I can really benefit from, but to me the AI thing just feels more like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I'm not so much opposed to its use and I do recognize the potential redundancy aspect, but I personally don't really see the need for it.

But as always... YMMV

 

[tursiops]

I'm all for progress and embracing new technology that I feel I can really benefit from, but to me the AI thing just feels more like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I'm not so much opposed to its use and I do recognize the potential redundancy aspect, but I personally don't really see the need for it.

But as always... YMMV

It's all about where you draw the lines. No one NEEDS to scuba dive, but we choose to. WAI makes that choice a little more enjoyable.

 

[blake7]

Steve Bogaerts only uses AI for all his diving on CCR and SM, including exploration dives. He discusses some of the issues already brought up in this thread in his post.

 

[Nasser]

It's all about where you draw the lines. No one NEEDS to scuba dive, but we choose to. WAI makes that choice a little more enjoyable.

Ok then, I'll rephrase for you... "I CHOOSE not to dive with AI"

 

[stretchthepenn]

I always wondered about that. I don’t dive sidemount, so I’m not sure I fully understand. But isn’t one of the claimed advantages of SM that your tank valves and first stages are right there where you can see them? So don’t you just put an SPG on a short hose with the face right near the tank valve? That’s what I do when I sidemout bailout.

I would still be concerned about which signal was going to which display. If you aren’t checking tank pressures that often (I.e. as in tech diving, as per the OP’s question), is it really such an advantage?

Not being snarky, asking sincerely.

Your main question was answered well by @JohnnyC , so I'll not repeat his points, but I'll venture to add a few thoughts of my own. (Mine are based on a Shearwater Perdix AI because that's what I dive.)

re: which tank pressure displays where -- The transmitter-to-display pairings on all dive computers are constant and unchanging. On my Perdix, the tank readouts are labeled T1 and T2; pairing the transmitters to the computer locks those T1/T2 associations. Unless the computer breaks, the left tank pressure will always show up on T1 and the right tank pressure will always show up on T2. (And if the computer breaks, I've got bigger problems.)

The human factor (i.e., putting the wrong transmitter on the wrong tank) is also not a problem because sidemount diving requires different first-stage-and-hose setups on the left and right tanks. Since I can't mistakenly swap the first stages and the attached transmitters, my left tank will always have the T1 transmitter, and my right tank will always have the T2 transmitter.

re: checking tank pressures frequently -- When tank pressures are off by about 500 psi, side-to-side tilt becomes highly noticeable; thus, a sidemount diver needs to swap second-stage regulators frequently. My SM instructor recommended swapping every 400 psi. Also, because of that frequency, being able to check pressures with minimal effort becomes important, and my Perdix makes that a breeze because the display is always lit up. An SPG, on the other hand, has no inherent luminosity, and an SPG's face needs charging with a light before it's readable in the dark.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Ok, you made some good points and changed my mind. I guess I’m good with it as long as the transducers are on 6-inch hoses so they can’t be broken off.

 

[RayfromTX]

You will get past that unfounded fear based bit of complexity as well. It doesn't really happen, at least based on the lack of actual reported incidents here. If it was a problem the manufacturers would have made the recomendation years ago. On the other hand short hoses with orings have been known to leak on more or less eventual basis. Neither is much of a thread in spite of what we might guess. I get it. I worry about potentials for a living. I prepare for eventualities that will never occur.

The more compact and streamlined I can keep my sidemount stuff, the happier I am, at least in my current new to sidemount phase I'm in.

 

[tbone1004]

@stretchthepenn what was his reasoning for switching every 400psi? Even with LP121's which are BIG tanks, I will typically let them get to about a 400psi differential which is easily manageable and results in a switch every 800psi or so after the first switch. Even in sidemount I only check my SPG's 2-3x total on the way in and don't check them on the way out. They are very rarely more than about 200psi or so different when I exit the water just from feel.

@DeepSeaExplorer the transmitters should be pointing down and hidden, no real way for them to break.

 

[stretchthepenn]

@stretchthepenn what was his reasoning for switching every 400psi? Even with LP121's which are BIG tanks, I will typically let them get to about a 400psi differential which is easily manageable and results in a switch every 800psi or so after the first switch. Even in sidemount I only check my SPG's 2-3x total on the way in and don't check them on the way out. They are very rarely more than about 200psi or so different when I exit the water just from feel..

@tbone1004 I suspect, but can't be sure, that my SM instructor wanted me to swap regulators frequently in order to ingrain the muscle memory. Now that I've got the reg-swap skill mastered (awaiting lightning bolt from the skies), I do pretty much what you do--breathe one tank down by about 400 psi and then breathe the opposite one down by 800 psi, thereby minimizing swaps.

As far as the frequency of checking pressures, though, I'll venture a guess that it's based on practice. I've racked up about 200 SM dives, but I'm sure you have a lot more and have developed a better intuitive sense of your tanks' relative contents. Thus, I still check pressures far more often than you do.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I would still be concerned about which signal was going to which display. If you aren’t checking tank pressures that often (I.e. as in tech diving, as per the OP’s question), is it really such an advantage?

Although I choose not to use WAI on my sidemount, it is a valid question regarding the ownership of multiple Transmitters (tx)

In our house between myself and my wife, we have 6 tx. They are all fitted on QD's and generally stored away from the rest of the dive gear (with the computers)

Each Tx is marked (paint marker) with the last 4 of the serial number to facilitate easy conformation when pairing or setting up the computers. They also have some coloured marking that make sense to me.

But to answer basic question, it comes down to simple pre use checks when setting up the gear. Turn each cylinder on, one at a time and confirm that the reading you have is from the tx (thus cylinder) you expect.

Generally I take responsibility for this when getting the gear out of our store for our bi weekly trips, where I'll put each reg set on a cylinder, with a tx, pressurise it and test for functionality and leaks before it goes in a bag.

For use, WAI is a convenience not a necessity, we maintain analogue SPGs' on our rigs, also for convenience (setting gear up). Most, if not all of the arguments against either, are based upon hyperbole and potential problems that will generally manifest themselves as minor leaks before hand, which if corrected means that the likelihood of an underwater issues is infinitesimally small.

But I appreciate others have different views