Rental computers and newer divers

[Belzelbub]

Relying on a computer you don't know how to operate or read is worse than no computer at all.

Agreed. Unfortunately, though, based on stories we hear on SB, this appears to not entirely be a rare occurrence.

If you don't have a computer or don't understand the one you're wearing stay above your divemaster up until the safety stop. I think a computer should be the first piece of SCUBA equipment a person should buy and become proficient with

I agree in part. I don't think it's a good idea to just stay above the DM and assume safety, but if you are dealing with a computer that you don't understand, it's probably the better course of action. Requires a lot of assumptions and faith in a DM that may not be warranted.

I learned to dive with tables, but now use computers exclusively. I agree 100% that the computer should likely be the diver's first purchase today. It wasn't mine, but I started with tables. If I were to re-do it today, I would absolutely start with a computer. When my daughter's were learning to dive, they had a computer on their wrist.

Rental computers don't make a lot of sense to me. Can be done, but it will depend on the computer and the amount of instruction the renter receives. As mentioned, some have a good UI and are fairly intuitive. Others are not. Showing up at a dive site/boat and expecting a DM to show you how to use a computer is poor planning.

 

[NauticalNick]

True, and expect they would, however, I would still be using my own computer with which I am familiar, and would only lose the gas consumption data.

I get it, their gear, they make the rules but I think this is pretty crappy service. It's a 1 minute job to switch the SPG to AI.

 

[Still Kicking]

I had asked several operators if I could just bring the computers and attach them to their regs, they all said no.

That's just plain ridiculous.

 

[Pbdiver84]

The solution is not diving? I am pretty sure most dive operators won't let you in the water without one (or the equivalent).

I was diving in Cayman Brac quite a few years ago, and a woman emerged from a dive with her husband, and the DM on the boat asked her where her computer was. She said she was just sharing her husband's. Nope. Did he have tables? No. Well, that was it. No diving for her until she came up with a computer.

More than one operator in the Caribbean will let you dive with a watch, analog gauge, and SPG if you stay above the DM.

I’ve defaulted to timer and gauge backups, but I also have the tables on my phone and know if I’m diving within table or computer territory.

 

[Eanxbr]

Very interesting thread... does anyone know if there is an effort to create standards in UI for dive computers? I am thinking along very basic principles, similar to a regular automotive layout: this is where the steering wheel goes, blinker position, shifter, etc. to help eliminate the learning curve/surprise factor when renting a dive computer.

 

[boulderjohn]

Very interesting thread... does anyone know if there is an effort to create standards in UI for dive computers? I am thinking along very basic principles, similar to a regular automotive layout: this is where the steering wheel goes, blinker position, shifter, etc. to help eliminate the learning curve/surprise factor when renting a dive computer.

Some standardization makes sense, and there already is some level of standardization in dive computers. All that I know of show your depth, the time of the dive, the and NDL in a way that any idiot can determine.

On the other hand, too much standardization is the enemy of effective innovation. In his work regarding disruptive innovation, Clayton Christensen of Harvard gives an example of a leading computer company a couple decades ago. (I am going from a slightly dim memory here.) Their system, the cutting edge of their day, had 5 interacting processes. (I know I am not using the right terminology, which I can't recall.) They knew they needed to keep improving, so they set up their research and development into 5 groups, each one dedicated to improving one of those processes. By doing so, they guaranteed that all their future computers would have those 5 processes, which prevented them from using the innovations that other computer companies employed, and they were soon obsolete and out of business.

 

[Still Kicking]

Very interesting thread... does anyone know if there is an effort to create standards in UI for dive computers? I am thinking along very basic principles, similar to a regular automotive layout: this is where the steering wheel goes, blinker position, shifter, etc. to help eliminate the learning curve/surprise factor when renting a dive computer.

I think one of the best advances in computers in recent years has been Shearwater's implementation of surfacing gradient factor. It allows an idiot like me, with only a general understanding of deco theory, to quantify my nitrogen load and modify my ascent accordingly if needed.

Does Shearwater hold a patent on surfGF? I wonder if other manufacturers would license it or develop an alternative system.

 

[dmaziuk]

I doubt you can patent a calculated number, but given USPO's history with computer-related patents, I would not be too surprised.

 

[lowwall]

I think one of the best advances in computers in recent years has been Shearwater's implementation of surfacing gradient factor. It allows an idiot like me, with only a general understanding of deco theory, to quantify my nitrogen load and modify my ascent accordingly if needed.

Does Shearwater hold a patent on surfGF? I wonder if other manufacturers would license it or develop an alternative system.

You can't patent an algorithm, including mathematical operations. They could trademark the term "SurfGF" if they created it. I did a quick USPTO search and it doesn't look like they have. But even if they did, someone else could implement the same thing under a different name.

Edit: FWIW, Shearwater does have several patents, but they are all related to using heads-up displays in underwater applications.

 

[scubadada]

...Does Shearwater hold a patent on surfGF? I wonder if other manufacturers would license it or develop an alternative system.

Garmin and some Mares computers have SurfGF

Air Integrated Wrist Computers in the US

Petrel 3 has AI as well. Thanks, will add to spreadsheet.

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