Selecting a deco diving computer

[wedivebc]

Here is a question for those who are doing deco dives with a computer. When selecting a computer, how important are the various warnings to you? Would you rather have a computer that allows you to have free reign over your profile or do you like to have warnings about exceeding depth or PO2 limits? Some deco computers will allow you to do an air dive to 300ft if you choose, others will squawk if you exceed a 1.5 PO2.
Basically should a computer tell you when you screwed up or should it assume we're all big boys and girls? What are your feelings?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The first thing I usually do with any computer with audible warnings is turn most of them off if possible.

I also make sure it has a gauge mode so I can turn off the computer functions as well if I prefer.

 

[dab]

I turn off all the warnings and alarms. If I screw up I know it -- and I don't need an alarm to add to the situation.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

My wife & I are adults, but I don't really see whether being adult or teenager makes the deciding factor in whether alarm functions have value. The real value of alarm functions shouldn't be to tell you when you've screwed up - they should warn you before you screw up - whether in the scuba world, an aircraft cockpit, or the industrial world. A few years ago I compared this to the value an individual automobile radar detector would have if it only warned you when, or even after, the revolving red lights are illuminating your rear view mirror.

Applied for what they are designed for, by folks who understand them, we still see value in alarm functions, but that's just us. The multi gas dive computers we use do have the option to be put in gauge mode, but we've never used them that way (DR NiTek3 and Tusa IQ-700).

 

[ae3753]

No alarms. If I need them, I shouldn't be doing that dive.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

At the decompression diving level, a computer should be your back up to a set of tables and a bottom timer (or another computer in gauge mode). It won't replace proper gas and deco planning and if you skip that and get complacent, sooner or later it will catch up with you. So if you do use the computer as your primary deco instrument, you need to do it only within the parameters defined by your manually generated gas and deco plan.

A two or three gas nitrox computer like the Nitek Duo/Tusa IQ-700, Nitek 3, Nitek Trio or Uwatec Tec 2 G makes a great first tech computer as if you move up to trimix, you can still use it in gauge mode along with tables as your primary, or depending on your philosophical orientation, as a back up to your trimix computer.

As stated above, if you screw up, you should already know it and most warnings will occur when you already have the problem and they can often just add to the general confusion - especially if it has eleventy-seven different warnings that are hard to tell apart and are so numerous as to become easy to ignore (the why is the damn thing beeping now response).

So if I use a warning, it will be for things like a max depth warning or a timer/alarm to remind me when I am turning the dive on time rather than pressure. Everything else gets turned off since beeping for the sake of beeping adds nothing to the dive.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

To each his / her own.

We don't use dive computers for decompression diving planning, but we don't set either computer per person we use in gauge mode while executing the planned dive.

Planning is done with decompression diving software for the decompression dives we've executed.

 

[ivobj]

No alarms, in deco dives I use a botton timer / depth gauge only (with a back up, of course), Best computer for me is a good dive plan and know the logic behind it if you have to recalculate in the water.

 

[AndyNZ]

Curious as the reasoning behind the question, Dave?

If I were setting out to design a techie computer for me, I'd not include many (if any) alarms, but then if I was setting out to design one for general sales then I'd want all alarms to be configurable so it appeals to a wide range of people.

What is more important to me is having the right information available at the right time.

 

[ianr33]

Probably buying a trimix computer in the near future. it won't have any alarms on it (except for pO2 flashing if it goes above 1.6)