We have plenty of recreational divers using Shearwater Petrel as a 1st computer! Can use generic AA Battery, Easy to use & read! if no money concerns, go for it, you won't regret it.
Setting out to by a new computer
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Speaking of Shearwater Petrels:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...ers/465090-shearwater-petrel.html#post6882536
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cl...ers/465090-shearwater-petrel.html#post6882536
drrich2
Contributor
The Shearwater Petrel is well-regarded on this forum. Like any scuba product, consider its pro.s & con.s & whether it's a good match for what you're looking for. It wouldn't be what I'm looking for, for example, and reasons are:
1.) Like the large majority of divers, I'm not into or likely to get into tech. diving.
2.) I like Air-Integration; having the computer log my dives including start & end gas pressures without me having to write them down is a nice feature, since I download my dives to MacDive on my computer to keep an electronic log book. The Petrel, showing its tech. diving roots, is not air-integrated. You may notice a lot of people on the forum like wrist computers better than console. I dive both; Atomic Cobalt console (love the interface, large log capability and rechargeable battery that I don't need to get in & out) and an Oceanic VT3 (loathe the interface, but a glance at my wrist gives me depth, PSI & NDL, amongst other things, and I'm learning to like that).
3.) Audible alarms - drawing from Dr. Lecter's post:
I like a computer I can set low gas pressure alarms on! I have no intention of letting low pressure surprise me; I check my gauge often! But that said, I like the backup alarm just in case, and while I dive pretty deep and have never experienced subjective narcosis, there are enough posts on this forum about people getting narc.d and impaired such that an alarm to give me a heads up just in case (though I hope to never need it) is a good option.
I keep reading good things about the Petrel. Interface is supposed to be good. But if it were me, I'd at least take a look at the LiquiVision Lynx, which offers you AI and the option to use find your buddy's transmitter.
I'm not dissing the Petrel; just saying it may or may not be your best match.
Richard.
1.) Like the large majority of divers, I'm not into or likely to get into tech. diving.
2.) I like Air-Integration; having the computer log my dives including start & end gas pressures without me having to write them down is a nice feature, since I download my dives to MacDive on my computer to keep an electronic log book. The Petrel, showing its tech. diving roots, is not air-integrated. You may notice a lot of people on the forum like wrist computers better than console. I dive both; Atomic Cobalt console (love the interface, large log capability and rechargeable battery that I don't need to get in & out) and an Oceanic VT3 (loathe the interface, but a glance at my wrist gives me depth, PSI & NDL, amongst other things, and I'm learning to like that).
3.) Audible alarms - drawing from Dr. Lecter's post:
I like a computer I can set low gas pressure alarms on! I have no intention of letting low pressure surprise me; I check my gauge often! But that said, I like the backup alarm just in case, and while I dive pretty deep and have never experienced subjective narcosis, there are enough posts on this forum about people getting narc.d and impaired such that an alarm to give me a heads up just in case (though I hope to never need it) is a good option.
I keep reading good things about the Petrel. Interface is supposed to be good. But if it were me, I'd at least take a look at the LiquiVision Lynx, which offers you AI and the option to use find your buddy's transmitter.
I'm not dissing the Petrel; just saying it may or may not be your best match.
Richard.
Go simple to start. Uwatec/SubGear/Scubapro XP-10.
Thanks for the advice 
---------- Post added September 10th, 2013 at 10:41 AM ----------
Thank you for the advice, yes I want a shearwater however i agree with boulderjohn I think that this would be an over kill for now and also to dr lecter that the price tag would limit the amount of dives I would do. So I think i will go for a good inexpensive dive computer that will serve me until i move on to more technical stuff. I think i will go for the suunto vyper as it offers back lighting and a computer log book as well as abel to be set in gauge mode later on as well as being quite well priced (especially if i get it second hand). Thank you for all the advice i will surly go for a shear water later on
---------- Post added September 10th, 2013 at 10:41 AM ----------
Thank you for the advice, yes I want a shearwater however i agree with boulderjohn I think that this would be an over kill for now and also to dr lecter that the price tag would limit the amount of dives I would do. So I think i will go for a good inexpensive dive computer that will serve me until i move on to more technical stuff. I think i will go for the suunto vyper as it offers back lighting and a computer log book as well as abel to be set in gauge mode later on as well as being quite well priced (especially if i get it second hand). Thank you for all the advice i will surly go for a shear water later on
halocline
Contributor
Spending close to $1K on a recreational dive computer right out of OW class is not very smart advice. Consider something simple like the aeris XR-1 NX, on sale at leisurepro for $175. The suunto zoop is another inexpensive computer with a good reputation.
Dive computers are useful but hardly worth spending a fortune on. All you need is something to track time/depth/N2 loading, O2 exposure for nitrox use, ascent rate indicator, and a simple log feature to store dive data. They ALL do these things.
The best thing for any new diver is to start to get a basic understanding of the principles of nitrogen loading and off-gassing, and types of dive behavior that are more associated with DCS. Computers only increase your safety to the extent that they modify your dive behavior.
Have fun shopping and don't listen to anyone that tells you to spend $1000 on a computer as a brand new diver!
Dive computers are useful but hardly worth spending a fortune on. All you need is something to track time/depth/N2 loading, O2 exposure for nitrox use, ascent rate indicator, and a simple log feature to store dive data. They ALL do these things.
The best thing for any new diver is to start to get a basic understanding of the principles of nitrogen loading and off-gassing, and types of dive behavior that are more associated with DCS. Computers only increase your safety to the extent that they modify your dive behavior.
Have fun shopping and don't listen to anyone that tells you to spend $1000 on a computer as a brand new diver!
Also consider resale value...
Why by a cheapie computer that devalues 85% in two years, versus a good computer that retains 85% of it's value for 2-years. You're going to end up nearly break-even on a cost basis in the end and you'll gain the benefit of using a Petrel along the way. If the cost basis is nearly the same, it's foolish not to buy something like the Petrel. Let's not forget the sneaky costs of cheap computers, too. The $99 sync cable, etc. Petrel = Bluetooth, download it at will for without crazy I can't connect, I can't install the drivers, the desktop software sucks drama.
The Petrel is quite frankly the easiest to use computer on the market I have dove. It's my opinion, they don't even really need to provide a manual. The only thing a recreational diver will ever need to do is update the time and turn it on. There's actually no real reason to even push a button during or after a dive. Simplicity is the order of the day, and the user can change the battery versus those $30 "dive computer annual service" appointments at the LDS on the cheap computer.
You should see some of the recreational computers on a real dive boat. Real conversation: "I think I have to go into the Set-F menu, and use the left top button, select with the bottom right button, but that didn't work - OH SH!T - Gauge mode. Help!!" You need an advanced degree in button-ology to work them.
You're certainly free to spend your money according to your desires, but buying a cheap computer that requires LDS service support and special cables while failing to retain value seems like a poor financial plan.
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That's more, I think, because most people don't read the manual and familiarise themselves with the computer prior to a trip and/or don't dive enough than it being difficult. The number of people I've helped on liveaboards with their computers is scary. Heck one of the guys I sometimes dive with didn't even know his computer had a backlight until I showed him and he's had it a year.
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