Shearwater Predator

[RTee]

It is one of the computers I am now considering acquiring as part of my Adv Nitrox and Deco procs course. In my case, I am not envisionning ever going CCR but maybe trimix. Therefore, I am looking at Multi-gas, gas switchable, PC interface (either to program and/or download dive profiles) type of computer to complement my Suunto Vyper (Air, Nitrox, Gauge) and my Pathfinder watch.

 

[Ozwald]

Hmmmm....I am basically a new diver as well. I bought one. Why.....extreme ease of use and super easy to read. I do plan on growing into it but even if I dont just the ease of use/readability is worth the extra coin in my opinion !

 

[DwayneJ]

I would agree with your LDS person if they were refering to the VR3, but I can't speak for any of the other computers, as I haven't actually used them.

Well thats just plain wrong. If you just doing open water dives with air - you strap it on and go diving. I have 210 logged dives on my VR3HD. Once you understand the menu system on this computer, its painless to use.

The Shearwater computers are great - Beautiful OLED screen with big numbers and options/ease of use to take you through to technical diving.


Dwayne

 

[craracer]

Got some great news from Bruce today:

We now have the Beta D6 version of the Predator firmware available.

Complete detailas are in the release notes, but here are some of the changes:.

You can now enable the ability to turn gasses off and on. By default, this feature is disabled and the gasses work just like before..

You can set the last stop to be 20ft / 6m..

There is a seconds bar that runs below the word 'TIME.' Each character corresponds to 15 seconds..

The ascent rate graph has been moved next to the depth..

Gas switch suggestions are now in yellow instead of red..

High and low ppo2 messages now only need to be cleared once, but a red warning stays in the ppo2 area as long as the ppo2 is out of the normal range..

Dive planner now uses maximum PPO2 of 1.4 to pick bottom gas in OC mode (was using the deco gas value of 1.6)..

The bluetooth upload protocol has been changed to comply with ISO 15765. The newest version of the Shearwater Desktop will be required to upload dive logs after the update..

Due to some reorganization that was required, the update is a two step process. You will need to update to the transition version and then to D6..

If you would like to participate in the beta test, contact us at info at shearwaterresearch dot com. .

 

[Slamfire]

I got my Predator a few days ago and also got that email from Bruce. I'd been looking into getting a Predator for a while now and had downloaded the manual and read through it a few months ago. Then I got my Predator and was surprised to find out that there were several features that I didn't recall reading about in the manual. I had to download a new version of the manual that explained the new features. In other words I am pleasantly surprised at the rate that significant improvements arrive for the computer.

On the morning of the day I got my Predator I emailed Bruce and Lynn telling them that their closest retailer is about a 30 min drive away from my office (1hr+ away from home) and yet their factory is around 5 mins away. I suggested that I give their retailer my credit card over the phone and then go pick my computer from the factory. A few mins later Lynn replied saying that would be alright. So that afternoon I drove to the factory to pick it up. It was then that Isaac from the factory told me that Bruce and Lynn where in Moscow, Russia at that time. Another pleasant surprise that even with such a big time difference they still managed to be responsive. I got a very fresh new Predator that was pressure tested just two days before it came to my hands.

I think it was a good buy.