SPG or not

[Nemrod]

Dittos. Nothing wrong with a single AI if one is into that technology, myself, just a simple spg is all I need or want.

For recreational dives I look at my spg when I turn the air on to check I have a good tank, I check it again as I waddle to the drop to make sure when I take a breath the needle does not fall, depending upon depth, I check it again at my half way point or turn point and if all is good I probably do not look at it again.

Consoles are so 70's and 80's, like leisure suits and disco. Just say no to large multi-instrument consoles.

 

[Jai Bar]

I dove almost 30 years with SPG. Wife has been using SPG and AI for some 20 years.

Then, last year I finally yielded and added AI. After some 50 dives I realized I have stopped looking at SPG, so off it went. Now I ask wife after every dive how many times she took a look at SPG, always same answer "none" and I try to convince her to remove the SPG but she refuses. Go figure.

When diving at home the SPG is in the car trunk, just in case. For liveaboards, vacations I tell wife that if my AI breaks or battery dies then I take her SPG.

My sons don't want AI at all, just SPG.

 

[Nemrod]

There is another option, no spg, no BC, no computer. Just a shallow drift during SD 2.0 Reboot. Supposed to be an hour and I had a 72cf tank at 2000 psi, figured that good for an hour. Then the water taxi captain gave an option of 1 hour and 15 at the drop! Oops! And I left my snorkel, dang. Oh well, 1 hour and 20 minutes later, give or take, I climbed out with my tank sucked flat. The old RAM Cyclone was working hard to give me a breath!



All that fancy stuff is a little overrated anyways. Headed down Jupiter way now, you can betcha I will have a spg, well, maybe. Probably. See, thing is, the other divers can be my spg. When they are out that means it is time for me to consider ending the dive. Especially since in Florida I was banned for exceeding a 1 hour dive. I was told the captain would need to call the USCG if I did not come up. Is this really a rule or were they just pulling my chain? Is that why there was a huge military helicopter following my bubbles!

 

[Subcooled]

There is another option, no spg, no BC, no computer.
[...]
All that fancy stuff is a little overrated anyways. Headed down Jupiter way now, you can betcha I will have a spg, well, maybe. Probably. See, thing is, the other divers can be my spg. When they are out that means it is time for me to consider ending the dive.

If your dives are shallow enough to allow for a direct ascent, then yes, you can even dive until you run out of air, and then resurface (please note that without air you cannot inflate a BCD so your buoyancy control needs to be perfect). There is a certain amount of risk involved though, and I would not recommend this method. Now, there are situations, as explained in the previous post, where an experienced diver could do without a SPG and without a computer. But you need to know what you are doing then.

Doing an emergency ascent from 15 or 30 feet is quite easy. I have done it from 60 feet, which is certainly possible but not fun.

For a new diver I would strongly recommend a SPG or an air integrated computer for all dives. I never dive without a SPG (could also use AI computer if I had one).

SPG or air integrated computer? I guess it is a matter of taste.

A SPG is simpler. One dial, easy to understand. If the needle points down and left, you have a problem. A computer shows many numbers and you need to know which one is the air pressure and what that number means. A computer can predict things, though.

 

[tursiops]

For a new diver I would strongly recommend a SPG or an air integrated computer for all dives.

Depending on the diver operator, they may not even let you in the water without an SPG or some way of monitoring your gas, and a way to monitor your depth and time.

 

[Subcooled]

Depending on the diver operator, they may not even let you in the water without an SPG or some way of monitoring your gas, and a way to monitor your depth and time.

Yes, duty of care.

 

[Subcooled]

I’m not new to diving but I’m very new to dive computers and recently was suggested that in addition to my wrist mounted AI computer that I get a SPG too. Is this common and what’s the point? Why not a whole console?

Allright, you have done quite a lot of diving.

The reason why some people might recommend a SPG in addition to an air integrated computer I do not know. Maybe, if you do ice diving or cave diving you might find a reason for one or the other or both, but in shallow open water diving I guess it is a matter of preference or a matter of which one you trust and feel comfy with.

 

[icarusaxu]

I love my AI watch. But wouldn't you want peace of mind to be able to check a physical gauge? That's why I have both.