elgringoperdido
Registered
It ain't rocket science. 14.5 psi = 1 bar. Therefore 145 psi = 10 bar, 1450 psi = 100 bar, 2900 psi = 200 bar, 3000 psi is a full cylinder, etc.
Regarding units, that should probably be agreed upon in the pre-dive briefing. It makes no difference whether you use psi, kPa, bar, torr, inHg, etc., because the conversions are easy, but just let me know which one you'll be using before we submerge.
To the OP I'd say that you have to just follow local customs. I tend to use TDI signs with the people I dive with in the North Atlantic off the NJ coast. We use one hand to indicate pressure. None of that two-handed or right hand on the left forearm signaling. On the other hand, almost invariably in the Caribbean everyone uses the PADI/NAUI signals, so that's what I generally use when I'm there.
For some of the other signs it can be really confusing. The first time I ever dived in France I saw someone giving what looked like a touchdown symbol. It turns out that this means "demi-bouteille" (I'm halfway to empty). Never saw that before but I saw it quite a bit since, although only with francophones. You just have to learn the local signs. This is also something that should be discussed on the shore or on the boat before descent.
Here's a placard that was posted on the wall outside a shop at Plage de Malendure in Basse Terre on the island of Guadeloupe. I found it useful while I was there and I remember thinking that I wish someone had posted that on the French mainland. In fact, all dive shops around the world should have something like this on the wall reflecting the local customs.
Regarding units, that should probably be agreed upon in the pre-dive briefing. It makes no difference whether you use psi, kPa, bar, torr, inHg, etc., because the conversions are easy, but just let me know which one you'll be using before we submerge.
To the OP I'd say that you have to just follow local customs. I tend to use TDI signs with the people I dive with in the North Atlantic off the NJ coast. We use one hand to indicate pressure. None of that two-handed or right hand on the left forearm signaling. On the other hand, almost invariably in the Caribbean everyone uses the PADI/NAUI signals, so that's what I generally use when I'm there.
For some of the other signs it can be really confusing. The first time I ever dived in France I saw someone giving what looked like a touchdown symbol. It turns out that this means "demi-bouteille" (I'm halfway to empty). Never saw that before but I saw it quite a bit since, although only with francophones. You just have to learn the local signs. This is also something that should be discussed on the shore or on the boat before descent.
Here's a placard that was posted on the wall outside a shop at Plage de Malendure in Basse Terre on the island of Guadeloupe. I found it useful while I was there and I remember thinking that I wish someone had posted that on the French mainland. In fact, all dive shops around the world should have something like this on the wall reflecting the local customs.