Step up in dive computer

[drrich2]

Options to consider:

1.) Console or wrist unit?

-----For wrist, watch-size or puck size?

2.) Air-integrated or not?

3.) Option to download to a PC or not?

4.) Do you place much value on a color screen?

5.) GUI-type interface that's easy to change settings in, or old-style 'like a cheap digital watch' type interface?

6.) For wrist units, expected length of battery life is very important (see threads griping about the Lynx).

7.) Is battery user-replaceable?

8.) Someone in another thread mentioned under 2% of rec. divers enter technical diving; will you be one, and do you want a computer that is a capable technical diving computer? For example, does the computer need to be capable of handling trimix?

9.) Yes, with the shake up in the dive computer industry lately (at least the big companies doing the selling in the U.S.), is that an issue for you?

Answer all that, put it together & then you can narrow down the options.

Richard.

 

[scubadada]

I had heard that Aqualung was dropping DSAT. Any idea why? I predict there is going to be a lot of unhappy Oceanic divers when they pick up their new computers

PPS will continue to be the OEM for many brands including Oceanic, Hollis, Aqua Lung, Sherwood, Genesis... Each will choose which features to include. Oceanic continues to offer dual algorithm (DSAT/PZ+) on their computers. Aqua Lung offers only PZ+. My main problem with PZ+ is that it is not stock Buhlmann ZHL-16C but is a detuned version. I have tried, but have been unsuccessful in inquiring what might be the GF hi and GF lo for the PZ+ algorithm. I have a feeling that it is something close to the Shearwater medium conservative setting of 40/85. Personally, I don't think the secrecy with regard to decompression algorithm is a good idea. One of my main attractions to Shearwater is the use of a very well defined decompression algorithm with a transparent way to adjust conservativeness. I can model or simulate a Shearwater computer using my MultiDeco software. Same goes for the H3

 

[dmaziuk]

Should I save my money and go elsewhere or is there an "upgrade" to consider?

If you do get into technical diving and need a new computer a couple of years from now, to mis-quote another poster: the computer you will need then may not be the computer you will buy now. In terms of features usable now, the only upgrades you can get are AI and/or colour screen. Both come with heavy price tag so the question is how much $$$ you really want them.

 

[tbone1004]

be careful what you wish for on the H3 and I highly recommend you get one in the water before you try it.

Regarding the Petrel button pushes it is designed for your thumb to operate one of the buttons. I typically put it on my left wrist and never hold it directly in front of me and it is quite easy to alternate between thumb and middle finger. The H3 is interesting, but especially in gloves I much prefer the petrels piezo buttons. To each his own.

 

[Centrals]

Hi all,

Been a while since I have been back on the forums. I've been diving for ~1.5 years now, consistently. I have 95 dives all done on my Mares PUCK. I honestly have no qualms with the dive computer, it serves me perfectly well to this day. Easy to use, does what I need and allows me to change the batteries myself. My wife uses the same one.

I was wondering, if I was going to upgrade where would I go? At this point in my dive life, I am not necessarily planning to get into technical diving (but who knows I guess). Should I save my money and go elsewhere or is there an "upgrade" to consider?

DPS

What kind of features you would like to have? Would they help your way of diving?

I would suggest you should invest on another cheapo as a back up. There is no need to spend anything more than $200.00.
Up-grade? I am still using a computer that I bought in 1997. I bought a Oceanic Veo 180 few months ago as a back up because my other vintage computer expired.

 

[stuartv]

be careful what you wish for on the H3 and I highly recommend you get one in the water before you try it.

I have only found one detailed review of the H3. The reviewer commented on a few minor things but mostly it seemed very positive.

What things are there about the H3 that you don't like?

Regarding the Petrel button pushes it is designed for your thumb to operate one of the buttons. I typically put it on my left wrist and never hold it directly in front of me and it is quite easy to alternate between thumb and middle finger. The H3 is interesting, but especially in gloves I much prefer the petrels piezo buttons. To each his own.

That is generally how I operate my Petrel as well. Basically, holding it about a 45 degree angle so that I can operate the right side button using the thumb on my left hand.

But, it like reading it by holding directly out in front of me. And I need to hold it right out in front of me when I'm using the compass (which I have actually done a few times when I thought I wouldn't need a compass or simply forgot to bring my regular compass).

Buttons aside, I prefer to wear my computer on the inside of my right wrist. That ensures that, if I were to find myself in a rescue situation where I am bringing an unresponsive diver to the surface, I can operate their LPI (or my own, if necessary) with my left hand, use the fingers of my right hand to hold their reg in their mouth, and still be able to see the depth readout on my computer at the same time. Unlikely to happen, I know. But, I trained for it. Why wouldn't I dive prepared for it?

The Petrel is so big that if I try to wear it on the inside of my wrist it ends up hitting against things like, for one example, my right side wait D-ring. But, when I wear my wrist watch computer on the inside of either wrist I don't have significant issues with hitting on stuff I'm wearing.

 

[tbone1004]

buttons on the H3 are not nearly as easy to work with as the piezo buttons on the Petrel, and the screen being much smaller doesn't offer nearly as much so there is a bit more scrolling. It is pros and cons, just one of those that the grass isn't always greener. If I was doing more recreational and travel dives, the H3 would be better because the size profile and convenience would be worth it, but for the diving that I'm doing now, the large screen with all the info there is worth dealing with the larger profile.

 

[victorzamora]

I have only found one detailed review of the H3. The reviewer commented on a few minor things but mostly it seemed very positive.

What things are there about the H3 that you don't like?

Oh, there's plenty. The small screen isn't as clear as you'd think once you're in the water. I have FANTASTIC eyesight, btw, and it wasn't as clear as on land. In bright sunlight, it gets completely washed out...even at 20ft or so in the sun. That makes it hard to read in places where you'd want a small form factor computer (eg: Caribbean rec dives). The buttons are a mess, they're mushy, and it's hard to know for sure if you've pressed one. The combination of long- and short-presses is absolutely obnoxious, but I started getting used to it. Their UI is pretty good, surprisingly, but that's where my view of their positives end. My biggest issue is that the computer didn't credit my time at 20ft towards my 10ft stop depth. There's a "floor" for your deco like a rec computer's safety stop range. Like an idiot, I spent like 7 extra minutes at 20ft without realizing it wasn't discounting my 10ft stop time. I figured I had to be wrong, so my subsequent dives confirmed it. Sometimes a deco stop at 10ft isn't convenient. Getting off topic, but Stuart: Do you know you can switch the orientation of the Petrel? This would put the buttons "on the top" instead of "on the bottom." This might make button access easier if you're struggling.

If I wanted to travel with a watch-sized computer, I'd get a Geo2.0 and set it in PZ+. If I wanted a nice tech computer, I'd get a Perdix. If I wanted something for CCR, I'd get a Petrel EXT.

 

[stuartv]

My biggest issue is that the computer didn't credit my time at 20ft towards my 10ft stop depth. There's a "floor" for your deco like a rec computer's safety stop range. Like an idiot, I spent like 7 extra minutes at 20ft without realizing it wasn't discounting my 10ft stop time. I figured I had to be wrong, so my subsequent dives confirmed it. Sometimes a deco stop at 10ft isn't convenient. Getting off topic, but Stuart: Do you know you can switch the orientation of the Petrel? This would put the buttons "on the top" instead of "on the bottom." This might make button access easier if you're struggling.

Very interesting!

First, yes, I know about flipping the Petrel orientation. But, the button ergonomics are a minor issue for me compared to my issue with the overall size.

Regarding the deco issue, that just sounds, I don't know, amazingly ridiculous?! You're saying that if you do a deco dive with the H3 and you get to 20' and then just stay there the H3 will never clear its deco obligation? And I assume there's no way to set it for a Last Stop of 20' (or 30'). That would just about make it a total non-option all by itself. I am still in AN/DP class, so I haven't started doing real deco dives yet. But, I have dived off the Outer Banks enough to learn that sometimes the safest ascent plan involves a final deco stop on 80% at 30' just to stay out of the surge (at least, somewhat). A computer that won't handle that is pretty worthless!


So, your negatives are:

- poor readability in bright conditions
- mushy buttons
- short/long press on buttons is "obnoxious" (?)
- deco calculations use a hard floor for stops (not sure if I'm really saying that the best way)

You're on a roll. Any more?

---------- Post added January 12th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ----------

My biggest issue is that the computer didn't credit my time at 20ft towards my 10ft stop depth. There's a "floor" for your deco like a rec computer's safety stop range. Like an idiot, I spent like 7 extra minutes at 20ft without realizing it wasn't discounting my 10ft stop time. I figured I had to be wrong, so my subsequent dives confirmed it.

The more I think about this, the more I don't see how it could work like that. Meaning, I don't see how it could work that you stay at 20' forever and the deco obligation never clears. Not disputing you at all! I'm just saying it seems CRAZY!

It would seem like if you stay at 20' long enough, the GF99 (I think I'm using the right term) would eventually drop below your GFhi far enough that you could ascend to the surface without stopping and without exceeding GFhi and, in that case, the H3 would have to change the display to clear your deco obligation - otherwise, it would be considered to have a serious bug.

Is it possible that the H3 was really giving you credit for your stop at 20' and if you had waited long enough the deco obligation would have just cleared off the display?

It seems like this would also cause problems on multi-level dives where you may incur a deco stop at, say 60', but a slow ascent would normally (e.g. on a Petrel) result in the clearing of that stop obligation before you ever get to 60'. Unless the H3 just has something special that it does for that final stop at 10'.

Would this concern be handled very simply by the H3 having an option you can to tell it what you want your Last Stop depth to be?

 

[victorzamora]

|QUOTE=stuartv;7590470]
You're on a roll. Any more?[/quote]
Not really. The form factor is nice, screen is better than the Geo for night and cave diving, and it has a couple cool menu settings Shearwater needs to look into adding.

it seems like this would also cause problems on multi-level dives where you may incur a deco stop at, say 60', but a slow ascent would normally (e.g. on a Petrel) result in the clearing of that stop obligation before you ever get to 60'. Unless the H3 just has something special that it does for that final stop at 10'.

Would this concern be handled very simply by the H3 having an option you can to tell it what you want your Last Stop depth to be?

Changing the last stop depth won't fix it and won't do what I want. My 20ft stops performed at 23ft or 30ft don't count. My 20 minutes exciting the cave at 50ft won't count towards my 30ft stop. My 10ft stop can't be performed at 14ft on that nice flat rock if my last stop is 20ft.