I don't have much experience using computers for decompression diving, having mostly used either V-Planner or Ratio Deco for my planning. I had some recent experience with the Suunto HelO2 that surprised me. Due to circumstances too weird to get into here, I will soon own one of these, and assuming that some day I may want to operate it outside of gauge mode, I would like to hear from some HelO2 veterans in relation to my first impressions.
The situation was that my buddy and I planned a dive using V-Planner. He had just gotten a new HelO2, and he wanted to take it along for the ride, figuring we could just stay a the last stop a little longer if we needed to to clear it. Well, that didn't work. As we started the ascent, he let me know that he wanted to follow the HelO2 plan, and I later learned it was because he was afraid to tick it off any because of what he was seeing in terms of ascent time on its screen. The V-Planner schedule was for about 28 minutes of deco total, and it would have been about the same if we had used Ratio Deco. Following his HelO2, we did 52 minutes of deco! Everyone else on the dive was out of their gear and relaxing when the captain sent the DM down to see if we were OK. My buddy said he had everything set to the most liberal settings.
A couple of days later he said he had played with the settings some more and wanted to try it again. Just before entering the water, we were told we needed for various reasons to aim for about 60 minutes of run time, which is less than we had planned, so he said he would start the ascent when his Suunto told him we had 30 minutes of ascent time. He did, which took us off the wreck must sooner than originally planned, but it didn't turn out that way. Even though he said he followed every step in our ascent, he ended up with a 72 minute run time.
The next day he said he played with it some more, but he said we would stick to the V-Planner schedule even if it violated the computer. We did follow the V-Planner schedule. The HelO2 was so angry because of ceiling violations that it went into error/gauge mode while we were doing our 20 foot stop.
I read Mark Powell's review of the computer, and it seems like my friend must be doing something wrong. How can a computer be so totally different from other algorithms? How can a computer shut you down in the middle of an ascent because it doesn't like what you are doing? Shouldn't it assume there is a reason you are violating it and keep computing on your behalf?
The situation was that my buddy and I planned a dive using V-Planner. He had just gotten a new HelO2, and he wanted to take it along for the ride, figuring we could just stay a the last stop a little longer if we needed to to clear it. Well, that didn't work. As we started the ascent, he let me know that he wanted to follow the HelO2 plan, and I later learned it was because he was afraid to tick it off any because of what he was seeing in terms of ascent time on its screen. The V-Planner schedule was for about 28 minutes of deco total, and it would have been about the same if we had used Ratio Deco. Following his HelO2, we did 52 minutes of deco! Everyone else on the dive was out of their gear and relaxing when the captain sent the DM down to see if we were OK. My buddy said he had everything set to the most liberal settings.
A couple of days later he said he had played with the settings some more and wanted to try it again. Just before entering the water, we were told we needed for various reasons to aim for about 60 minutes of run time, which is less than we had planned, so he said he would start the ascent when his Suunto told him we had 30 minutes of ascent time. He did, which took us off the wreck must sooner than originally planned, but it didn't turn out that way. Even though he said he followed every step in our ascent, he ended up with a 72 minute run time.
The next day he said he played with it some more, but he said we would stick to the V-Planner schedule even if it violated the computer. We did follow the V-Planner schedule. The HelO2 was so angry because of ceiling violations that it went into error/gauge mode while we were doing our 20 foot stop.
I read Mark Powell's review of the computer, and it seems like my friend must be doing something wrong. How can a computer be so totally different from other algorithms? How can a computer shut you down in the middle of an ascent because it doesn't like what you are doing? Shouldn't it assume there is a reason you are violating it and keep computing on your behalf?
