The Metridium Fields...

[mikeguerrero]

Hello to all my peeps,

I got another opportunity to dive with my buddy Vassili. We had dove the barge the previous Sunday and so in an attempt to film a new location, I suggested we try the Metridiums.

We dropped at number 5 marker off the wall in an attempt to find the anchor. But as we dropped to 10 feet the viz was horrible maybe 5 feet at most, no surge just bad viz. I was having a lot of problems with my mask as it kept leaking.

You guys know how ugly that can be when you want to enjoy your dive and the water keeps getting in and stinging the hell out of your poor eye. As we continued a nice steady pace towards the pipe we ran into more wonton soup and a little surge.

I almost called the dive and that's when Vassili looked at me and noticed I was frustrated with my mask and asked if I was okay. Showing him the mask, he came and did a little adjustment around the seal and off we continued.

As we would go under the kelp canopy it would turn really dark and gloomy and the shadows would bring out kelp that appeared to look like giant octopus.

Okay so, we finally hit the pipe and it's still bad viz and since my mask is not leaking I decide hey let me follow the pipe out and see what we get. I am glad that we did this because as we get to about 40 ft the viz just opens up like crazy.

At the end of the pipe it's just fantastic and it keeps getting better. At the fields it was easy 40 feet of viz and as we ended there, we started heading back to the wall and the viz opens up to 40+ feet. This is my longest dive I have done to date; 2 hours 3 minutes.

I think you will like the end of the video, it's what divers do after an incredible adventure or expedition. Enjoy....

[youtubehq]_lOceIu94nU&feature=youtube_gdata[/youtubehq]

 

[Hepcat62]

At the end of the pipe it's just fantastic and it keeps getting better. At the fields it was easy 40 feet of viz and as we ended there, we started heading back to the wall and the viz opens up to 40+ feet. This is my longest dive I have done to date; 2 hours 3 minutes.

Wow, that's much better vis than Ted and I had at Lobos on Sunday! We did a nice R3 dive, but 40' of vis would definitely have been appreciated.

EDIT: BTW, how do you like the Xeo? It looks like a nice unit, but I was concerned about the battery life. How's it been working out for you?

 

[mikeguerrero]

Wow, that's much better vis than Ted and I had at Lobos on Sunday! We did a nice R3 dive, but 40' of vis would definitely have been appreciated.

EDIT: BTW, how do you like the Xeo? It looks like a nice unit, but I was concerned about the battery life. How's it been working out for you?

So far Brian, the battery life has been good. The Xeo checks the battery life on every dive when you turn it on. It runs at 3.5 volts and as you dive it will tell you pre-dive the strength.

If the battery drops below a certain amount it will change colors, green strong, yellow medium, red change. I got an extra battery when I purchased it and they don't cost that much so a couple extra would be nice to have in your tackle box.

They are super easy to change out on the field, super easy in fact a cave man could do it.

Vassili and I both ordered the Xeo at the same time from Dive Gear Express in Florida. I'm running software version 1.06 because when I upgraded to the latest 1.07 it had bugs on my first dive.

I let Liquivision know and they are working on the fix. It ships out with version 1.02 I believe, Vassili has left his alone, but I like to fiddle with upgrades via the web and took a small hit on 1.07 but hey it was post dive that the computer gave odd data.

Version 1.06 works like a charm. Regarding battery life, Vassili has dove his much more than me and hasn't had a battery issue.

I've done two big dives on the Xeo and battery life is still full. In Sept Liquivision will release the software version to change the Xeo into the Xen for that bottom timer look, big readouts for us that are going blind.

I sold my Galileo Sol immediately on Scubaboard when I saw the Xeo and got some nice money for the Galileo, you would be amazed how many divers love the Sol. So I didnt' feel the crunch on the price of the Xeo.

Any other questions Brian, just shoot them...

Late...

MG

 

[Guy Alcala]

I've done two big dives on the Xeo and battery life is still full. In Sept Liquivision will release the software version to change the Xeo into the Xen for that bottom timer look, big readouts for us that are going blind.

I sold my Galileo Sol immediately on Scubaboard when I saw the Xeo and got some nice money for the Galileo, you would be amazed how many divers love the Sol. So I didnt' feel the crunch on the price of the Xeo.

Any other questions Brian, just shoot them...

Late...

MG

Mike, I can relate to the divers who love the Galileo. Much as I love the brightness and contrast of OLED, I still think the information layout of the Uwatec computers is the best around. The two most important pieces of info for me are current depth and dive time, and since all we english readers have been trained to scan from left to right then reset back to the left and drop down one line, I want those two pieces of info to be on the same line, in the largest font. And so they are, on the Uwatec computers going back a couple of generations now. Each lower, less critical level of info should be in progressively smaller fonts, and the Uwatecs keep time and depth info separated on the same side all the way down (except in full mode, when the subsidiary info is in small boxes on the sides. The old Suunto Favor I use had depth at the top center, dive time at bottom right, which is mildly irritating although I'm used to it. I can't afford any of them at the moment, but I've looked at all the color computers out there and my ideal would still be a Galileo-type layout with color OLED display.

Guy

 

[mikeguerrero]

Mike, I can relate to the divers who love the Galileo. Much as I love the brightness and contrast of OLED, I still think the information layout of the Uwatec computers is the best around. The two most important pieces of info for me are current depth and dive time, and since all we english readers have been trained to scan from left to right then reset back to the left and drop down one line, I want those two pieces of info to be on the same line, in the largest font. And so they are, on the Uwatec computers going back a couple of generations now. Each lower, less critical level of info should be in progressively smaller fonts, and the Uwatecs keep time and depth info separated on the same side all the way down (except in full mode, when the subsidiary info is in small boxes on the sides. The old Suunto Favor I use had depth at the top center, dive time at bottom right, which is mildly irritating although I'm used to it. I can't afford any of them at the moment, but I've looked at all the color computers out there and my ideal would still be a Galileo-type layout with color OLED display.

Guy

Guy,

I have always loved my Galileo Sol and had it been made in OLED, I would still own one. I ran my Galileo on the largest font setting, and I absolutely could see exactly what I wanted, depth, and bottom time. I also could see my heart rate which was very important for me because it helped me on post dive, seeing where I had increases and what happened during the dive to increase or decrease my pulse.

The problem started at depth when I would have a hard time reading the matrix screen, the backlight was horrible and I fought hard to see the numbers. I was forced to use my Can light to view at depth, not a problem but an inconvience. Having said that Guy, you need to know that I have a bad astigmatism which affects me at depth in the dark. Night dives were bad for me looking at the Galileo.

Okay so enter the Xeo/Zen, not much to look at on the display like the Sol but wow those numbers scream back at me, and I kid you not Guy. I simply extend my arm forward and it comes into view on the side, I don't need to turn my head just my eyes shift a tad, I love that.

Especially when you might have a leaky neck seal and turning your head a lot rushes in that cold water.

For me the OLED has been the best invention to divers of age, 41 and night time is a villian to me. Not anymore thanks to OLED.

Having said that, I do miss my Galileo because everything was on it like a mini computer. But, I am slowly falling for the Xeo.

Nuff said...

MG

 

[fisheater]

Very nice!

I recognize all the dive sites, but where was that post-dive meal? Looked great!

 

[mikeguerrero]

Very nice!

I recognize all the dive sites, but where was that post-dive meal? Looked great!

The Russian Deli is where we scored all the sea food. Vassili my diving buddy introduced me to his comrades. You have to dine with a Russian friend in order to be served this hidden from the menu delicacy. You see the crab legs are from the remote fringes of Siberia in Russian. It's the last of the extinct crab in the wild, to yummy to explain other details... J/K

 

[Guy Alcala]

Guy,

I have always loved my Galileo Sol and had it been made in OLED, I would still own one. I ran my Galileo on the largest font setting, and I absolutely could see exactly what I wanted, depth, and bottom time. I also could see my heart rate which was very important for me because it helped me on post dive, seeing where I had increases and what happened during the dive to increase or decrease my pulse.

The problem started at depth when I would have a hard time reading the matrix screen, the backlight was horrible and I fought hard to see the numbers. I was forced to use my Can light to view at depth, not a problem but an inconvience. Having said that Guy, you need to know that I have a bad astigmatism which affects me at depth in the dark. Night dives were bad for me looking at the Galileo.

Okay so enter the Xeo/Zen, not much to look at on the display like the Sol but wow those numbers scream back at me, and I kid you not Guy. I simply extend my arm forward and it comes into view on the side, I don't need to turn my head just my eyes shift a tad, I love that.

Especially when you might have a leaky neck seal and turning your head a lot rushes in that cold water.

For me the OLED has been the best invention to divers of age, 41 and night time is a villian to me. Not anymore thanks to OLED.

Having said that, I do miss my Galileo because everything was on it like a mini computer. But, I am slowly falling for the Xeo.

Nuff said...

MG

Mike, clearly we need one or more dive computer manufacturers to offer a "Design your own" option - check on the boxes for layout, colors, font sizes, button sequences, and so on.

Uemis has gone some ways towards this, as have the Galileos. But I hear you on reading the Galileos in dim light, and my Favor lacks a backlight so I have no choice but to use my light at night - the phosphorescence is only usable for a few seconds. Needing to use the light at night is a pain, as when I'm doing compass nav. I have the light on my right wrist to illuminate the compass on my left, so have to switch anytime I want to check something. It's a minor inconvenience, but an unnecessary one. For night dives I need to get a computer with a backlight or color display, or else a headlight.

BTW, how's the tap interface working for you? I haven't tried one yet, and offhand it seems like a "sounds better than it works" gadget, but lots of people seem to like it. I prefer large 'no-question if I've pressed it' buttons, ideally arranged so that I press them with my thumb if on the side (I would use the 180 degree display flip option if I had a Galileo) or else on the front face so that I push down them down into my arm (Like newer Suuntos, the Tec 2g, Niteks etc.), but I've never tried anything else other than the wet contacts on my Favor, which are often a pain.

Guy

 

[mikeguerrero]

Mike, clearly we need one or more dive computer manufacturers to offer a "Design your own" option - check on the boxes for layout, colors, font sizes, button sequences, and so on. Uemis has gone some ways towards this, as have the Galileos. But I hear you on reading the Galileos in dim light, and my Favor lacks a backlight so I have no choice but to use my light at night - the phosphorescence is only usable for a few seconds. Needing to use the light at night is a pain, as when I'm doing compass nav. I have the light on my right wrist to illuminate the compass on my left, so have to switch anytime I want to check something. It's a minor inconvenience, but an unnecessary one. For night dives I need to get a computer with a backlight or color display, or else a headlight.

BTW, how's the tap interface working for you? I haven't tried one yet, and offhand it seems like a "sounds better than it works" gadget, but lots of people seem to like it. I prefer large 'no-question if I've pressed it' buttons, ideally arranged so that I press them with my thumb if on the side (I would use the 180 degree display flip option if I had a Galileo) or else on the front face so that I push down them down into my arm (Like newer Suuntos, the Tec 2g, Niteks etc.), but I've never tried anything else other than the wet contacts on my Favor, which are often a pain.

Guy

Guy,

Regarding the tap function of the Xeo. At first for me it was akward and I felt clumsy not knowing where I was going. I would hit the top and then forget is it left or right tap etc. But in a few trial dives, I started getting the hang of it quickly. You see during the surface is really the only time I'm using the tap function, so it's super easy.

When I'm in the water, I'm not tapping the console at all until I get to changing gases in Trimix.

So for now, I set it and forget it as I enter the water. I'm toying around now with the auto dim feature which conserves battery life as you descend it goes dimmer. As you come back up from depth it goes back to it's original setting so you can see it as light gets stronger.

I have left it off of auto dim and it stays on medium power, which is really bright for me and half the battery life as if you went to low power.

I do have an extra battery to change out on the field should I need to do two super long dives, but I don't forsee that anytime soon.

I guess what it comes down to is the more I use it the better I will get to feeling comfortable with all its features. I never toyed around with the Galileo and I regret not playing more with it.

But so far the Xeo is just super easy to put on and take a look at during the dive. I like the OLED depth and time is nice and big, the Temp is very small and I have to look twice to make sure I see the temp. I love knowing the temp of the water, just for me to understand that I'm breaking new layers of cold fronts and not getting a leak in my drysuit. :shocked2:

MG

 

[Guy Alcala]

Guy,

But so far the Xeo is just super easy to put on and take a look at during the dive. I like the OLED depth and time is nice and big, the Temp is very small and I have to look twice to make sure I see the temp. I love knowing the temp of the water, just for me to understand that I'm breaking new layers of cold fronts and not getting a leak in my drysuit. :shocked2:

MG

Yeah, I had to study the display for a while until I found the temp, even though it's in the same place as my Favor - bottom left (it alternates with max. depth every 5 seconds). But it's a lot smaller on the Xeo/Xen relative to the other fonts than the Suuntos. I enjoy having a temp display, even though it's unnecessary. It's just fun to note the depths of thermoclines, seasonal variations, etc. I like having the OAT gauge in my car, too - guess I'm just a data geek.

Guy