aquacat8
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LOL
Thoughts on AI?
- Thread starter Caveman
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After completing my SM class today with more than two hours underwater, I can definitely say AI is the way to go for SM. Having all my info on my wrist is so helpful.
scubafanatic
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I really like the AI feature, it works just fine for my recreational diving needs, I don't pretend it's appropriate for technical diving, but I'm not a technical diver, just a very advanced recreational diver and perfectly happy that way!
I use AI strictly for SM, BM and single tank diving. The only time I hook SPGs up is if I am either training in a class or the trainer in the class. Per the standards of a lot of the "technical" courses an SPG is a required piece of equipment for the class. AI has been extremely reliable in the dives I have done since switching to AI.
PS. @Marie13 the look of the pressures on the technical screen is far better. Will post pic soon.
PS. @Marie13 the look of the pressures on the technical screen is far better. Will post pic soon.
Side by side, or better top to bottom comparison..
I don't dive SM and I doubt I ever will beyond being curious. However, I agree that having the status of both primary tanks on your wrist may be helpful.
Do SM divers dive 3, 4 or 6 tanks too?
Just seems that if you're going to invest in a technique that works for all of your diving then it has to work for ALL of your diving. One of the reasons I don't use AI (or more correctly, haven't used it since the late 90's) is because technical diving can quickly outstrip the usefulness of it. Ergo, you need other "habits" anyway, so I made a decision in 2002 to let AI go and I'm not unhappy with that decision.
Thinking back, the biggest reason I went back to analogue gauges was because I was using them anyway as a backup to my AI (batteries do fail, etc., which I have personally had happen during a dive). The Hogarthian disciple in me (as poor of one as I may be) kept nagging that "if you don't need it, don't use it". So when I started diving technically I reconfigured, threw the Horgarthian hammer at my gear and the first thing I chucked was AI.
R..
Yes - although at this point, I can't imagine going beyond 2 SM tanks and a deco bottle.
The other cool thing about AI is that having dual AI computers, I could actually monitor 4 tanks. Two on left wrist Perdix and two on right wrist Perdix. Two on left would be my primary tanks in SM. Then you could have a stage bottle on the right computer and maybe your deco bottle. When you leave your deco bottle it will just blank out the reading and then when you drop your stage it will also blank out the reading. Not saying that is for everyone, but it is possible and not far fetched.
The group with which I do most of my diving is primarily composed of sidemount divers. Yes, they do use 5 and 6 tanks at times. (Actually, the 6 tank level has only been reached on the training dives when it is required; in real dives they have not gone beyond 5.) They use AI on the primary tanks and analog on the deco tanks, and that is primarily because the function is different. With the sidemount tanks, they need to keep a regular watch on them so they know when to switch to keep the levels balanced. With the deco tanks, once they are on one, they are on it. They only have to give an occasional check to make sure nothing unusual is going on in terms of gas usage, because if things go as planned, they have ample gas.
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