I have used my new Smart Com now for a dozen dives on air and Nitrox. I'm not worried about the recall, the fact they are doing this gives me some confidence they are doing the right thing and when it is replaced with a new one, that it will be right. I am still using it waiting for my return box, but I am also using a SPG and bottom timer/depth gauge as a back up, just in case. So far it has worked perfectly. It is not gas switching during a dive, but you can easily change Nitrox mixes from dive to dive and mix and match all day long. I really like all the air integration features. The pressure transducer is so sensitive, that it can measure less than a single breath of air. Using this, it somehow knows when I start to work too hard and gives me a warning to take it easy, even though my overall air consumption seems normal. It's amazing! Really like the way it tells me the remaining bottom time at current depth and workload, which will get me back to the surface with all stops with my pre-programmed level of reserve air. I think this just adds a whole additional layer of dive safety. Has an integrated IR port and comes with Smart-Trac software, so there is nothing else to buy. Regarding the recall, when I called they said they would be will to trade it even for an Air Z Nitrox. This is hoseless, but does not have all the features the Smart Com does, also uses an older decompression model, seven compartments vs. the eight and no micro-bubble. No temperature read out either. So, even given the opportunity to trade it for a more expensive unit, I am still keeping the Smart Com. The micro-bubble feature I think is really superior. I have been diving for 26 years now, and one thing I have seen is that things keep getting more conservative. As more studies are done, there is growing evidence that micro-bubble formation, even though you don't feel it (except maybe feeling tired), does cause long term damage to your body. I have kept mine set to the highest level. On single tank dives, I usually run out of air before I run out of time, so even though it has indicated some "level stops", these have cleared as I moved to shallower depths. There seems to be some confusion about how these "level stops" work, they are not decon stops, but micro-bubble suppression stops. You can ignore them, in which case the computer will just drop you to a lower setting and indicate it. Since some owners are in a panic about this recall, you might be able to pick one up from someone cheap, return it for the recall and end up with a brand new unit or a trade on an Air Z Nitrox. They are saying about a 90 day turn around or sooner. I registered a week and a half ago, and am still waiting for my return box, which should be here soon. All in all, I am so impressed with how well this works, how easy it is to use, nice large display, nice Smart-Trac software giving you an extremely detailed profile of your dive, that I am more than willing to wait for them to fix the problem and return to me a brand new Smart-Com.
