Why all the features? I want a simple piece of equipment.

[ajduplessis]

rongoodman

Did you bother reading the requirements?? User wants entry level compact city car..... let's sell him a Hummer with upgraded everything!! WTF

 

[theduckguru]

Take a entry level DC like the Sunnto Gekko. A feature on this computer is for altitude diving. How many entry level divers do you know that dive at altitude? How many divers do you know dive at altitude? Of course there is a space crowding icon on the screen to let me know it's setting. I don't care if this option increases the cost of the product 1%, although I suspect it's actually substantially more, I don't need it and could opt out of most of this crap.

The reason manufactures include these features is so the product can marketed at a higher profit margin.

 

[ianr33]

All I want is a watch sized dive computer that only displays 3 things:
My depth, my no decompression limit, and my tank pressure.
I dont want, nor need;
...... the dive time.......

While I generally agree with you that many computers have far too many "features" the Dive Time is important.

Without any indication of Dive Time how do you know if the NDL time is reasonable?

 

[beanojones]

With an indication of dive time, how do you know NDL is reasonable?

If you dive computers and you are asking these questions, the only choice is to dive two computers (preferably from two different OEM manufacturers, so any glitch like Suunto innacurate timekeeping bug will not affect both.). Thinking you know how to figure tables on multilevel dives is silly. Thinking you know how on multilevel, repetitive dives is ridiculous. You don't know how.

Moreover if the computer is your timepiece, what makes you think you can trust its time keeping if you think you cannot trust its calculations? It is not like calculations are hard for the dive computer so they might get them wrong, but time keeping is easy so it is always right. A malfunction affects both equally.

 

[fnfalman]

You can always try to make one yourself that has only the features you want.

All I want is a watch sized dive computer that only displays 3 things:
My depth, my no decompression limit, and my tank pressure.
On the surface, just display the time of day and date for me like any old watch.
Has a button for backlighting, is user changeable batteries.

I dont want, nor need;
a log book (nor do I download), the dive time, the ascent rate (I can watch the depth)
I dont need more than one gas (air is just fine, even when diving on nitrox). I dont need color, maps, compass
I dont need planner, I dont need most all of the things that are on todays computers. Dive watch numerals are too small for the mature diver.

Being small, having a simply 3 item display will help as I age for the size of fonts. Keep it in black with a urethane strap so I can wear it as a watch.
Keep it solid, easy platform, wont eat batteries without all the nonsense inside, and I'm pretty much the world's happiest diver.

Now, why is that so hard?

Anyone know of just what I'm looking for?
Remember, cant display all the other nonsense, has to be clean.
Cant be larger than a regular watch.
Has to have ndl, and large enough numerals (im not seeing that in dive watches)

Its a pipe-dream, I know...
and I'd be the only one who'd buy it

 

[phillybob]

All I want is a watch sized dive computer that only displays 3 things:
My depth, my no decompression limit, and my tank pressure.
On the surface, just display the time of day and date for me like any old watch.
Has a button for backlighting, is user changeable batteries.

I dont want, nor need;
a log book (nor do I download), the dive time, the ascent rate (I can watch the depth)
I dont need more than one gas (air is just fine, even when diving on nitrox). I dont need color, maps, compass
I dont need planner, I dont need most all of the things that are on todays computers. Dive watch numerals are too small for the mature diver.

Being small, having a simply 3 item display will help as I age for the size of fonts. Keep it in black with a urethane strap so I can wear it as a watch.
Keep it solid, easy platform, wont eat batteries without all the nonsense inside, and I'm pretty much the world's happiest diver.

Now, why is that so hard?

Anyone know of just what I'm looking for?
Remember, cant display all the other nonsense, has to be clean.
Cant be larger than a regular watch.
Has to have ndl, and large enough numerals (im not seeing that in dive watches)

Its a pipe-dream, I know...
and I'd be the only one who'd buy it

A crack 'pipe dream'. Never gonna happen.

 

[hypertech]

Suunto is probably the closest, but you cite contradicting requirements that will prevent you from finding one computer that meets all your requirements. For example, you want a large display but a wristwatch size computer. These are simply opposites. The wristwatch size computers are just going to have small numerals on a small screen. I suggest you look at a puck style computer and buy a watch to wear when not diving. They have larger numerals and are easier to read.

I recently bought the Suunto Vypee Air. It would be worth looking at. In the main screen it shows your depth, NDL, air time, tank pressure, and dive time. Those are the basic parameters you should be interested in (well maybe without the air time, but the rest are important). Ascent rate, etc are on bar graphs on the side that use very little display space. Don't look at them if you don't like it.

If you insist on a wrist watch style, the D9 is pretty much the same thing in that size format. But remember, smaller screen, smaller numbers, harder to read.

 

[beanojones]

Isn't the big catch the fact that there are no watch style computers that have user replaceable batteries, since the user replaceable battery hatch really adds to the size of the computer?

Watch size=factory replacement. (right?)

 

[hypertech]

The wife has an Atom 2.0. I know I changed the battery on it. I'm pretty sure it even came with the spanner tool.

 

[beanojones]

The wife has an Atom 2.0. I know I changed the battery on it. I'm pretty sure it even came with the spanner tool.

As you say, Atom, Geo and OC1 all have user replaceable batteries. Go Oceanic