Why is there no alert system on the perdix ?

[Lorenzoid]

I agree.. beeps probably isn't good for anyone. I can see haptic vibrations being much better for the masses.

Doh! Now I see that you specifically said "buzzers/vibrations." Well, I enjoyed replying anyway.

 

[Wibble]

2 boats;

Boat A is full of morons, none have beeps. One guy has no idea wtf he's doing and runs out of air, embolizes, or gets bent... boat ride stops, everyone goes back to the dock, and they get sued for whatever reason and charter closes. No matter what, the charter probably loses $ on a day like that.

Boat B is full of morons, most have beeps and flashing signs and whatnot (actually, I would think buzzers / vibrations would be the best of both worlds right?). One guy has no idea wtf he's doing but his computer is way smarter than him.. it tells him too deep / running out / time to come up / etc. There's no accident, and the charter lives to profit another day. No one gets sued. Buzzing and flashing a short message is pretty docile compared to beeps..

@Miyaru, I can 100% agree that noises underwater would be horrible... maybe just a subtle buzzing and flashing would do the trick. I don't guide dives, I don't like people, I don't like groups of people, so I have zero skin in this game. I just think it's interesting. I would personally turn all that off (and have on other dc's)

How do you know that the computers are configured correctly? Do they use different colour straps for different depths?

"That guy" shouldn’t be diving. Blame the OW instructor and agency; nothing to do with the boat nor skipper/taxi driver.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

How do you know that the computers are configured correctly? Do they use different colour straps for different depths?

"That guy" shouldn’t be diving. Blame the OW instructor and agency; nothing to do with the boat nor skipper/taxi driver.

I have no idea how that would work, but it's no different than cars braking themselves with sensors on the front and back. Should it be needed? No.... Is it? Well I'm sure it's saved a life or 2, so maybe it's not all bad?

You could make the argument that people needing that crap on their car shouldn't be driving, but my gosh are they out there.

It's a complete lack of situational awareness.

 

[Miyaru]

I agree.. beeps probably isn't good for anyone.

The future just started to look a little brighter!

 

[Belzelbub]

To the people that dive ~ 3 times a year, it's probably not a bad idea to give them beeps and buzzers... I personally stay away from this crowd at all costs, but they're out there and they make up the majority (I would imagine).... and for them, being safer isn't a bad thing. If it takes beeps and buzzers to keep idiots from killing themselves and diving out of the public eye as "dangerous" and insurance costs down, sure why not? Lots of agencies are written this way... not "how to be good divers", just "how not to die".

I stay away from them as well. I generally don't dive charters, usually off of private boats.

The issue I see with the alarms for this group is that they simply don't use their computer (maybe only rent a computer) enough to know what it's trying to say. Beeps most likely won't get their attention as it doesn't appear to be coming from them. Vibration is better, as there isn't any question about where that's coming from. However, even that carries an unknown. Will the diver understand what the computer is trying to say? Is it a critical alert, or just a notification?

I'm just not sure they actually help the diver that needs them as much as they are intended to.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Will the diver understand what the computer is trying to say? Is it a critical alert, or just a notification?

That's part of my thinking, too. My suspicion is that a diver who is by nature inattentive--doesn't have the patience or diligence or whatever to monitor his computer screen or gauges throughout the dive--is similarly not inclined to get to know their computer well enough to quickly ascertain the meaning of an alarm that goes off.

This might be true even with visual-only alarms/alerts. An example that comes up occasionally is the diver who doesn't understand their computer's "DECO" warning that a direct ascent is no longer advisable because the NDL was passed. The story is often that they simply didn't "read the manual."

That said, if the computer defaults to not having any alarms set, one would think that a diver who actively sets an alarm is doing so because they know what the alarm will mean. I see no downside to a computer that has a haptic (vibrational) alarm and defaults to no alarm set.

 

[Belzelbub]

That's part of my thinking, too. My suspicion is that a diver who is by nature inattentive--doesn't have the patience or diligence or whatever to monitor his computer screen or gauges throughout the dive--is similarly not inclined to get to know their computer well enough to quickly ascertain the meaning of an alarm that goes off.

Yep. And unfortunately, it's not just an academic exercise. There are plenty of divers out there where this absolutely happens. I don't encounter them often as I generally only dive with a handful of divers I know. But, when I have gone on checkout dives (my own, or my daughter's) I've encountered divers at the benches that are just asking strangers to help them change settings on their computer. I guess that's only half bad. At least they were aware enough to realize that they should change something.