Will Air Integration in dive computers replace the SPG?

[CuzzA]

All of the regulator Manufacturers got together to standardize the LP hose. Except Aqua-lung. It took 65 years. For a hose. Manufacturers can't agree on computer algorithms, batteries, screen size, features, or color.

I think standard transmitters is asking a lot.

65 years for a universally excepted hose??? Yeah, perhaps that IS asking a lot.

 

[DiveNav]

...... You ignore the thousands of bits of continuing data that keep the transmitter and receiver in sync, any one of them behaving badly could break the connection, yet you count them all as one failure point.....

In most system there is no bi-directional "sync" .... it is only one way.
The Transmitter has no clue on where the receiver is (or if it is even there); it just keeps transmitting (a packet every few seconds).
If the receiver misses a packet (because of too much noise in the channel .... receiver too distant) it is not a big deal .... each packet is self contained ... just make sure to get the next one (change position of receiver).

---------- Post added January 12th, 2016 at 09:26 AM ----------

..... So the scuba industry manufacturers would have to come together and mutually agree on one technology. How likely is that to happen?

As a scuba manufacturer (with former background in the semiconductor industry were co-petion is a must) I would welcome a standard on WAI technology.
But I don't think is going to happen any time soon.

 

[doctormike]

Are you sure?

"What use could this company make of an electrical toy?
- Western Union president William Orton, responding to an offer from Alexander Graham Bell to sell his telephone company to Western Union for $100,000."

Hey, don't call me ridiculous. I didn't create AI, nor have I forced just about every dive computer manufacturer to offer it.

Yeah, but that looks funny in hindsight because the old guys back then didn't understand the potential applications for an unknown new technology.

I'm pretty sure that we all know what WAI is used for (monitoring tank pressure). Or do you think that someday we will be automatically uploading dive selfies to Facebook using our tank pressure transmitters?

 

[CuzzA]

Dive selfies with an upload to the cloud and real time video streaming of your dive on facebook.....

I'm just pointing out that we should be careful about making firm statements about technology because 10 years from now someone might look back and say, "That guy was an idiot!"

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Dive selfies with an upload to the cloud and real time video streaming of your dive on facebook.....

I'm just pointing out that we should be careful about making firm statements about technology because 10 years from now someone might look back and say, "That guy was an idiot?"

The people who know me can draw that conclusion without a crystal ball OR waiting 10 years.

 

[fjpatrum]

If you're worried about someone else calling you an idiot, especially on the internet, you're doing it wrong.

I don't see any way you're going to convince everyone to go AI. Too many possibilities (albeit low) for failure and there's always someone who thinks it isn't worth the risk. That said, nearly everyone carries a cell phone now so maybe the next generation (or the one after that) won't even think it's odd that they need batteries to do every conceivable thing.

 

[Wookie]

The people who know me can draw that conclusion without a crystal ball OR waiting 10 years.

We don't say that about you. As far as you know. (thanks to Chevy Chase for that line)

 

[Hatul]

If you're referring to wireless air integration, the answer is no. It's best to keep the SPG as well, both for backup and for when the computer is not yet displaying the pressure.

I've had my transmitter flood on a dive trip, the battery can die, or you can get transient loss of signal.

If you're referring to consoles connected by hose, I think those are dependable enough not to require an analong SPG.

 

[agilis]

If you're worried about someone else calling you an idiot, especially on the internet, you're doing it wrong.

I don't see any way you're going to convince everyone to go AI. Too many possibilities (albeit low) for failure and there's always someone who thinks it isn't worth the risk. That said, nearly everyone carries a cell phone now so maybe the next generation (or the one after that) won't even think it's odd that they need batteries to do every conceivable thing.

Nearly everyone carries a cell phone, but be assured that not everyone does. A phone in my car, sure, but turned off, only there for my convenience. Carrying one around, I think not.

It's not so much that AI has failure risks, its that SPGs are much more reliable, cheaper, and less fuss, a superior device by any metric. This may change in the future, but not anytime soon.

 

[Bob DBF]

True. I was speaking specifically to gas loss by a physical failure though. Reliability of the transmitter is paramount. But, we've heard stories of stuck needles on SPG's too, so they are not exactly 100% reliable. How often does that happen? I don't know, probably not very often.

So far I've had one HP hose go bad that showed no outward signs, and was bubbling through the many holes in the outer case, kind of pretty, but little air loss and I replaced it shortly thereafter. Unless a diver pays no attention to the condition of their gear, it is almost impossible to have a catastrophic hose failure. I check my gear, so a sticking gauge would, and has, been caught. I also check gauges against each other on a regular basis. As long as you are looking for problems with the SPG system, you will find them well before a failure which, in my experience, will not be catastrophic. This is from someone that uses vintage gear that may be 40+ years old, and has dove gear on a number of occasions that should have been, and later was, tossed.

Nothing is 100% reliable, however digital electronics have a nasty habit of going bad, or disconnecting, without warning. Although you can do all the mechanical pressure and accuracy checks, there is no way to check the electronics that insures they will not completely fail on your next dive, which could be considered catastrophic if there is no backup SPG.

All that being said, I really don't care how another diver decides to set up or maintain their Kit.




Bob
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I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.