Xen and the art of diving

[ScubaFeenD]

Thanks Lynne,

Sounds like there may be a bit of confusion - I will follow up with Bob on this.

The seconds are shown on both the total-time timer and the stopwatch timer on all three layout options, including the simple/basic one. Further, when in the menus the depth and time are also constantly shown and seconds are include there as well.

There is a user-selectable option to show seconds in an analog form, but even with this option activated the analog seconds are shown in all three layout options and when in the menus.

In short, the seconds are always shown, in all layout options, at all times, whether in numeric or analog form.

I've been really enjoying hearing all the first-impressions people are having and am excited at the response. Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and support.

-Doug
Liquivision Marketing & Sales Manager

A few of the divers that had a chance to try it and I were talking about how great the unit was post-dive day. The one issue a few people mentioned is the lack of automatic stopwatch function activation. Is there a way to activate this in the menu items, or is a software update that can add this feature?

 

[Tortuga68]

Do they really make it easier? For example, you hit your stop at 45 minutes -- wait for a while, then start your move and stop until you hit 46 -- wait for a while, start your move -- stop until you hit 47 -- rinse and repeat

Well, they do for me. You hit your stop, and your timer says 45 minutes... Is that 45 minutes 0 seconds or 45 minutes 59 seconds? If you have a second 'hand', you know that - and you stay 30 seconds (for example) and then spend the next 30 seonds ascending to the next stop. That way I'm spending 1 minute between say 30m and 27m, then 1 minute between 27m and 24m etc. And when you get to the longer stops, gas switches etc, I find it easier to stay on the schedule. Plus I don't have to sit there looking at my timer wondering if it's just about to tick over to the next minute

Even when ascending to your first stop it's useful... let's say you are going from your bottom of 60m with a first stop at 30m... your bottom time is 20 minutes and you want to hit the first stop at 23 minutes. So you know you should be at 55m at 20' 30", 50m at 21' etc. Makes it easier to arrive on time IMO

OK -- does any program give you deco stops in seconds? The only ones I've used give me my stops in minutes. I admit I don't know all the various programs out there, but really, seconds? How precise ARE these schedules?

I'm not aware of any software that does <1 min stops, but that's not the issue

I use an Uwatec BT which doesn't have seconds... it's nice having my watch to give me the finer measurement. I don't always wear a watch and can do run times just on the Uwatec, but it's not as precise nor as easy

 

[PfcAJ]

And if you are off by a few seconds, how precise are you in holding your stops -- +/- three inches?

Some of us are pretty precise

I like the seconds, too. It probably doesn't really matter, though.

 

[Tortuga68]

Some of us are pretty precise

I think he means anal

Anyhoo, maybe it's just a mental comfort thing, feeling more in control and that things are going like clockwork (if you'll pardon the pun) rather than being *that* important... it probably doesn't make a huge difference to DCS risk. I just know I used to always wind up getting out of the water 2-3 minutes over my runtime before I started using a watch, because I'd get behind and then still want to do my full time especially at the longer/shallow stops plus 3 mins to surface. Either that or I'd feel like I was rushing ascents and/or cutting stops

EDIT: The examples I'm giving are for OW and/or blue water ascents on square profile dives

 

[Slamfire]

His issue (and I'm not sure it's an issue for someone with more familiarity with the unit than I have) is that the time display on the basic screen doesn't have seconds. To get seconds, you have to activate the stopwatch. This may not be a unit problem -- it may be a user issue, because I don't know if it's true.

Tell him to carry a Casio stop watch with him... wait... that would be an equipment solution to a skills problem... Sorry, I couldn't resist

Do they [seconds] really make it easier?

Even when ascending to your first stop it's useful... let's say you are going from your bottom of 60m with a first stop at 30m... your bottom time is 20 minutes and you want to hit the first stop at 23 minutes. So you know you should be at 55m at 20' 30", 50m at 21' etc. Makes it easier to arrive on time IMO

It makes it easier for me not only to get to the first stop but also to have a more precise ascent speed in between stops. As I get closer to the surface I like to reduce ascent speed from 30 ft/min to 10 ft/min. If I leave 30 ft at 50'00" I know I have to be at 25ft by 50'30" and be arriving at 20ft by 51'00". Without seconds I'd have to use the force [star wars] to try to hit a precise ascent rate, and/or leave the stop early or stay a bit longer to offset any imprecisions in ascent rate.

That said, I can see your point, Peter. Watching the seconds too closely is really unnecessary. You don't really need that kind of tolerances and precision. A more loose tolerance of minutes is more than enough when you take into account the inexact nature decompression [-]magic[/-] err science. For me, however, it's more part of a psychological mindset to keep the overall dive execution tight, precise and with good skills. It's about bringing your game face to staged deco dives. When it's just a shallow no-deco, fun dive my mindset is a bit more relaxed.

 

[Bob Sherwood]

Just to clairify, I love my XEN. I used Lynn's for one dive and without reading anything about the unit. I didnt have a fair chance to get comfortable with all the features and to configure the unit I was diving. Now that I have returned home and got my own to play with no one can tear it out of my hands. It is awesome and already several of my buddies are jelously waiting for theirs to arrive. thanks all. best, bob 6077653942

I was handing out Xen crack on the dive boats this weekend -- virtually unalloyed praise (Bob Sherwood has a specific issue with the display). Everybody loves the colors and the readability!

 

[TSandM]

Thanks, Bob! As I said on the boat, I got handed the unit the day before we left, and I really wasn't able to answer the questions folks had about it. I was just the messenger, and deserved to be shot!

 

[Liquivision]

Thanks to you both Bob & Lynne,

I figured it was an unfamiliarity question, rather than something being wrong. I'm glad to hear you're so happy with it Bob.

There is definitely about a 20-30 minute "learning curve" for anyone who hasn't used our products before, and while we publish the user manual on our website, most people tell us they never needed it or only used it for one particular question. The simulator on every unit is designed to allow you to learn the unit while sitting comfortably at home, or work if the boss isn't looking, instead of trying to remember what the manual said about which function while underwater.

Of course, we're also usually available (sometimes even on weekends and holidays though we don't guarantee that) to answer questions if you're curious about something on it. Just shoot us a PM and someone (probably Eric or I) will respond as soon as we're able.

-Doug
Liquivision Marketing & Sales Manager

 

[supersand]

I had my Xen out for its maiden voyage this past weekend. It performed beautifully and was much easier to read while scootering when compared to my suunto's normal lcd display. Really liked the easy access stopwatch function and the unique colors for each piece of information. My old suunto didn't calculate average depth or give ascent or descent rates, and I found having that extra information during the dive really nice. Diving in Monterey I set the display to the lowest brightness setting and once under water ~10feet it was extremely readable, at the surface in the bright sun this weekend the display was a little washed out using the low setting, but still readable. The tap interface is very intuitive once you use it a couple times. It only accidentally registered taps (sensitivity set to high) and went into a menu once during the dive and I think it was while I was futzing around with the camera, which could have firmly bumped it.

This same suggestion was made elsewhere but I would add an option to have the stopwatch function available as a default line in the dive display. In addition I would make the font for the seconds in the stopwatch slightly larger (if pixel space is available) to match the font size for the total dive time's seconds, which is slightly larger than the current second display in the stopwatch.

Overall though it's a great product and its really not that much more $ than a normal lcd computer, but with much improved readability.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

This same suggestion was made elsewhere but I would add an option to have the stopwatch function available as a default line in the dive display. In addition I would make the font for the seconds in the stopwatch slightly larger (if pixel space is available) to match the font size for the total dive time's seconds, which is slightly larger than the current second display in the stopwatch.
.

Agreed, but dont hold your breath with regard to response to suggestions. Ive made a couple and asked a few questions in a few threads about this BT already, and liquivision just ignores them. Guess some people just arent high profile enough to matter, whether they are potential users or not.