One of the things I am drawn to, and quite skilled at, is processing data. It’s why I enjoyed operating a fire truck, and it’s also why I like my job in medicine and enjoy the technical end of SCUBA. I would probably been pretty good at engineering. I love processing data and doing math in my head. I also enjoy having a good tool that will make that job easier.
Enter dive computers. These machines take all of the guesswork out of diving. Traditionally, divers would use a table where the maximum depth and total dive time were looked up on a table that would tell you the maximum time you could be underwater. This is called “square profile” diving. The table assumes you descend from the surface to a set depth, remain at that depth the entire dive, then return directly back to the surface. In reality, no one dives like that.
A dive computer uses a mathematical model to calculate how much Oxygen (and other gases) are in your tissues, then uses that to tell you what you need to do in order not to get the bends. It resamples the factors of the dive every 30 seconds.
That’s one of the things that I can’t understand about this diving accident. The diving computer would have warned them:
- that they were approaching the no decompression limit once they had been under for about 7 minutes at a maximum depth of 160 feet. It would beep and flash.
- When they reached 187 feet, they would have gotten another set of beeps warning them that the oxygen was at the maximum safe limit of 1.4 atmospheres of pressure
- Most computers have a depth alarm that would have warned them about exceeding depth limits
- Many computers have turnaround alarms that will warn you when you have used a third (or some other programmable amount of your air) of your breathing gas
- Many dive computers would have had their models exceeded and would go into “violation” mode. There are more alarms here, and the computer only functions as a digital set of gauges after that point.
In short, there is no way that dive was an accident, and that is not even considering the stupidity of swimming that far into a cave. It always astounds me that someone will pay a thousand dollars for an expensive piece of gear that’s designed to save your life, then will ignore that device. The cheapest dive computer can be bought for less than $100 (although I wouldn’t bet my life on cheapest.)
My dive computer cost me well over $600, but it is obsolete and no longer for sale. If I were to buy one today, I would want a gas integrated console computer that can handle multiple gas mixes on one dive. The small wrist ones aren’t readable by this old man’s eyes- the numbers are too small on the display and I don’t want to wear a prescription dive mask.
So with that being said, I would want:
- gas integrated
- nitrox capable to 100%
- multiple gases on one dive
With that, I my research settles on these:
- Apeks DSX Dive Computer:The nice thing about this one is it would let me upgrade to trimix if I decide to do that in the future. It’s pricy though: $1200. Also, the connection to your tank is wireless, and that means sometimes losing the signal and not knowing how much pressure you have left.
- Mares Genius: This one is cheaper at $800. Still has the wireless connection issue.
- Oceanic Pro Plus X: This one solves the wireless issue, but it only handles nitrox to 50% and can’t do trimix. It’s also pricy at $1200.
I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones I would consider.
The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I don’t think that I ever will. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.
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