Howard Payne(Offline)

As some of you will be aware: around 10 of us here in the UK have recently acquired these new computers which appear to have been designed with the DIR market in mind.

They have a resettable average depth function which is clearly an extremely useful function for Deco On The Fly - in "Gauge" mode you simply reset the depth by holding the right button down at the bottom of the shot / descent and it will work out your average depth for the duration of your bottom time (or until you reset it) which you can then use to verify the average depth tally that you have running in your head.



In addition the display in gauge mode has a large clear stopwatch (HMS) in the centre of the display which is also resettable using a quick press on the left button. As Clare has discovered - this seems to be somewhat counterintuitive as also on the same button is the backlight which is accessed by a long press on the same button. It would make more sense if the stopwatch was reset with a long press and the backlight accessed with a short press - in line with the reset function on the right button for average depth.

You can reset the stopwatch at the bottom of the shot / descent and time your bottom section of the dive, resetting for the ascent / deco stops if you wish. I particlarly find that resetting the stopwatch prior to my ascent really helps me to keep track of my ascent rate and timing stops accurately even with "simple" minimum deco dives. The computer still has a total run time displayed top right which apparently resets itself after 999 minutes much to the annoyance of some Mr Jabblonski who uses one for splashing around in muddy holes somewhere in the southern USA

In short I'm delighted with mine and I find it a real step forward from the Vyper that I used to use in gauge mode: but it does raise some interesting questions:

How DIR is it to use a computer in this way. If you and your other two team members all had them - would that be an acceptable and redundant way of depth averaging accurately? Does it reduce stress loading and enable you to focus your mind on other tasks. Should it just be used as a fail safe for your own mental maths?

Thought this might be an interesting discussion and a thread where other owners of the 2G can post there own experience with it

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The Foxturd Chimp

neilh(Offline)

Interesting question Howard: I guess if you trust it to average depth accurately and your redundant depth timers are your buddies then it would be ok? If yours fails then you aren't going to know your depth to average anyway, so unless you ascend immediately you would have to rely on your buddies to run depth/time in any case.

If your team is your redundancy and they don't have the same timer, then you need to be comfortable that their averages and your averages are, on average, similar

If your redundancy is another depth timer that you have then you need to be comfortable tracking your average depth mentally still - I'd soon lose that skill (not that I have it yet anyway!) if I had something on my wrist doing it for me!

It's an interesting one for me because on the one hand I can see the whole "but now you're using the computer to work stuff out for you" argument - but then I don't mentally work out the depth and time either, I rely on the BT to give me that It's a knotty one

(Plus I can't afford one just now anyway, so I'll stick with my vytec in gauge mode which gives me HHMMSS and a resetable stopwatch as well!)

Brian Allen(Offline)

And they seem to be available at the slightly incorrect price of £329 on my website instead of the £339 everyone else sells them for...

don't tell scubapro...

Link to Aquanauts - Tec 2G

will have to get that fixed soon.

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...dive planning again ...


GUE fundamentals and Halcyon Equipment Online www.ocean-explorers.co.uk

TobyFish(Offline)

who sells them for £339?
not Scuba Diving Equipment from ePursuits.com (£329)
nor Scuba Diving Equipment from Simply Scuba (£329)
nor Scubastore - Scuba, Plongee, Submarinismo, Duike (£293!!!)

or you can go to my site (www/balaclava-advertising.com) we promise not to pull the wool over your eyes ;-)

Mark Chase(Offline)

Naaaaaaaaa screw that get your self a VR3 like a proper diver :D


I am selling both my VR3s and getting a Shearwater because it offers GF deco to back up my GF deco Hammer head.
ONE LEFT
VR3 September 2003 V2.1CXR
OC/CCR Trimix
PP02 enabled for in-line deco 7pin connector
Download enabled
Screen guard attached
Upgradeable to VPM
One pixel line missing (see picks below)
£500 including Prolog Download software


I this unit in Aug 2003. It has never had any faults except the loss of one line of pixel. They don't eat batteries and they have never shut down, gone fuzzy or had any other of the reported problems of the early models.
You have to look very close to see the missing line of pixels. Note the bottom of the the 3 is a bit flat. It doesn't bother me so I never bothered getting it fixed. To make up for it I have included the Prolog download software and infra red link wothr £120


Pic of unit in use (dry run obviously)


VR3 September 2004 V2.1CXR SOLD
PM me if your interested. Free postage in the UK + postage elsewhere

ATB
Mark Chase

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The only DIR Inspiration diver in the village

Brian Allen(Offline)

Sorry have obviosly not researched that properly at all... ... have checked the Trade price list and I was infact very wrong it is sposed to be £329. Don't know why i thought £339, think i read that in a dive mag somewhere.

Anyway happy to match anyone's lowest price.

Sorry again.

Brian

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...dive planning again ...


GUE fundamentals and Halcyon Equipment Online www.ocean-explorers.co.uk

TobyFish(Offline)

So do I get a free one for letting you know?

limeyx(Offline)

Jesus christ mate, it's a good thing you've got "water cooling" for that lot.
I reckon you could run our entire IT dept from those ...

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my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

Brian Allen(Offline)

ouch!!!

__________________
...dive planning again ...


GUE fundamentals and Halcyon Equipment Online www.ocean-explorers.co.uk

davy (Online)

have you verified this that the timer actually runs to 999mins?
My old tec runs over at 199mins which is quite annoying at times
And a reason for "upgrading"