what I use today; ca. 2002: Uwatec SmartPRO, Jens H., Snafu ...
- actually I use a really smart thing:
- the SCUBAPRO / UWATEC Smart PRO
- it features another ZH-L8: the ZH-L8 ADT MB which means
- 8 compartments with an adaptive feature (ADT) to temperature and workload
- as well as reduced micro-bubbling (MB)
- gee: it features the so-called "Level Stops", which are
- to put it bluntly, just user adjustables "Haldanian / Hills (B.A.) deep Stops"
- as well NITROX from 21 to 100 % Oxygen
For a complete story of the wonderful SCUBAPRO/UWATEC machines, as well
an intro to the ADT MB model and the rationale for the level stops (2002; © UWATEC / Scubapro)
August 2002, Jens H. dives to 240 m at Hurghada
- and here we have the modified dive computers from Suunto and Scubapro
- they work until 1000 m, that's why you have to multiply the depth by 10 !
- a couple of data for this dive on 08/12/2002:
- in ca. 10 min to 241 m, 18 km drift
- first deep stops at 180 and then at 150 m
- run time: 358 min
Bottom line is after diving a couple of thousand dives with a lot of different computers:
- every dive computer fails, it's only a matter of time (***)
- according to Edsel MURPHY, failure of a dive computer occurs only in the most critical phase of the dive!
- when it comes to computer failure, you should be able to use your own brain
in conjunction with a depht-gauge (analogous), a watch (automatic) and dive table (plastic:
which you have to carry in your BCD, if you don't know your tables by heart!)
(***)well, you don't believe me? No problem: here is a citation of somebody well-known
and considered as an expert. It is the DSAT Tec Deep Diver Manual on p. 163:
(PADI Product No. 79138 (12/00) Version 1, ISBN 1-878663-25-9)
"If you have not seen a dive computer failure, you have not been diving enough."
No more comments from my side ...
... well, here is another one,
- what I found recently in my archive (August 2002) from a maledivian house-reef dive, a couple of years ago ...
- it was one of these dives, when I had a couple of computers with me and my "little" Nikonos with the 50 mm Makro lens
- what we have here is "on line" evidence of a dive computer malfunction
- Hi, SCUBAPRO Guys: I am sorry for that one, but this is what really happens, when you dive quite frequently
- well, take it as an honor, that somebody took this historical picture
- i took this picture during a 3m deco-stop, so I had ample time to do it right ...
- well, Maledivian shortly after the El Nino, there was not much left to look at, except my computer displays ...
- AND, by accident, I had still a couple stills left over ...
- the rightmost computer works allright: we see the last deco stop at 3 m.
during a dive to 31.5 m for 54 minutes
- the actual depth beeing 4.2 m
- the leftmost 's gone left: it is still in dive modus, but displays a depth of .9 m
- and a NDL of 99 min. which is quite contrary to what I really had ...
- oki doki, the last one from 2004:
- directly from my workbench
- LEFT: still in dive modus: DIVE REP (Piezocrystal is defect)
- RIGHT: right, as always, in comparison, at ambient pressure and 17 degrees of celsius: SURF ...
- and the real last one, as well directly from the work-bench, the good old ALADIN Ultra:
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