pp02/deco computer combined or separate?

mountain diver

A lot of talk lately about dive computers and pp02 handsets, especially the advent of the apecs 3 from ISC. ( don't hold your breath) besides the obvious
pro's and con's what do you lads and ladies preferrer to dive on your rebreather set up ( a handset combining your pp02 and deco computer or a
separate pp02 handset and dive computer)
personally I dive my meg with my apecs 2.0- and vr3 for my deco.
your thoughts and reasons?






all the best.

Dsix36

I prefer the PO2 and Deco to be combined in one unit. I like the idea of my deco being calculated by the use of 3 sensors such as in my Hammerhead.

The VR$ calculates by 1 sensor - what if that 1 sensor is wrong?

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jkaterenchuk

What about the option and redundancy of po2 and deco in the unit plus a seperate deco computer.

mountain diver

good point, but, how do you know if that one sensor is wrong?
do you compare it to the three in your unit or do you bench test it to see what
kind of millivolts it reads?
hmmm, me thinks that we have something interesting going here.



all the best.

mountain diver

what if one of your deco computers is out, which do you believe?
and if the unit that contains your pp02/deco computer is at fault, what is to say that your pp02 might be out?
Do not mind me I'm only thinking out loud.






all the best.

mverick

Point of not having the Deco on the handset is you don't have the extra failure point of extra code in the computer. Less is more. Just get the Rebreather to keep a setpoint. If it does that. You plug that setpoint into your computer. Problem comes when the RB can't even hold Setpoint. So, to fix that, you have to run the computer off the cells to track it. Uh, if it would hold setpoint, you wouldn't need to have the computer reading the cells.

I have a shearwater on mine. Old version shearwater. Old, Old version. And it's worked great. But, my next unit probably won't go that route. Unless they get the little bugs worked out.

I absolutely HATE having problems with electronics. With all the other electronics out for everything else. It shows that the people writing the code for these units aren't necesarily the best. Funny how I can buy a watch that can do everything and the units on Rebreather's have problems just firing a solenoid.

SO, just get it to keep set point. And build me a secondary computer that runs deco. When you get it to work without high failure rate for little bugs. Then, incorporate it. I really think that nobody is there yet.

I really think with the Prism going to Oceanic. You might see a highly polished unit coming out from them. And, I think the Prism is good in Practice. Just think it's materials and coding and Implementation stink. If they would have listened and made it a more robust unit. I think it would have been the best unit out there. But, they thought they knew the people were screwing up the Prism. Well, then there's a problem. Make it more robust so they can't screw it up. It's still the manufacturers fault. Unless you get ridiculous with it. That goes will all Manufacturers also. Meg's time lag for the Apecs 3 and the Radial scrubber is horrendous. They've had the scrubber out for others to dive and had reports back and still nothing. It ain't a atlas 5 rocket with navigation. It's a scrubber. Get it done and release it.

Kind of off point but needed to be said.

cramerdn

I just got my shearwater to use as a back up for the vision elecronics. Actually as a back up for the redundant controlers the vision has already. So both track deco but only one actually measures the actal PO. Pretty happy with the set up and don't think I will be adding a fourth cell for the Shearwater.I also like having an independant back up so if I change dive modes like going OC diving, I have one computer to keep along throgh all the dives.

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jkaterenchuk

follow deco schedule on both.

I have a HH so I have a secondary. My secondary is the old style without deco. Can also do a dil flush to verify display.

If I wanted I could also hook a 4th cell up to the dedicated deco computer for really bad days situations.

If in doubt use your backup tables. You brought those along right!!

jkaterenchuk

Why?

Gill Envy

I'm no expert but I've come to think Po2 only should be the primary, and the secondary should integrate everything else.

While the argument can be made that keeping deco separate from po2 is a good idea, keeping the primary po2 monitor separate from the solenoid is probably even more compelling... (but then again I scrapped the idea of a set point controller altogether).

folks talk about how great the GF/Pursuit is, myself included, and it is but the most outstanding revolution in thinking is in the fully independent HUD, IMHO. And it can be purchased separately and runs on it's own battery and brain.

my experience with the shearwater HUD has lead me to feel confident at using it as a primary po2 display. which I realize diverges from current training standards.

I like that it does not include anything else, no deco, no solenoid...It's a lifeline to the one thing that counts and that's it and so far it's been rock solid reliable (and so has the GF for that matter). I don't see why integrating the shearwater HUD into an eCCR wouldn't be just as valuable.

I wanted to know my po2 all the time, continuously. The shearwater HUD is independent and gives real time po2 in a code of blinks, but don't let that sound more complicated than it is, it's the simplest little code of blinks possible... 3 greens=1.3, three reds=.7, and one LED for each cell. In my experience you quickly stop counting the code, you start thinking in it...it's that intuitive. Simple enough to pay attention to no matter what else you are doing. Any difference between cells is blatantly obvious even more so since the rate as well as the number of the blinks changes as the reading increases or decreases. So simple it's easy to overlook it's brilliance at first.


So, I have come to treat my HUD as my primary and have absolutely fallen in love with with the concept.

It's in the secondary that I feel that integration is a good thing. I do really like that the actual po2 is tracked and incorporated into the deco calculation, but as my secondary. Certainly a stand alone is more plausible with an electronic set point controller since the po2 is more constant (well until it... oh never mind) but it would be my preference to have it plugged in.

And I think having two po2 displays is crucial for periodic cross checking of cell readings. I cross check periodically as I check the deco (for me, those two are on par) and compare the po2 with what the HUD is saying. It's gotten to be a very comfortable rhythm.

I'm not doing really deep dives yet, but frankly it's taken coming to a set up I trust to really begin considering diving deeper than recreational limits.

hope that helps!

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Gill Envy

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