Thursday, January 22, 2009

Scuba dive computers " They would be the envy of James Bond

By Ed J Price

They act as a wrist watch when not under water; these feature packed diving computers offer many functions that even James bond would love to get one. These little wrist-watch computers can log depths during dives and display dive times, to handling air integration. Its a big relief for a scuba diver because it saves them on weight, to have all these functions on a tiny wrist watch.

Primarily used for nitrogen management dive computers combine a timer, depth gauge and software that computes absorption of gasses that allows it to provide this feature. Every diver should know about residual nitrogen and decompression and some may use manual dive tables. As an automated way to keep track of gas calculations, dive computers come are really important.

A feature packed dive computer is the Suunto D9

The Suunto D9 diving computer sets the pace. The dive computer holds multiple features and has a streamlined sports look. The following features can be found on it:

1. Allows you to log depth

2. Keeps track of Dive time

3. Temperature

4. No-decompression limits over multiple dives working with air and nitrox

5. Can be used in gauge and free-diving modes

6. Can be switched between metric and imperial

7. Can be adjusted for altitude diving

8. Using the optional Suunto D9 Wireless Transmitter, it can act as a SPG

9. Multiple transmitters can monitor multiple tanks, such as diving instructors monitoring students

10. Can handle up to three different mixes of 21%-100% oxygen and allows you switch gases during the dive.

11. Can be used at depths up to 660 feet

12. Has a digital compass

13. Comes with a USB Interface and PC software for dive logging

14. Contains a complete package of dive gauges in the wrist-watch sized computer

15. Things to Consider for Diver Computers:

There are important information about dive computers that you should always know, such as the brand and models reputation, ease of battery change, whether it is easy to read in dark conditions, the type of algorithms it uses for calculations and whether it has the options you need. These are some things any diver must know before purchasing a dive computer. You may want to see if it handles different air mixtures for versatility.

However, knowing this information is entirely up to the diver, as the computer does not plan the dive but keeps track of the dive and computes the amount of nitrogen present. It is the role of the scuba diver to plan and ensure that the dive is healthy and within proper guidelines.

Caring for your Scuba Dive Computer

The care instructions for individual dive computers are important to read, so it is always wise to become familiar with it before you begin using your new dive computer. The most common recommendation for maintenance is that all equipment used for diving must be soaked in fresh water to remove salt. Some allow long periods of soaking, especially after saltwater diving.

To conclude, dive computers have become sophisticated and some excellent designs that they are good enough to wear with a three piece suit. Several good ones are on the market, like the Suunto D9 or Oceanic Atom 2.0. James Bond would be envious of you. - 20896

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment