Keeping track going down! (Dive Computers)

Member Name: huddro

Product:	Dive Computers
Date:	02/01/02 (2663 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: compact, looks good , full functionality

Disadvantages: buttons can be fiddly if wearing gloves

Diving is a wonderful way to spend your time. Swimming along exploring a wreck, watching fish or beautiful coral. It can be all too easy to forget the inherent dangers of being too deep for too long. Scuba diving safety limits are based on recreational dive tables that allow for no-decompression diving and exceeding these limits can be extremely dangerous and in the worst-case result in death.

So how do we make sure we stay within our limits? Good planning for your dive and sticking to your dive plan make sure you remain safe and to help you with this a computer is an invaluable asset.

I have dived with a Suunto Stinger for the past year and would recommend Suunto computers above other makes based on the conservatism of their no-decompression algorithms alone. A Suunto will always give you a shorter bottom time at 30metres than an Aladdin keeping you that extra bit safe.

So my choice of computer was primarily based on conservatism, my next priority was that I wanted a small computer that would also double as a watch while on dive trips. This narrowed my choice to the Mosquito and the Stinger, and to be honest the Stinger won on looks.

With a chunky appearance in stainless steel with grey straps this computer looks like many of the more expensive sports watches available in the high street rather than the plain black Mosquito that looks like a cheap Casio. Also available is a stainless steel strap or a titanium version, for those with far too much cash! The titanium is also extremely shiney, I haven’t yet heard of a Triggerfish trying to take one but they do like bright objects!!

So what functionality do I get on this computer?

Watch Mode
As a standard watch I get a clear display of the time and date with an option of showing a dual time so when in Egypt I can show London time. The time can be displayed in 12 or 24-hour format. Suunto also provide a stopwatch.

The stopwatch allows meas
urement of elapsed time, split time, and the ability to time two runners. The range on the timer is 9 hours 59 minutes and 59.9 seconds after which the timer beeps and returns to zero.

An alarm function provides an alarm that is a lot louder than it should be in a watch and finally with a push of a button the entire display glows blue allowing me to see the time in the dark.

Free Dive Mode
For those of you who enjoy snorkeling and free diving this computer can track your dives. Providing a log with dive profiles every 4 seconds. The display during the dive will show the present depth with a choice of showing the maximum depth and temperature or dive time. The current time and dive number are shown in alternative displays.

All of this data will be stored in date order under the Free diving Day History mode and can be downloaded via a Suunto interface to your PC.

Gauge Mode
Gauge mode shows the most basic details during a dive such as current depth, maximum depth, dive time, and temperature but care must be taken when using gauge mode as it is not possible to switch back into Air/Gas mode for 48 hours after a gauge dive (due to decompression calculations)

Air/EAN Mode
Before describing this section I am not going to go into details about the decompression options available, as I have never used them. Suffice to say this computer will enable you to undertake full decompression dives on tri mix gases.

The main difference between air and EAN (enriched air nitrox) mode is the decompression tables used. A basic explanation of this is as follows: air is 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen. The no decompression tables are based on the rate that our bodies absorb nitrogen under pressure. The greater the pressure, the faster the absorption. Absorbing nitrogen gives you a feeling of drunkenness and while it is fun to see if the fish would like to borrow your regulator it is ultimately very dangerous!

Enrich
ed air allows us to take a different mixture in our tanks say 32% oxygen to 68% nitrogen. This would allow us to stay longer at the same depth than if we were diving on air. The computer automatically adjusts its calculations based on the percentage mix entered.

So air mode will calculate the length of time you can stay at a depth based on a preset oxygen percentage whereas EAN allows you to manually enter the oxygen percentage and will then recalculate no decompression limits based on this.

A word of warning you may not switch between air and EAN mode while the computer is showing you still have nitrogen saturation for example if you have already dived on air you cannot change to EAN for the second dive. The way round this is to dive in EAN mode all the time with the percentage oxygen set at 21%.

So on entering the water the computer will activate giving a display similar to the free dive mode. The difference is that the computer will also display how long you can stay at a certain depth before breaking the no decompression limit.

As you ascend from the dive the computer will monitor your ascent rate and audibly warn you if you are exceeding the recommended ascent rate (ascending too quickly can cause the absorbed nitrogen to leave your tissue in the form of bubbles entering the blood stream causing extreme pain!)

All divers make safety stops at 5 metres to ensure that even though safety limits have not been broken we are totally safe. This computer will tell you when you hit the ceiling for the safety stop and count down your time for you.

It is possible to set up the Stinger to your own personal requirements by entering your dive plan the computer will beep to warn you when you stray away from the entered details.

Other personal adjustments can be made for altitude, cold exposure, obesity, and fatigue all of which will mean a diver is more susceptible to decompression sickness.

After
a dive the computer will track your surface interval and calculate any residual nitrogen in your body prior to your next dive. It will then adjust dive calculations accordingly.

A great feature of this computer is the no fly warning. You should not fly for a minimum of 24 hours after diving to avoid decompression sickness. The computer displays a no fly warning until your residual nitrogen levels drop to a level where flying poses no risk. For me in Egypt this was 56 hours!!!

Memory
For me this is the fun bit the computer will store a combined logbook and dive profile. The data given in the logbook is the time entered, maximum depth, average depth, dive time, water temperature and surface interval. Each dive is logged by date, and dive number and can be recalled at the push of a button. The Stinger will hold approximately 36 hours of dives.

The profile gives an exact profile of your dive taking a reading every 10 seconds; this does look good when played back on a pc.

PC Interface
Suunto provides software called Dive Manager, allowing you to keep a computerised logbook and visual profiles of your dives in chart format. This is great fun when planning your dive and following the dive the information in your Stinger can be downloaded via an interface and compared to the original plan. Points of interest during the dive can be marked and useful information such as air consumption can be calculated to help you better plan future dives!

Conclusion
I wanted a dive computer that would provide all the functionality I would ever need as my diving requirements change, be that wanting to dive deeper and explore full decompression diving or that I continue recreational diving. I also wanted the computer to look good, vain I know but hey what the hell.

It must be a popular choice as nearly everyone on my last dive trip had one. The screen though is not scratch proof so definitely invest the extra £1.99 in
a plastic scratch cover for your pride and joy.

This is an expensive computer but probably the only one you will ever need to buy. I was lucky in that I managed to buy from a website at just over half the retail price. Alas this site has since closed but by shopping around it is possible to get some great deals.


www.suunto.com

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