Dive Computers
Answer four basic questions before you buy a dive computer. Wrist or console? Tell time or just record the time of your dives? Air-integrated or depend upon a pressure gauge? eLed display (think neon light) or black and white?
Of course the answers to all these questions are value judgments and carry a price tag! Today, all dive computers perform critical basic functions:
At the $400 to $550 level, your dive computer will tell time and record additional indicators like a deep stop should you desire to create one.
At the $550 to $1,000 level, you can expect the computer to be able to perform additional functions - count swim laps, or graph your dive, or tell direction with a digital compass. For example, the Garmin MK2S is not air-integrated but has other features that users have come to expect in Garmin devices developed for other sports.
Between $800 and $1,000, you can get an air-integrated dive computer. That means the digital display will tell you, in real time, how much air you have left in your tank. Remaining air is recorded as pounds per square inch (PSI) on this side of the pond!
To know your remaining air, your computer must be linked to your tank through either a high-pressure hose connecting the computer to the regulator or through a transmitter which is attached to your regulator. Dive computers that display information in a console are linked by hose. Unless these computers sport an eLed display, they are usually less than $1,000.
Dive computers that rely on transmitted data are usually wrist computers. A few are just over $1,000.
Beyond the $1,200, you can have your pick of bells and whistles, (although we haven't found one yet that will make coffee or walk the dog!) Dive computers priced at more than $1,200 can include:
Now - choose your dive computer!
Of course the answers to all these questions are value judgments and carry a price tag! Today, all dive computers perform critical basic functions:
- Time of and length of your time underwater;
- Length of your surface interval;
- Depth and warnings if you are approaching decompression limits;
- Self-recorded oxygen percentages in a Nitrox mix; and
- Safety stop displays.
At the $400 to $550 level, your dive computer will tell time and record additional indicators like a deep stop should you desire to create one.
At the $550 to $1,000 level, you can expect the computer to be able to perform additional functions - count swim laps, or graph your dive, or tell direction with a digital compass. For example, the Garmin MK2S is not air-integrated but has other features that users have come to expect in Garmin devices developed for other sports.
Between $800 and $1,000, you can get an air-integrated dive computer. That means the digital display will tell you, in real time, how much air you have left in your tank. Remaining air is recorded as pounds per square inch (PSI) on this side of the pond!
To know your remaining air, your computer must be linked to your tank through either a high-pressure hose connecting the computer to the regulator or through a transmitter which is attached to your regulator. Dive computers that display information in a console are linked by hose. Unless these computers sport an eLed display, they are usually less than $1,000.
Dive computers that rely on transmitted data are usually wrist computers. A few are just over $1,000.
Beyond the $1,200, you can have your pick of bells and whistles, (although we haven't found one yet that will make coffee or walk the dog!) Dive computers priced at more than $1,200 can include:
- Air remaining (air-integrated) in one or more tanks;
- eLed displays (neon lights on a bed of black velvet);
- Real-time graphics illustrating your dive profile;
- Rapid-response digital compasses that tolerate tilt; and
- Early-warning signals of nitrogen poisoning or oxygen toxicity.
Now - choose your dive computer!
Showing 1 - 2
of results
|
|