uwatec aladin tec

[motatoad]

ive been advised to get this computer is it the right choice
my budget is around 300 quid and aow diver and nitrox
cheers

[kath2407]

Ask WHY they havwe given you this advise. Something that works for one person, may not work for another.

When I bought my computer I went to the shop, tried them on my arm, saw how they felt, looked at the size of buttons for use with gloves etc etc.

Don't write others off, have a look at different ones, it may not change your mind but at leasty YOU have made the decision.

FTR Mines a Sunnto Vyper!

K XX

[Scuttler]

Personally I wouldn't touch the Uwatec with someone else's.

I'm not concerned about the quality of the product as I believe they're very good but the after sales sucks big time.
I have an Aladdin Air Integrated which has recently had a contact come loose.
Scubapro (Uwatec) have contact me to say in order to repair the unit they will have to replace the case and the main system board at a cost of £200 or I could get £100 off a new unit as a service upgrade. This is bollox! How do I know? Because when the contact came out I could see a little O-Ring on the contact and a lead soldered to the back of it! I told them to return the unit as is and sent it to someone else for repair.

The other thing that is universally disliked about the Uwatec units is their insistance on wet contacts. It's a royal PITA trying to get the unit to respond after a dive unless you dry it thoroughly.

I'd say look at the Suunto. My next computer will be the Vytec DS or possibly straight up to a VR3 if I can save the pennies!!

[andy pandy]

I have the GEKKO, and it does exactly what it says on the tin.......

[thehappychappy]

Hi.

If your AOW and Nitrox the Aladin prime will work for you, its a Nitrox computer.


I bought a Aladin prime (the baby brother to the tec) its nice and simple to use great value for money and has been easy to use (once you get the hang of using only two buttons with short or long presses).


The Tec will allow you to do gas switching, do you need that?


I have seen brand new tec's on ebay for around £220 (which is the same price as a prime in the dive shops).


You can compare the differences and check out the operation modes easily by having a look at the online manual.


My opinion is that you dont need a tec unless you plan to go down the gas switching route or use advanced nitrox mixes above 40%.

Having bought and paid for a prime myself & having used it on around 30 dives, I belive it offers brilliant value for money considering it allows the use of nitrox up to 40% and comes complete with a IRDA interface for transfering dives to PC/ Laptop.

The software is easy to use and simple to understand.

The prime has served me well however after borrowing and using Suunto dive computers from friends I would not have bought the prime for myself, I would have paid the little extra got a suunto and then paid for the PC Interface.

The main reasons for this are:

The Prime / Tec do not have a mandatory safety stop, they only have deco stops. whilst this is no big issue it annoys me having to get to 6 metres then do a short press of the left button to start the countdown.

The Two button interface with long and short presses bugs me.

Now you just need to decide..

[thehappychappy]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

The other thing that is universally disliked about the Uwatec units is their insistance on wet contacts. It's a royal PITA trying to get the unit to respond after a dive unless you dry it thoroughly.

The Aladin Prime or Tec units do not suffer this as they have real buttons, not just wet contacts.

[Scuttler]

Originally Posted by thehappychappy

The Aladin Prime or Tec units do not suffer this as they have real buttons, not just wet contacts.

Well....looks like they finally listened to EVERYONE! Still wouldn't buy one on the strength of the service I have received trying to get my Air fixed. I've also heard of them trying this one with people asking for battery replacements

Give me a Suunto over the Uwatec any day of the week (and this is coming from an ex-ardent Uwatec/Scubapro fan).

[thehappychappy]

Originally Posted by Scuttler

..I've also heard of them trying this one with people asking for battery replacements .

Again the prime and tec have user changeable batteries.

[Manta]

Originally Posted by thehappychappy

The Tec will allow you to do gas switching, do you need that.

Are you sure that it allows you to switch gas (while diving)?

[thehappychappy]

Originally Posted by Manta

Are you sure that it allows you to switch gas (while diving)?

No I am not 100% sure. I have the prime not the tec, Gas switching is one of things I was told was different between the tec and the prime, I have linked the manual so suppose I should go read it and check what I said.