Uwatec Aladin Tec First Impressions

[And]

Hi

I ordered one of those Uwatec Aladin Tec computers from Deep Blue for £199 and it arrived today so I thought I'd post what I think of it so far. I purchased one simply because my Vytec died and I wanted the functionality of the stopwatch and backlight, at the cheapest price, and the Tec seemed to fit the criteria pretty well. As I tend to do a mixture of nitrox, and trimix dives I tend to use a dive computer in gauge mode only, so the choice of deco functionality did not effect my buying decision.

The first thing I noticed was the size of the combined computer and wrist boot. Compared to the Vytec it is quite a chunky computer, the boot is not only bigger in the 'footprint' on your wrist, but also adds about .5 cm to the height of the computer, which might make it a little more awkward to wear, if you sometimes use the goodman handled lights in your right hand (as I do), or if you usually place the computer on your wrist (as I do), instead of the lower forearm. I think I will need to place the computer on my lower forearm in the future, so will leave the strap long, rather than trim it as I did the Vytec. Might be better to see when scootering anyway . I intend to keep the strap rather than use one of those bungee mounts, simply because if a wrist seal splits, you can restrict the water flow up the arm by tightening the computer strap, an option which is not available with the bungee mounts.

The screen has slightly less viewable area than the Vytec and the digits seem a little smaller too, so I am not sure how the display will look after the protective cover is scratched a bit. It still has three lines of info, and the dive time and depth are in the same place as the Vytec, so there is little problem in switching over from one to the other.

I haven't connected the computer to a PC yet to try out the software, but it is simple enough to program everything you need to on the computer itself, including time and date. Some functions on the Vytec were only able to be changed by the software program, so I liked this feature.

The time was set out of the box, and the only other things I have done so far is switch it to gauge mode, and turned off as many other features as possible. There are a whole range of options to switch on and off including maximum depth, indicator alarms, and even an option to set whether you are in salt water or not. I just turned everything off and made sure I know how to turn the stopwatch on and off, and the backlight of course. Once you figure out how the two buttons work in setting options and navigating menus it isn't too bad, but I did need the manual, which I haven't needed to do before with the Vytec.

The only other point was that it doesn't come with the little compass thing which can attach to the straps. This costs another £20, so I think I'll continue using the Suunto compass for now.

I haven't dived it yet, but I'll follow up when I do. Anyone else got a TEC? How are you getting on with it?

Andy

[Clare Gledhill]

Just to add to the above - most of which I would not disagree with, I am very impressed with the software interface - much more user friendly than the Suunto stuff which I never got on that well with.

Good point about the size/strap. I tend to wear computers on my forearm though so not so much an issue for me.

[Chris L]

mine is mounted in a dss bungie mount and is slightly smaller than my vytec in circumferance , the software is nice too.
i did notice a 1m reading differance ,but aparently the tec 2g is in seawater mode as opposed to fresh in the vytec.

chris

[Bardo]

Nice write up, Andy! I'm looking forward to having a play with my new 2G Aladin when it arrives. If I get around to it, I'll write a little report on the extra bits and bobs that this new model has to offer...

Out of interest, anyone tried removing the TEC or TEC G2 from its mount as mine will be going straight into a DSS sound. Is it easy enough?

[Brick]

The Vytec is set for salt water, according to my manual. I happened upon this yesterday while looking at how to turn on the light (you'd think I would have worked this out by now, having had it for a year!).

[And]

Hi

Just a quick update. I installed the software onto a laptop and all went well except it wanted a default printer setup which wasn't a network printer.

The TEC connected straight away and I was able to change the settings and stuff quite easily, which included being able to turn off all buzzers, which I think is cool, because you don't hear them with a hood on anyway, and I am sure I will know if I am ascending too fast Infrared is a much better system than the cable solution on the Vytec, which was sometimes fiddly and would break connection part way through, and also required a serial port, which are not so popular nowadays.

The graphs look pretty enough, and there are plenty of fields to fill in for dive conditions, buddies, and equipment used, should you want to keep a detailed log. I don't really use this though, and as the TEC stores about 25 hours of diving, then that will be my log book, should any dive police want to check my diving history. I'll probably store cave dives, as they are useful for checking out the profile of the cave.

What I dislike is that the logbook file is kept on the local hard drive, and if I use multiple computers (which I do) from multiple places say home, work, hotels whatever, then it is less convenient. I have lost my previous vytec log due to a hard drive failure, which has resulted in me losing any enthusiasm with regard to logging dives.

Andy

[Manta]

What I do is to print on A4 all the dives I've made throught the year (with several information about each dive) from the software. I don't have the dive graph but have all the data I need.

[milldog]

Originally Posted by Bardo

Out of interest, anyone tried removing the TEC or TEC G2 from its mount as mine will be going straight into a DSS sound. Is it easy enough?

you can take it out easy, i do to clean it the first time it's a lot of grunting and pulling

G

[Bardo]

Originally Posted by milldog

you can take it out easy, i do to clean it the first time it's a lot of grunting and pulling

G

Didn't know you had a TEC too, Graham. You get it through Brian, perchance?

[canucked]

I'va had a tec for about 9 months now, and recently have a 2G upgrade. I love the computer for several reasons:

1. You can turn the wet contacts off! Finally Uwatec has realised that the wet contacts are mor eof a pain in the a@% then they are worth!

2. Easy switching between settings on the computer. No more connecting to a PC to switch off alarms and change PPo2 settings...hurrah!

3. I actually do switch to a MB setting half way through a long deep week of diving....just gives me some reference points on my ascent. I know you can ignore the stops but I like how clear the info is given to you.

4.Convenient downloading (even to my MAC) without any chuffing cables....hurrah again!

5. switching between salt water and fresh is actually a nice little feature if you're going in and out of those dark cold inland sites...

I haven't dived with my new 2G yet but I'm sure I'll love it like I loved its little brother...

j

ps. never bother with the little compass on the wrist strap....it's worthless