Intro to deco theory

[tonhil]

I know nothing about deco theory - how best to use any of the programs available - what is the theory behind it in simple terms etc, etc. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I don't mind spending some money on recommended books or perhaps web sites. I have Weinke's purple book and I find it a little dense.... or perhaps I'm a little dense. I also have Lippman's Deeper into Diving and it is OK but antiquated.

Thanks
Tony

[Mark Powell]

Tony,

Unfortunately there is no really comprehensive guide to deco theory. Most are either too basic for someone who wants more information or too advanced for the layman. Wienke's books although very comprehensive fall into this second category so don't worry if you find it heavy going.

The two books I would recommend are;

Beat the Bends - Alex Brylske
The Decompression Matrix - Bob Cole

Both are good on the basics but fall short on some of the more modern decompression theories such as bubble models.

There is also a lot of deco theory available on the web. I have tried to gather some of the best links together on my site.

www.dive-tech.co.uk/links.htm

If I ever finish typing up my notes to my intro to deco lectures .....

[Ant P]

Originally Posted by Mark Powell

If I ever finish typing up my notes to my intro to deco lectures .....

I remember that you did your 'intro to deco lectures' in London last year. Any plans to repeat the sessions this year?

Cheers, Ant

[ahar]

I assume that the purple book is 'Technical Diving in Depth'? It's a bit of a monster, very mathematical with few easy explanations - it's good but too detailed for a first step. I found that the best starting point for me was Eric Baker's paper on M-Values (there is a link through Mark's DiveTech website he posted). That should give you an introduction to Bhulmann theory - next step is to look at the paper on Gradient factors (basically a Bhulmann fudge factor). I found it better to fully understand the basics of Bhulmann before moving to anything on Bubble models as most of the stuff I read on those used Bhulmann as a comparison.

There are some good threads on YD as well - after you've read the papers have a look through some of the discussions in the Deco section.

Good luck, it can be hard going but definately worth it.


Mark - watch out next week on the Adv Nitrox course, I'm coming armed with lots of very probably stupid questions after doing some reading over the last couple of weeks !

[Mark Powell]

Originally Posted by Ant P

I remember that you did your 'intro to deco lectures' in London last year. Any plans to repeat the sessions this year?

Cheers, Ant

Yes, I'm going to be doing some more this year. I won't hijack the thread but I need to find a good venue.

[tonhil]

Please highjack the thread. I have enough info to get going from here. Thanks for everyone's help.

[Chris Bone]

hi i bought, Beat the Bends by Alex Brylske for christmas and to be honest was dissapointed it's designed for no stop divers with a max depth of 140ft

[nigelH]

Originally Posted by tonhil

I know nothing about deco theory

Me too but that doesn't stop me. It's not finished yet but it does basics.

[tonhil]

I browsed "Beating the Bends" in a store and thought it was a bit shallow (can I have "pun of the day" award for this??) I am reading Bob Cole's at the moment and it is OK but a bit too non-specific for me at the moment. I would guess that he might take that as a compliment and indeed it might be.

[Tonto]

Originally Posted by nigelH

Me too but that doesn't stop me. It's not finished yet but it does basics.

Nice, I'll keep an eye on that and maybe when I have more time I'll actually understand it
Cheers