Contents gauge or Depth AND Contents gauge

[tom]

Originally Posted by Lou

So, a back-up computer at £300 or more, or a D-timer at £60 doesn't seem much of a battle to me!

Or a Gekko for under £150, or a second hand computer for a lot less off ebay...

My backup device is an old Suunto Favor air computer, which I bought for £50 about 4 years ago. It provides useful deco information if I'm (rarely) diving on air, or with a buddy who's using air while I'm on nitrox (sometimes happens). On nitrox dives, I bend it every time BUT it still gives me ascent rate, depth and time information - just like a d-timer. If you do use an old computer like that, make sure it's one that won't start beeping when you bend it!

[Lou]

Originally Posted by tom

Or a Gekko for under £150, or a second hand computer for a lot less off ebay...

My backup device is an old Suunto Favor air computer, which I bought for £50 about 4 years ago. It provides useful deco information if I'm (rarely) diving on air, or with a buddy who's using air while I'm on nitrox (sometimes happens). On nitrox dives, I bend it every time BUT it still gives me ascent rate, depth and time information - just like a d-timer. If you do use an old computer like that, make sure it's one that won't start beeping when you bend it!

You could have that, but if you bend it then you lose the advantage that Chris was talking about of being able to continue diving with it for the rest of the week etc.

We carry our spare "air" computers with us on dive trips to use if the everyday ones break, but I don't take them down, precisely because once bent they are useless for anything more than a d-timer!

[The Wise One]

Main computer, backup bottom timer. Simple as that.

[BJ]

But if you do not take your spare computers with you on every dive, they will not account for previous nitrogen loading and you will have to wait 24 hours before using them.
So that is a good reason to take two compatible computers so that neither gets bent or always come up on the most cautious.

[Lou]

Originally Posted by BJ

But if you do not take your spare computers with you on every dive, they will not account for previous nitrogen loading and you will have to wait 24 hours before using them.
So that is a good reason to take two compatible computers so that neither gets bent or always come up on the most cautious.

Or you can make an assessment and crank up the safety factor to take account of this. Or add your own padding. Or dive 'trox on an air computer. After all, if you were diving off tables you would effectively consider yourself back to an A grouping after 12-18 hours or so.....

In Scapa one of out computers got stuck in gauge mode, which needs 24 hours out the water to clear and let you use dive mode again. Suffice to say we didn't miss any dives, and that was just by using cut tables instead.

[Wacker]

I don't bother
If you loose info on your computer you would be very unlucky if your budy also lost the info so stick together and assend as both your profiles will be very similar!

[tom]

Originally Posted by Wacker

I don't bother
If you loose info on your computer you would be very unlucky if your budy also lost the info so stick together and assend as both your profiles will be very similar!

It's not that unlikely IMHO.

Out diving yesterday, one of the group had his computer crap out on him. We were diving in conditions where buddy separation was a real possibility due to limited vis (on the next dive I lost my buddy 2m below the surface). Fortunately he had both a backup and an attentive buddy.

[chrisch]

Please folks read the OP. A return to diving after a 12 month lay off....

We aint talking 70m trimix here.

Wacker has it in terms of the dive. I still would run a back up on a weeks liveaboard and not bother any other time.

Chris

[tom]

Originally Posted by chrisch

We aint talking 70m trimix here.

Nor was I - the dive I mentioned above was in the 25m range. Nowadays I wouldn't do any dive without some kind of backup depth/time information.