Proplanner vs VPlanner

[MartinS]

I see Proplanner can be bought seperately (Delta P want £79, but I have seen it for around £50), but without a VR3, is it worth the money against something like V-planner?

I'm guessing, but is it right that if you buy a VR3, then the cost includes the Proplanner software, or do you have to buy it seperately?

Regards, and dive safe
Martin

[Mark Chase]

You have to be joaking M8

The bast@rds at Delter P even charge extra for a screen guard and big graphics so you can read the bloody thing.  

The pro-planning softwhere is realy realy basic as a computer package. It is dos bassed menue driven and designed arround Q&A data base that I was using 15 years ago. Personaly i would stick with V planner or if you have no intention of doing CCR invest in the excelant Decoplanner.

ATB

Mark Chase

[kramynot2000]

If you have a palm or other PDA, check out palmvpm.  It produces deco plans based on the same algorithm as the orginal VPM in v-planner, from what I understand.  There is a group in yahoogroups where you can download it for free and view discussions about its use.

So far I've only been playing around with it, mainly because I haven't completed my deco class.  (Actually I'm just starting the class next week.)  But it looks good for the price, which is.... free.

[MartinS]

Thanks Mark

I knew I could rely on you to post a response  

Tony - No, don't have a Palm (sadly) so it looks like v-planner it is then!

Regards, and dive safe
Martin

[bang-on]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (MartinS @ Jan. 09 2004,13:52)]I see Proplanner can be bought seperately (Delta P want £79, but I have seen it for around £50), but without a VR3, is it worth the money against something like V-planner?

I'm guessing, but is it right that if you buy a VR3, then the cost includes the Proplanner software, or do you have to buy it seperately?

Regards, and dive safe
Martin

martin,
yes you are right,the pc based proplanner is sold seperately to the vr3 unit.the vr3 does have a diveplan mode that you can input surface interval,depth,bottom time and mixes.you can then read deco time,microbubble stops and gas switches usefull if you want to make back up slates.
v-planner would be hard to beat when using pc based software.
cheers
barrie

[Rob Evans]

ddPlan by Gordon Henderson's pretty good (and free as a download).  Does all the usuals such as GFs, ascent rates, multiple deco gas sets but also has a natty HTML table generator for a user-selectable set of depths/times.  Front end a bit stone age (DOS) but it works well enough for me - for some reason I can't get on with V-Planner's front end but then i is fik. The gas-mixing bit's dead handy for us garageistes too

[wreck hunter]

Hi all

I ve been playing around with the V planner but cant make it use the travel gas on ascent! it give me the dive plan using the travel gas on my way down , bottom gas ,but then ignores the travel gas on the way up and keeps using the bottom gas until it switches to deco. Even though i post the travel gas twice

Any suggestions guys?

Also in this forum i heard people complain stongly that the v planner is renouned for giving bends is this true? I have made similiar profiles with v planner (+ 4 Conservatism) and pro planner and the former seems much more conservative

[Scoff]

Another FREE alternative is the 'XS' Software available by download at:

www.lizardland.co.uk/home.html

It does everything for Nitrox/ Trimix/ Heliair, produces printable tables, allows for variations to safety factors, is slick & easy to use & particularly good for multi-profile/ cave dives. Even I can manage to drive it - so it can't be too hard. And never even had a 'niggle'.

Give it a try.

Cheers

Scoff
(Cave Diving Group - Northern Section QD)

[Andy Phillips]

Hi,

The original version of the VPM algorythm was renouned for being very aggressive, this would worry me about the Palm version, the latest generation seems quite nice. Personally I find the interface limiting, there are certain things I would do on a dive which you simply can not plan for. I use DecoPlanner which is the GUE software. It also has a couple of irritants but you can work around them.

ProPlanner is pants, DDPlan is OK, but with the DOS interface a bit antiquated to use, it does have the advantage of being free though.

On the whole I would choose between VPlanner and DecoPlanner, both give very similar runtimes and stops despite the very different algorythms.

Andrew

[wreckweasel]

To use a gas on ascent you need to make sure its in the deco gas set.

Personally Im a luddite, I like good old fashioned Z-plan to generate my base profiles, then I add in the conservatism myself.

Might be time to take another squiz at VPM.

As someone else said, DDPlan is pretty good for a freebie. Once you get past its clunky UI, it has a very nifty feature that lets it turn out tables... VERY useful.