Dive Computer

[C Cruise Dude]

What is the least expensive dive computer that is decent quality. Thanks.:confused:

[scuba214]

I just bought the Aeris XR1-NX. It is not air integrated, but has all the features I need. I tried it out on a recent trip to Mexico. It has all the basic info and will log 12 dives and the price was right!

[Lefty Writer]

First off, my wife and I are newly ceritified divers, so I can't speak with much authority on this matter. That being said, though, we just bought the Oceanic Veo 100 wrist mounted computer for $149 each from Leisure Pro.

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/OCNV1W.html?&&

 

I believe scubatoys.com and other online retailers sell this unit for the same price, so I'm not plugging Leisure Pro. You can also find these on eBay for the same price.

The Veo isn't air integrated, but for a starter unit, especially for travel, I'm sure it'll work fine. We are taking ours on our December cruise when we dive Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

[C Cruise Dude]

First off, my wife and I are newly ceritified divers, so I can't speak with much authority on this matter. That being said, though, we just bought the Oceanic Veo 100 wrist mounted computer for $149 each from Leisure Pro.

 

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/OCNV1W.html?&&

 

I believe scubatoys.com and other online retailers sell this unit for the same price, so I'm not plugging Leisure Pro. You can also find these on eBay for the same price.

 

The Veo isn't air integrated, but for a starter unit, especially for travel, I'm sure it'll work fine. We are taking ours on our December cruise when we dive Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

Lefty Writer, this is what I had in mind. Have you used the computer yet? I do my certification this weekend. Thanks.

[Lefty Writer]

Lefty Writer, this is what I had in mind. Have you used the computer yet? I do my certification this weekend. Thanks.

 

We are going out this weekend to the Blue Lagoon in Huntsville, where we did our OW dives, and experimenting with them We bought them just after our OW dives and this will be the first opportunity to use them.

I asked my instructor about it before buying them and he said they were a good starter computer.

I'm sure other retailers will do this, but Leisure Pro threw in a free online training course through www.divecomputertraining.com that takes you step by step from setting up your computer to using a dive simulator.

The dive simulator is pretty cool, and lets you use the actual dive computer model you purchased. By using the sim, you'll be able to see how it works in virtual real time. Just do a YouTube search on the Veo 100 and you'll see some good intro videos.

I'll post my opinions on it either Sunday night or Monday morning when we get back.

 

By the way, good luck on your certification. We had a blast!

[Dive Master]

First off, my wife and I are newly ceritified divers, so I can't speak with much authority on this matter. That being said, though, we just bought the Oceanic Veo 100 wrist mounted computer for $149 each from Leisure Pro.

 

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/OCNV1W.html?&&

 

I believe scubatoys.com and other online retailers sell this unit for the same price, so I'm not plugging Leisure Pro. You can also find these on eBay for the same price.

 

The Veo isn't air integrated, but for a starter unit, especially for travel, I'm sure it'll work fine. We are taking ours on our December cruise when we dive Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

 

I hope your experience will be better than mine. Several years ago I purchased an Oceanic Veo 180 console computer from Leisure Pro. It is important to know that Leisure Pro offers their own warranty not the manufacteurs' warranty. The piece of junk was returned three times for service and replacement. It constantly ate batteries and would just quit and go blank at 60 feet in the local lake.It would come back on as I came up in to warmer water.I finally threw the thing in the trash before I got seriously injured using it.

 

I have used a simple old Aqualung Matrix for 11 years now---use it as a back up---just change the batteries once a year.

 

My primary computer is the Cressi Sub Archimedes 2 in the console model with SPG gauge and compass. It can handle two different gas mixes and is dependable and easy to use.(cost was around $375)

 

I won't knock mail order suppliers as I have used them too to save money---BUT I have learned my lesson with regulators.BC's, and computers ---Buy from a local dive shop who supplies warranty and annual service.It is nice to be able to deal with problems locally and I know I will have better results.

 

Maybe I had the "lemon of lemons" but I would not dive in a swimming pool with an Oceanic computer again. Doing deep dives it is imperative that I have accurate Deco information---not a blank screen !!!!

 

Congratulations on your certification and I hope you continue to take more classes and gain expereince.

[Lefty Writer]

We went diving this weekend at The Blue Lagoon in Huntsville and had a blast. The water temp was 85 at the bottom, but the viz was a bit rough at times.

Anyway, we tested out our Veo 100 computers and they worked quite well. The displays are easy to read, and the ascent rate indicator make it easy to monitor your ascents.

The dive log function gives you basic data, date and time of dive, max depth, max temp, surface interval (if applicable), dive time, and max ascent rate (via graphic display). Once on the surface, the Veo 100 scrolls through a "pre-dive planning sequence" which will indicate NDL's for depths from 30 - 190 feet in 10 foot increments. The NDL's will be adjusted based on previous dives.

Overall, based on my LIMITED experience, it worked very well for us.

Hope this helps.

[KJHorton]

Whatever computer you get, I would recommend getting one that you can use with Nitrox. You eventually may want to dive Nitrox, especially if you plan on diving alot, i.e., week long dive trips, live aboards, etc.

 

It is better to have Nitrox compatibility, even if you don't need it at first. You certainly don't want to avoid Nitrox training just because you can't afford to buy a new computer in order to use the gas (and I do know people in this situation).

[BWDscotty]

Whatever computer you get, I would recommend getting one that you can use with Nitrox. You eventually may want to dive Nitrox, especially if you plan on diving alot, i.e., week long dive trips, live aboards, etc.

 

It is better to have Nitrox compatibility, even if you don't need it at first. You certainly don't want to avoid Nitrox training just because you can't afford to buy a new computer in order to use the gas (and I do know people in this situation).

 

DITTO!!

 

Sorry to hear about the Veo 180 issue mentioned above. I am a DM in a local shop (part of the largest online dive retailer in the US), and I have sold MANY of the Veo 180 computers to MANY satisfied divers. It's a reliable computer that is super easy to set and use. It will record and store 24 dives before it deletes the oldest and recycles memory. Plan on replacing the battery (user replaceable - saves $) about every 150 dives (the book states 300 hours). Retail is anywhere from $199 - $249, depending on your local market.

 

 

Good luck!! Happy diving!!

[C Cruise Dude]

Well, I made it through certification, Open Water. The water temp was 55 degree which was fun sitting on the bottom waiting to demonstrate skills. Brrrrr. I was offered a good price on the Suunto Zoop and I think I will go with that although the Veo sounds good.

 

 

I am pretty sure that I won't go Nitrox just not into it that much but thanks for that advice. Dive safe.

[Lefty Writer]

Well, I made it through certification, Open Water. The water temp was 55 degree which was fun sitting on the bottom waiting to demonstrate skills. Brrrrr. I was offered a good price on the Suunto Zoop and I think I will go with that although the Veo sounds good.

 

 

I am pretty sure that I won't go Nitrox just not into it that much but thanks for that advice. Dive safe.

 

Congratulations!

:D

We were diving this weekend and the water temp was a balmy 87 at 20 feet. I don't know if I could hang with a 55 degree temp....wow!

[C Cruise Dude]

Thanks, Lefty. I will continue to work on my skills to get them where I feel better. Hovering is challenging. Here is a video of the quarry where I certified, lets you see what I was seeing (video was recorded 2 years ago). I was told that they also have 60lb catfish in there too. I didn’t see them. :D

 

[hmp2z]

We have Aeris Mantas that we got, open box, through Leisure Pro for under $300. They're Nitrox compatible, which is good, since you may eventually fall in love with scuba to the point that you want to get additional certifications. It would be a pity to have to buy an entirely new dive computer if you did decide to upgrade your certification.

 

Cheers!

Heather W

[redlef]

Well, I made it through certification, Open Water. The water temp was 55 degree which was fun sitting on the bottom waiting to demonstrate skills. Brrrrr. I was offered a good price on the Suunto Zoop and I think I will go with that although the Veo sounds good.

 

 

I am pretty sure that I won't go Nitrox just not into it that much but thanks for that advice. Dive safe.

 

I have a Suunto Vyper and love it. I picked up a USB interface on eBay so I can download the dive log to my PC, and have about 250 dives logged in.

 

The thing is a workhorse. Been banged, dropped, dove in 39 degree water (January in NJ) and 90 degrees and every thing in between.

 

Unless you will never go Nitrox, you might want to consider a Nitrox computer. I had a Suunto non-nitrox (don't remember the model) and had to upgrade within a few months when I took the Nitrox course. Unless you dive Nitrox in shallow water with air tables, which is a safe but not a great bang for your buck.

 

One other thought: "Least expensive dive computer that's decent quality."

 

Just remember, that's your life that may be depending on the quality of that dive computer. Personally, I prefer "excellent," not "decent" for my life support equipment. Just a thought.

[scubadiver888]

Well, I made it through certification, Open Water. The water temp was 55 degree which was fun sitting on the bottom waiting to demonstrate skills. Brrrrr. I was offered a good price on the Suunto Zoop and I think I will go with that although the Veo sounds good.

 

 

I am pretty sure that I won't go Nitrox just not into it that much but thanks for that advice. Dive safe.

 

Hi C Cruise Dude,

 

The Suunto Zoop is a good choice for a dive computer. It is nitrox compatible if you ever decide to use nitrox. I would have recommended a computer which has nitrox support as well. I never thought I'd use nitrox but after 8 years of diving I got nitrox certified.

 

Remember, you are a certified diver for life. Who knows what you'll want 10 or 20 years from now. ;)

 

I like the Zoop or the Mares Puck. They are a good size, have all the features a recreational diver would need (good resell value if you decide to sell it). I like the Zoop just a little more because it has a forward and backward button. The Puck only has one button. So if you miss the option you want, you have to go all the way around again because you cannot go back one.

[CaribKng]

Thanks, Lefty. I will continue to work on my skills to get them where I feel better. Hovering is challenging. Here is a video of the quarry where I certified, lets you see what I was seeing (video was recorded 2 years ago). I was told that they also have 60lb catfish in there too. I didn’t see them. :D

 

 

 

As far as quarries goes, that actually does not look bad....I have dove in worse being here in Indiana. If you are in Ohio, another good quarry to dive is Gilboa...http://www.divegilboa.com. They have a lot of things under the water to swim through and to see. We saw a paddlefish last year when we were there....congrats on the certification!

[Sailfish]

A lot of dive shops (at least in my area) have their yearly clearance sales in the summer - I just went to one over the weekend and saw many different models of dive computers on sale - most at 50% off. My philosophy is to keep things simple, as they tend to be easier to maintain and more importantly, to fix. That said, I wanted to share a story with you about a diver on the 2010 scuba cruise - it's very interesting and something to note if anyone ever decides to buy a one of those dive computers that have GPS like the scuba pro Galileo.

 

I believe we were diving in Costa Maya; one of our group members had a dive computer identical to the one the dive master had - neither changed the "codes" and during the dive, neither computer worked as both computers picked up the other's signal. I think the problem was that each was supposed to "reprogram" the code it came with and neither did - anyway, we were doing a deep dive.

 

As we were descending, I noticed the dive master exceed 100feet - during the briefing we were told that we would stop at 80 feet. I stopped one of the less experienced AOW divers in my group at 114 feet, while everyone else in the group kept descending. My own buddy (and husband) also kept going, but I could tell he was watching his depth and knew I had stopped with the other diver - he stopped at 124 feet. The dive master and the rest of the group probably stopped at around 135 feet before ascending to our agreed upon depth. All in the group were experienced divers and figured out soon enough that they probably went a tad too deep - I think it was about this time the two dive computers went bonkers. It tuned out to be a great dive, as my group could handle a dive such as this. But it does go to show you how important it is to WATCH your depth guage!

 

Just remember to never rely 100% on any other diver's judgement - even dive masters make mistakes occasionally! And if you do get one of these computers, make sure reprogram it after taking it out of the box as they all seem to have the same code from the factory! What are the odds that the DM and one of my divers would have the identical computer!

 

We have the youtube version of our 2010 Scuba Cruise Video at our group blog - we didn't make a big deal about what happened on that particular dive, as the dive turned out to be excellent - but you might enjoy watching it. You'll find it on the right side, just past the 2011 dive group videos.

 

Thanks.

 

Suzi

[ScubaCruiser54]

I can't speak about the current state of Oceanic's dive computers, but I have used an Oceanic Data Plus 2, Oceanic Data Plus, and the basic air only Oceanic. I have had Zero problems with all of them. My children now use the Data Plus and the basic computer. I also have an Aeris XR1. I carry the Oceanics all over the Caribbean, Bermuda, and west coast of Mexico. I rely on them and would not hesitate to buy another one.

 

They are simple to read and to use.

[C Cruise Dude]

A lot of dive shops (at least in my area) have their yearly clearance sales in the summer - I just went to one over the weekend and saw many different models of dive computers on sale - most at 50% off. My philosophy is to keep things simple, as they tend to be easier to maintain and more importantly, to fix. That said, I wanted to share a story with you about a diver on the 2010 scuba cruise - it's very interesting and something to note if anyone ever decides to buy a one of those dive computers that have GPS like the scuba pro Galileo.

 

I believe we were diving in Costa Maya; one of our group members had a dive computer identical to the one the dive master had - neither changed the "codes" and during the dive, neither computer worked as both computers picked up the other's signal. I think the problem was that each was supposed to "reprogram" the code it came with and neither did - anyway, we were doing a deep dive.

 

As we were descending, I noticed the dive master exceed 100feet - during the briefing we were told that we would stop at 80 feet. I stopped one of the less experienced AOW divers in my group at 114 feet, while everyone else in the group kept descending. My own buddy (and husband) also kept going, but I could tell he was watching his depth and knew I had stopped with the other diver - he stopped at 124 feet. The dive master and the rest of the group probably stopped at around 135 feet before ascending to our agreed upon depth. All in the group were experienced divers and figured out soon enough that they probably went a tad too deep - I think it was about this time the two dive computers went bonkers. It tuned out to be a great dive, as my group could handle a dive such as this. But it does go to show you how important it is to WATCH your depth guage!

 

Just remember to never rely 100% on any other diver's judgement - even dive masters make mistakes occasionally! And if you do get one of these computers, make sure reprogram it after taking it out of the box as they all seem to have the same code from the factory! What are the odds that the DM and one of my divers would have the identical computer!

 

We have the youtube version of our 2010 Scuba Cruise Video at our group blog - we didn't make a big deal about what happened on that particular dive, as the dive turned out to be excellent - but you might enjoy watching it. You'll find it on the right side, just past the 2011 dive group videos.

 

Thanks.

 

Suzi

 

Thanks, Suzi. The information on your blog is interesting. Is this a group attached to Princess Cruise Line, I noticed that you seem to be on Princess ships or are you just one part of the group from various cruise lines? What is the average deeps that you dive? :D