To transmitter or not, that is the question
March 18, 2011 12:51 PM Subscribe
Dive computer - what's a transmitter for? Is it necessary?
Disclaimer: I'm not a scuba diver at all. I barely dog paddle.
A bunch of folks and I are getting together and buying a dive computer for a friend's birthday, and I've been designated the person to find the actual product to buy. I found this and it looks like it fits all of the specifications I was told to look for, but I'm puzzled about the "transmitter and download kit" mentioned at the bottom. It's an extra $100, but what's it for? Is it needed to make this spiffy thing fully functional? Should we buy that too, just to cover all the bases?
Disclaimer: I'm not a scuba diver at all. I barely dog paddle.
A bunch of folks and I are getting together and buying a dive computer for a friend's birthday, and I've been designated the person to find the actual product to buy. I found this and it looks like it fits all of the specifications I was told to look for, but I'm puzzled about the "transmitter and download kit" mentioned at the bottom. It's an extra $100, but what's it for? Is it needed to make this spiffy thing fully functional? Should we buy that too, just to cover all the bases?
Best answer: Normally, the amount of gas left in a scuba diving tank is indicated by a large analogue pressure gauge that can easily be read by you or your buddy.
The transmitter device mentioned here is a small device that screws into to the primary regulator of a scuba diving cylinder and transmits the pressure information to the dive computer, so the pressure, and amount of gas left etc. can be read from a digital display.
Divers can attach these transmitters to their own or their buddies tanks. Their usefulness is debatable, especially if they are used as the only way of determining how much gas is left in the tank.
My personal opinion is that they are actually dangerous if used on their own (i.e. without an additional standard analogue gauge). This is because it is very important that your buddy be able to easily assess your status underwater and this is not possible if they need to fiddle with your (unfamiliar) computer.
If they are used in conjunction with a standard gauge they are safer, but they introduce an additional failure point in the form of another high-pressure o-ring. This is probably not massively unsafe, depending on the kind of diving your friend does, and if maintenance is done regularly. Nevertheless it can be a pain in the arse if the o-ring blows.
This computer can monitor up to 3 different cylinders (with a different transmitter for each one). If it is used to, for example, monitor both your own, and your buddies gas supply this could add a certain level of confusion - am *I* running low on air, or is that my buddy.
TL;DR - To answer your question more succinctly - the transmitter sends gas/air information from the scuba tank(s) to the computer. You don't need a transmitter to use the computer, but purchasing one will allow you to use all of the computer's functions. However, the usefulness of the (costly) transmitter function is debatable.
Choice of diving kit provokes heated debate amongst divers. So, whatever you decide, make sure you keep the receipt and let the giftee know that you won't be mad if they swap it for a different model.
posted by jonesor at 1:26 PM on March 18, 2011
The transmitter device mentioned here is a small device that screws into to the primary regulator of a scuba diving cylinder and transmits the pressure information to the dive computer, so the pressure, and amount of gas left etc. can be read from a digital display.
Divers can attach these transmitters to their own or their buddies tanks. Their usefulness is debatable, especially if they are used as the only way of determining how much gas is left in the tank.
My personal opinion is that they are actually dangerous if used on their own (i.e. without an additional standard analogue gauge). This is because it is very important that your buddy be able to easily assess your status underwater and this is not possible if they need to fiddle with your (unfamiliar) computer.
If they are used in conjunction with a standard gauge they are safer, but they introduce an additional failure point in the form of another high-pressure o-ring. This is probably not massively unsafe, depending on the kind of diving your friend does, and if maintenance is done regularly. Nevertheless it can be a pain in the arse if the o-ring blows.
This computer can monitor up to 3 different cylinders (with a different transmitter for each one). If it is used to, for example, monitor both your own, and your buddies gas supply this could add a certain level of confusion - am *I* running low on air, or is that my buddy.
TL;DR - To answer your question more succinctly - the transmitter sends gas/air information from the scuba tank(s) to the computer. You don't need a transmitter to use the computer, but purchasing one will allow you to use all of the computer's functions. However, the usefulness of the (costly) transmitter function is debatable.
Choice of diving kit provokes heated debate amongst divers. So, whatever you decide, make sure you keep the receipt and let the giftee know that you won't be mad if they swap it for a different model.
posted by jonesor at 1:26 PM on March 18, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know!
posted by lriG rorriM at 1:30 PM on March 18, 2011
posted by lriG rorriM at 1:30 PM on March 18, 2011
Diver here. I have one of these, and it basically allows me to keep the primary pressure gauge and depth meters (analog devices connected with a high-pressure hose to the tank) in a pocket, out of the way, and read all the info off the computer on my wrist.
It is basically a convenience, and I won't trust it as my only device.
Redundancies are very useful under water, and I don't know of any diver who would have these transmitters as their only way to read the tank pressure. But it's very, very convenient.
For example, it also allows my computer to tell me a conservative guess about the amount of minutes of air I have left, instead of (or rather in addition to) the amount of psi.
posted by DreamerFi at 2:18 PM on March 18, 2011
It is basically a convenience, and I won't trust it as my only device.
Redundancies are very useful under water, and I don't know of any diver who would have these transmitters as their only way to read the tank pressure. But it's very, very convenient.
For example, it also allows my computer to tell me a conservative guess about the amount of minutes of air I have left, instead of (or rather in addition to) the amount of psi.
posted by DreamerFi at 2:18 PM on March 18, 2011
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Its usefulness really depends on the computer in question, and how it will be used, which is intensely personal for divers.
If you can, buy it. But keep the receipt and let your friend decide how best to use it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:58 PM on March 18, 2011