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>> If you are a pilot, or enjoy driving, you probably like real analog >> gauges, with big clear needles that move fast, instead of digital displays, >> because you can not only see the reading, (altitude, revs, whatever) but also >> the trend in the reading (the first derivative) and maybe even the >> acceleration of the trend (the second derivative). You don't get this with >> scuba guages, analog or digital. You can't look at them and see how fast you >> are sucking air. You just see psi. With a time remaining calculation, the I defy anyone to tell me that they can see the pressure gauge move as they breath! Any type of "time remaining" is more information than the analog gauges give. People in this group of divers should know their SACs under various scenarios and be able to predict mentally (quite quickly) time reamaining and be *very* close to reality. Computers will help them act as a backup and give them a sanity check in that arena. >> reading involves time and is sort of the first derivative. Not exactly, but if >> you knwo what I mean, then you know what I mean. I particularly like my >> Nemesis, since it will actually show my surface air comsumption rate in >> addition to time remaining. On days when I'm tired or excited, I KNOW I'm >> using air faster than planned and dial in more conservancy right away, while >> there is still a lot to be done about it. More information is better, but you >> have to think about it. >I think the real issue is the graphical display. In my experience, a >diver is much more easily scared by a needle pointing way down in the RED >range on the guage that he is by a little lcd saying 322PSI. I >personally believe that this was the cause of two out of air situations >that I witnessed using air-integrated computers. As far as more >information, I agree that they are a good thing: in addition to a >mechanical pressure guage. I have heard this time and time again. Graphical displays *may* be easier to read, however, digital displays give more accurate and detailed information. I *much* prefer my digital depth gauge (on my watch) to the analog depth gauge on the console (although I do have both, the console unit is often as meaning less as the graph on the Solution because the Solution bottoms out at 140 on the display and my console bottoms out at 150 while the watch continues to function down to 200m - i.e. much deeper than I'll be diving in the next couple of weeks :^) Some people may not process digital information as readily as simply "green/yellow/red" zones on a gauge. I believe these are also the people that tend to get narc'd and are unable to handle the increased task load/information processing of digesting the digital information. Remember, we're not fighter pilots. Hell, we aren't driving cars or flying planes!!! The decisions we make should be well thought out and considered and, more importantly, our dives should be *planned in advance*. We should not normally get into circumstances that require "split second" decisions or we have gone well beyond any "safety/buffer zone" that one normally employs when diving *or* something catastrophic has happened and there often isn't time to check gauges for information anyway! When this happens, the risk for a problem is *much* higher than normal, whether you have an analog or a digital gauge!!! Also, IMO, it would be much easier for an analog display to "get stuck" than a digital unit. There are people who are conscientous divers and there are people that aren't, and the various types of dive gear that they have will often have absolutely no influence on how safely they dive. -Carl-
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