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> > Has anyone considered that the cost for an analyser, whip and adapter is > > about the same as the cost of a ntx course? Or that you can buy O2 just > > about anywhere. Or that if you are going to use it for deco, that O2 at > > 6m is about as effective as ntx80 at 9m. > > I'm not pro or con courses as such, just a thought ;) > > Nitrox courses have been devised to present essential information on oxygen > toxicity and management and the EAD principle.This information is crucial > to safe diving practice on nitrox. O2 toxicity is more brutal than narcosis > and to mess around with nitrox mixtures without the correct basic training > is literally to invite certain tradgedy.Think carefully, is your life worth > more than about eighty pounds (basic EANx), or will you just have a go? You are trying to make comparisons between two completely different systems, and it doesn't really work. I did all my training in Scotland, and my instructors were more interested in getting the nitrox message across than making money. The idea was to make the course as cheap as possible to encourage people to get trained. I think my course cost 40 pounds (US$60) and covered everything in the current basic and advanced classes (although advanced didn't exist then). It also included all equipment and gas for the dives. It probably cost them more to run the course than they made in fees - never mind what they paid to IAND for the certification cards. I've been in the US for about 3 or 4 months now, and from what I've seen, the money is the central theme here. A basic nitrox course here can be anything up to $300 by the time you include all the extras. I have a friend here who is doing advanced nitrox and deep air this weekend and it was going to cost him about $650 + equipment rental, but he managed to get someone else to agree to do the course for $450. The attitude of instructors is that if they are not going to make money they won't run the course. I would have done the courses, partly for fun and partly to get the piece of plastic to keep boat captains and shops happy, if it hadn't been so expensive. I looked through the course material and there was nothing new in there. In fact, most of it was a recap of basic nitrox and basic scuba. You have to realize that in the US the dive shops control access to the technology. Basically, if you haven't got the right pieces of plastic you don't get the gas or the equipment. And since the shops run the courses, the dive clubs and give out the certifications (pieces of plastic), they have complete control. Actually, it is very close to being a cartel. The situation is completely different in Britain because the training and certification is done in the clubs, and the dive shops have no control over the clubs. In fact it is probably quite the reverse, and generally the dive shop owners are members of local clubs. Also, the instruction system is completely different. You can't make comparisons. In the US, many people become instructors because they want to make money back on their investment in diving. They call themselves professional because they paid to be trained as instructors and charge for their time. In Britain, instructors are just as well trained by our national bodies, but they generally don't call themselves professional and, at least among the people I know, don't charge for their time. In fact, from my experience of instruction it cost me quite a bit in terms of time and money. But, I'm not complaining. I think the system works because it weeds out the people who are only in it for the money. Generally you will find that instructors are keen and enthusiastic, because if they weren't they wouldn't be doing it in the first place. The hierarchical club instructor system also works well to regulate the quality of instruction. I've noticed that over the last few years we (in the UK) have been creeping towards the US system. I think this is probably a mistake. Alan -- Alan Wright IRVINE!ENG1!Alan@be*.at*.co*
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