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F1 Dive Assistant

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

ADR

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2004
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I'm thinking of getting one of Eric's new F1 dive computers for 2 reasons.

- I'm about to start regular deep diving in dark/dirty water and my D3 won't help me much with that
- Eric has created something perfect for freedivers and I feel we should support him by buying it

I'm interested to know of anyone who is using it, how reliable it is and which of the accessories are essential vs nice to have.

thanks
 
Andy,

Thanks for the vote of support.

If you want some feedback from people who have or have used the F1, here is a partial list:
- Henry Kaiser (has done 19 successful dives in Antarctica with a pre-release F1... photos and videos will be posted on the liquivision site soon)
- Bill Stromberg (tested beta in dahab)
- Ryuzo Shinomiya (tested a beta in dahab)
- Lotta Ericson (tested a beta in dahab)


There have been beta and/or pre-release F1's in testing since late August. There have been some minor issues which have prevented me from creating a 'perfect' product; these issues have been resolved and I am now building a batch of 13 F1's which should be the first 'perfect' units. I refuse to ship anything less than perfect, so people who have ordered until now have either been shipped a pre-release or beta unit for temporary use, or, alternatively, have chosen to wait until the current batch of 'perfect' F1's are complete.

The latest improvements include an increase in the depth resolution to 5cm, and a three times increase in the volume of the alarm. All pre-release & beta units were shipped without extensive calibration. The calibration procedure is very complicated and only now is it being perfected.

I have 'bet the farm' on this project and I have sold everything I own to fund it. I am in great debt from R&D expenses. At this point any number of sales would be greatly beneficial. The problem I have encountered so far is that most people want to 'see it' and try it before they buy, which is difficult when you are trying to penetrate the market for the first time.
 
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By "perfect", you mean "final" I suppose ?
Nothing is perfect in this word, except mathematics :D
 
Remi,

mathematics and perfect don't always make good bed buddies :)

I think you have missed the point though. Eric has put everything into the F1 and after the fluid goggles experience most people in his shoes would have given up on us...but he hasn't and I think he deserves our backing. Granted the product does cost more than a d3 but as he points out the comparison is really not valid.

I'm ordering one this year as soon as I get it past finance approval which is always a given but takes some effort (a few weeks) :duh

I'm still keen to hear from people on the accessories, do people recommend the button unit and PC interface or is the button unit alone sufficient?
 
Andy,

The F1 one is what we could call a "one of a kind" ...and to try compare this high tech computer with anything else is not a good idea. There is nothing that beat the Suunto D3 when it comes to the cost of a "budget" computer for freediving, not yet what I know about anyway.

The F1 is the one for those who doing freediving little more deeply, and care about details in a different level, athletes who want an assistant giving them all possible info they ever want, and this with an electronic devices who monitor the external situation during every single dive. This is the F1. I’ve been diving with the last beta version for two weeks in Dahab, and I’m very happy. I will say that the price for the F1 is maybe high, but lower than the D9, and in the F1 you have a scuba-mode as well. I have all kind of diving computers, D9, D3, Stinger and Mares Nemo, Apneist and the RGBM M1, and some “cheap” ones like Immersion pro, Citizen (2 different), Casio and Seiko. I have also free dived with an advanced special designed computer from Uwatec (this one was for freediving, and look like the Smart Tech) but no-one is close to the F1.

I recommend you to buy one directly, if you going “deeply” in to your freediving, and of course you should have both the Buttons unit and the PC connection incl the PC interface. (you WILL need them all)

I already ordered my second F1… :duh

regards,
Bill

...and I could see ALL info clear on the F1 display, with my fluid goggles at depth :)
 
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Thanks Bill, that was what I was looking for and given that I'll be diving 50m+ in pitch black conditions it sounds like the computer for me. Plus I am serious about the fact that we should support a fellow freediver putting it all on the line to bring us a product for freedivving that the commercial operators are never likely to consider given the small market we represent
 
Here is an official statement from Henry Kaiser about the F1:

"When I am done on the sea floor at Explorers Cove, New Harbor
Antarctica; beneath 15 or 20 feet of Ross Sea Ice and another 60 feet
of mins 4 degrees F liquid water, it's usually pitch dark. Like a
night dive on a starless night, with no moon. When the water column
is full of mud kicked up by our "mini-dredge" research tool, the ONLY
way that I can see my depth and time is with the bright and friendly
glow of my F1. From now on, I would not go diving here without it."

- Henry Kaiser, diver US Antarctic Program

[Below is a photo of him diving in Antarctica.]
 

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I received my Liquivision F1 two days ago and have already taken it for numerous dives in Dean's Blue Hole. The verdict?

This computer is EVERYTHING a freediver could ever hope for.

The display has to be seen to be believed - crystal clear numbers and alarms at depth, and all the information you could possibly require displayed as soon as you return to the surface. Attach the button unit and you can see a graph of your dive displayed on the watch itself!
If anyone is worried about the F1 looking 'big' or 'bulky' in the pictures then rest assured that it is a LOT smaller in real life. I train no-fins (where I need to move my arms as much as my legs) and I hardly notice the gauge.

The bottom line: this is the only depth gauge you will EVER need (probably for the rest of your life, considering its durability). Don't wait for Suunto or Mares to try and match it because it simply isn't going to happen.

Already in my first day of using the Liquivision F1 I was able to determine an optimum amount of packs in order to maximise descent and ascent velocities, I discovered that my PB was actually 0.5m deeper than I thought (even though I calibrated the line with a surveyor's tape), and I convinced both of the people who train with me to buy one for themselves! Not a bad day's work for the F1.

My advice: get in quick with a pre-order. There will be a huge demand, and initially they may not be able to keep up...
 
Hi Will,

Mine was sent the same time as yours as I needed it for the Kiwi nationals. Unfortunately due to the Knights having 3m seas and 40knt winds the 2nd day of the comp had to be cancelled. I'll be heading to lake Pupuke later today with Ant Williams to give the F1 it's first workout......what version of the software are you currently running, 3.1 or 5.1?

I think we need to get a forum for F1 users either here or on Eric's site to compare notes etc.

regards

an Aussie freediver in exile in the land of the long white cloud
 
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Hi Andy,
I am running version 3.1.
I don't envy you guys back in NZ. I went out to the knights one time with Ant, and there were 4m swells and frigid winds. This was midsummer...
Here in the Bahamas I haven't missed a single training day due to weather in 5 months.
Good idea r.e. F1 forum.
Will.
 
Hi Will,

I used the F1 in the lake yesterday and the display is incredible. It is the brightest display I have ever seen and can be viewed(and read) at some rediculous angles. I'll ask Eric when he get's back tomorrow about a user forum for us lucky few who have an F1.

I'm running the same version as you and am looking forward to getting 5.1 this week with the zero drift functionality.

The lake was tough last night with about a 30knot wind and a big angle on the line. We talked about you in your current dive nirvana location and hope that your nofins diving is going to plan. Seb spoke highly of you prior to me coming over here and I had hoped to meet you as well but you had left by the time I arrived late last year....another time perhaps! Great show on TV the other night on your exploits by the way.

See you in the F1 forum
 
Will,

I wish you good luck at your cnf record attempt in may!:)

Balázs, Hungary
 
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The F1 sounds like a dream. Tell me, how is the alarm. Sounds like a lot of work has been put in to get the alarm reasonable. Are the batteries allright with such bright luminent display?
 
As a spearo I am interested in purchasing the F1 but can the alarm function be disabled completely? Used to have a citizen aqualand but alarm spooked bass on numerous occasions. Is anyone selling it here in the UK yet?
 
You can set four depth alarms but they can all be disabled.

The battery life is around 4 days per recharge, depending on how many hours per day you dive. The rechargeable battery will last for approximately 38 years of weekly recharging.
 
38 years ?! That's it ?

Just kidding ;)

Man when Eric Fattah builds it, he builds it right ! Now to see if I can come up with some $$
 
What's the sample rate like, better then the D3, ie less then 1s ?
Would someone like to show a graph of a dive they did with the F1, am curious to see the detail & how it compares to a D3.

cheers,
Wal
 
The sampling rate on the F1 is 4 times per second (250ms). This allows no-fin divers to clearly see every stroke. At the sampling rate of 4 times per second, the F1 will remember 3600 freedives.

While you can view the graph of your dive on the F1 itself, the 128x64 resolution of the F1 means that fine details are not always visible in the graph unless you load the data into your PC.

However, the PC interface has not been broadly released yet. I have a prototype PC interface but it won't be for sale until a few weeks from now.
 
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