Freediving computer

[cdavis]

Depth is certainly contributory, but don't think shallow is safe. All of my near B0s were in less than 15 ft, spearfishing, multiple dives, very short surface intervals. It took about three times before it penetrated my teenage skull that what I was doing was stupid.

Connor

 

[Erdi]

Depth is certainly contributory, but don't think shallow is safe. All of my near B0s were in less than 15 ft, spearfishing, multiple dives, very short surface intervals. It took about three times before it penetrated my teenage skull that what I was doing was stupid.

Connor

Well like I said, I don't push myself too much and I rest between my dives, but thank you I appreciate the info !

I haven't come across a near BO yet and I don't plan on it.

You guys have been a great help !

Just need to find a nice, cheap depth guage now =D

 

[trux]

The cheapest gauge would be a capillary gauge. Simply take a hard transparent PE capillary, with inner diameter of around 1mm or less, blind it on one end, fix it rounded into a circle on a support that you can put on your wrist, and it is done. You just need to add the scale. If you know some basic physics, it is easy. If not, you can calibrate it directly in water - either with a borrowed gauge, or simply with a rope. You can also buy one quite cheap. Have a look for example in this thread for some links: http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-equipment/68260-ultra-cheap-depth-meter.html

And another, even simpler method is diving with a float, what you actually should do anyway. With the line it will be easy to see how deep you are. In this way you can also very easily limit your maximal depth by shortening the line, if you are afraid to dive unsafely deep without a gauge. Otherwise, if you want a gauge just to run for personal records (what I suspect anyway), then it is really a bad idea, and you stay much safer without it.

 

[erdooom]

See the thing is ... you have no idea how close you are getting to your max. I know some guys who never get close even without a course, but i know plenty who did allot of very dangerous things before the course. You have no idea how close you come to a B.O. i can even tell you that some people even black out and don't know they did. Of course there was someone there to save them, or it wasn't in the water. Cause if you black out in the water face down with no one to rescue u ... well then they write about you in the news.

I am sorry i sound so gloomy and scary, but thats part of the idea - help you understand that what you think is safe might be very dangerous. Nothing i love doing more then freediving, and I hate hearing about people getting hurt for no reason doing it.

 

[Erdi]

I think I may have somehow given the wrong impression here.

When I spear I'm with atleast 2 other people (people who have been doing it for years). We always go to familiar spots, no where new, no where they're not used to. (I go when on holiday to visit my family in the summer)

Like I said in a previous post, I'm really considering taking a free diving course or two in the summer, it will be before I go on holiday.

I would never dive by myself with a depth guage trying to beat personal records, I would never dive by myself period. I make sure I take enough of a rest after each dive before going down again. The waters I dive in are generally quite shallow anyway and very clear so I can wait for the fish while being on surface before deciding to dive down.
I appreciate your concerns.

And thanks for the extra info trux !

 

[Theodoric]

Erdi,

I was looking for the same thing a while back, and I believe I found it. Mechanical depth gauges are clunky and I've heard they're a little tricky to operate, freediving or scuba watches are expensive and have way too many features for what I currently do, so I just ended up looking for a relatively inexpensive watch with a reliable depth gauge.

I bought a Casio Sea-Pathfinder. There are several kinds, but only one with a depth gauge. Here's a link:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Casio-General-Watches-Sea-Pathfinder-SPF-60D-7AVDR/dp/B000KKPE56/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=watches&qid=1267599105&sr=8-3]Amazon.com: Casio General Men's Watches Sea-Pathfinder Twin Sensor SPF-60D-7AVDR - WW: Casio: Watches[/ame]

The right one has analog hands in front. It can be had for just over $100, you can set it to meters or feet, it records the maximum depth of a dive and the duration (as long as you're deeper than one meter). The general consensus seems to be that a timer for surface rest intervals is essential, and I think the countdown timer can fulfill this function nicely. I set it to 3 minutes, and start it as soon as I come up from a dive, just to ensure that I don't guess too short.

Like you, I was only curious to know my depth without dropping a line, and the dive time feature was a nice bonus. It helped me to put numbers to how I was feeling underwater.

 

[erdooom]

i agree about the clunky, but trickily to operate ? u just dive, its as tricky as using a mercury thermometer, there is nothing to do. If u want max depth u just need to reset the needle that isn't connected to the mechanism (just twist it back to zero). Oh and way cheaper then 100$ ... but a watch is nicer

 

[Erdi]

Ah thanks a lot Theodoric.

I've actually ordered a Depth Guage from Amazon, found it for quite cheap so I thought I may aswel, until I have enough money to buy a nice watch / device.

I'll keep this watch in mind, I've got a few months to go before I get back into the ocean anyway so plenty of time to save up some cash.

Thanks again =)

 

[trux]

I just posted yesterday about a new inexpensive freedving computer from Omer in another thread here:

http://forums.deeperblue.com/freedi...her-new-freediving-computer-omer-mik-1-a.html

 

[Theodoric]

trux- It definitely looks interesting, there just doesn't seem to be much information on it yet. Thanks for always being on top of the updates.

erdoom- Touché on the "tricky to operate" thing. I'm sure your right, but when I was researching it back in the day, I seem to remember some people having difficulty with the gauge recording the max depth, and 'resetting' it or whatever.

Erdi- Good luck with your depth gauge. Glad you found it cheap. Let us know how it works out.

 

[ChetRoi]

There are a handful of out-of-production analog watches that offer depth measurement.

For training, I use the Swatch "Moray's Bite"
(Swatch Moray's Bite - Watch - SUGB100 | Squiggly Swatch Watches and Straps)

It provides automatic depth measurement (per second) and records your dive profile, as well. Good to 200m (they say )

I paid $15 for it on eBay.