On Mon, 27 May 2002 15:09:52 +0800, Robert Delfs <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Last week I resubmitted the piece to another dive magazine based in the
>UK which I know to be fearless about advertisers when it comes to
>equipment reviews, I learned that their regular equipment review
>correspondent had already written a review of the Uwatec Smart
>computers, and that his article raises some of the same concerns that I
>had.  (That article will appear in August.)

John Bantin may not be held in high regard by much of the UK diving
community, but he isn't scared to be critical of kit...

>http://www.tabula-international.com/Misc/SmartPro/SmartPro1.html

Yikes!  Your conclusions all sound pretty well-founded to me.

FYI, Suunto's SRGBM (as implemented on Stinger, Mosquito, Viper, Vitek)
also has features designed to control microbubbles, but seems to do it in a
slightly more sensible way than this.  (this is written from a user's point
of view, there are doubtless other tweaks that aren't mentioned in the
manual, so YMMV...)

The ascent rate limit is set at 10m/min at all depths, if you ascend faster
than 12m/min more than momentarily, microbubble levels are judged to have
risen higer than the algorithm is happy with, and it imposes a 'mandatory
safety stop'.  This is not 'compulsory', in that the computer will not
decide you are bent if you violate it in this mode, but if you do you will
be penalised on NDL on following dives.

(These computers also count down a 3 min 'advisory safety stop' between 3
and 6 metres at the end of every dive.  You are not penalised for not
following this.)

In normal, no-deco mode, the computer shows your NDL in the deco panel,
and 'no dec time' underneath.

In 'mandatory safety stop' no-deco mode, the computer shows NDL in the
central panel, 'no dec time' underneath, but also the 'ceiling' indicator
comes on.  (it does not tell you how long the mandatory safety stop will be
until you get to the stop depth)

(In 'Deco' mode, the 'ceiling' and 'ascent time' indicators come on,
under 'ceiling' it shows the, er, ceiling, and under 'ascent time' it shows
the total time to surface including 10m/min ascent, deco time at the
ceiling zone, any mandatory safety stop, and advisory safety stop.)

Cheers,
Huw
--
http://www.huwporter.com