Diver one of sixteen to die using high-tech gear

[beeger]

DRE beat me to some of the comments on I wanted to make. But seeing that my flight out of town tonight was delayed, I'm going to go ahead and type something up anyway.

The fact that the Inspiration prompts you with a list of items to go through is not really the point. I could do the same thing with my slate/notepad by just writing out the list. Your example of example of, “When prompted by the machine to check your O2 valve if you choose to press the OK button without turning on the O2 tank is that the fault of the diver?” is well stated. I agree with what I think to be your implication - it is the fault of the diver. However, and this is a big however, the types of situations you describe are a moot point on OC. My O2 bottle is turned off until I need to use it. I can visually and physically verify this with absolute certainty before and during the dive. I can jump in the water with my right post turned off and I’ll know damn quick that it is turned off (in which case I will reach around and turn it on). Same principle applies to the left post: if I don’t figure it out during a S/Valve drill then the fact that my SPG is not moving would be a clear sign. Same principle goes for the manifold.

But I’m not only talking about the speed at which a problem is brought to my attention, but also the manner in which this is done - it will be obvious that there is an issue. Because it is obvious and made readily apparent I can then address and resolve the issue immediately. If it is some sort of “catastrophic” event a team member will be there to assist me as needed. An electronic machine that is mixing my breathing gas cannot and does not alert me in any meaningful way when something is amiss.

I’m not willing to be my life on a piece of electronic equipment that can, and eventually will, fail. The whole idea of a computer determining on the fly what I’m breathing and adjusting as it sees fit does not sit well with me. My understanding is that the O2 sensors on the Inspiration are located in the breathing loop. The diver’s breath makes this a humid area. The colder water surrounding the breathing loop is going to cause condensation inside the loop. Condensation on any O2 sensor is a bad, bad thing (look how many O2 analyzers are sold in water proof, protective cases). Exposing these things to water, not to mention the general beatings taken by dive gear will throw off the readings. I get uncomfortable with the idea of something mixing my gas for me on the fly, especially when we are talking about a fragile, electronic device that can be prone to failure. What’s worse is that when it does fail the inherent design can not actively alert you - you won’t know. Instead you simply spike or drop your ppO2 and suffer the deadly consequences.

So the issue, as far as I am concerned, is that how confident are you that the readings you are getting on your handset are accurate. If these are inaccurate then the unit will mix the gas incorrectly and you will be none the wiser, until it’s too late.