OSTC Computer

[Cathal_M]

been reading up on this - the OSTC Mkll (the OC version)... it looks like the bees knees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeVWkyg_ftg

Im hoping to move onto mixed gas diving in the new year and need to upgrade to something suitable.  I know ill probably get away with a Vytec or Vper airll or something like that, but feck it i may as well invest in a decent computer now rather than later.   (they dont have a smilie for overkill).  however I understand the MK11 doesnt support constant PP02 diving - at least its not capable of PP02 monitoring with a fischer cable.  While i expect to remain OC for at least a few years, it'd be nice to know you have full upgradeability in a computer

Is this a feature that rebreather divers actually look for in a computer?    For example inspiration visions:  If you have vision software taking PP02 readings and displaying deco information on one arm - would you really have a 4th cell linked to an independent VR3 C4 or Shearwater etc.?  Or is this over redundancey for most people?

[denismc]

I use an shearwater independent of the rebreather and its fine once you keep the Po2 close to your computer setting.
Anyone i asked about fischer connections thought they were poor compared to a hardwired computer

[Stephen McMullan]

I bought a OSTC Mk2 (http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/#/en/ostc_mk2/) and it arrived yesterday. It cost me €724 all in including postage, VAT and an optional extra bungee wrist mount. It comes in a very tidy protective case with a USB lead for PC interface & battery recharging and a manual. You'd have the manual read in a couple of minutes and I was able to turn the deco algorithm to Buhlmann CC with Gradient Factors, set the hi and lo GFs, input my gases, input my setpoints, set the last deco stop pretty quickly and intuitively. Physically its a very compact unit yet with a very bright and clear to understand display. This would have been my main criteria along with cost for a backup computer to the Vision handset. It has a dive planner but its pretty slow at doing the calcs and only shows the first five stops. I believe its work in progress and improvements are marked for the next version of the software which is a free upgrade. The dive simulator is quite good also (unfortunately there is no way to accelerate the passing of time for the purpose of demo/training at present). I'll be diving the computer to 60-75m this weekend so will be looking forward to seeing how it does in the water.

[Alan Price.]

Ill take a look at it this weekend so...

[Stephen McMullan]

Yeah there are some nice choices of backup computers about the place at the moment, color VR3s, VRX, Liquivision X1s, Shearwater Predators etc. I reckon this one stacks up well against the others.

I forgot to mention that it has no capability to do realtime p02 monitoring with a fourth cell but I wasn't looking for that. In the dive mode simulator I was easily able to switch setpoints and do open circuit bailout, gas switches etc. Very easy to do.

[Fintan Lowney]

Will it get you out of the water quicker 

[Stephen McMullan]

I like being in the water. I spent a lot of money to get there. Why rush getting out? 

As far as I'm aware they still haven't invented a computer that makes you off gas faster just because the computer says you are 

[Stephen McMullan]

Well I must say the OSTC gets my thumbs up so far. The first two dives on it were to 80m and 70m respectively. The 80m dive was done in extremely low visibility and it just shone like a beacon of hope. I gave a few demos on the hangs to the other divers and I think they were well impressed. One minor glitch noticed was that dives done in demo mode appeared in the logbook but I was able to delete them. In water functions, changing set point, dil, open circuit bailout with gas switches and back to closed circuit tested.

[Alan Price.]

Ye Stephen i had a good look at your new toy over the weekend. Its a nice little computer and the screen is easy too read.
Im going to buy a back up computer this week so ill have to make my mind up if it will be this one or a Shearwater witch is also very nice and runs nearly min for min with the vision.

Oh the owl credit card is going to get hot this week!

[Stephen McMullan]

Very happy so far but not done a huge number of dives on it yet so I'll keep you posted. In short zero problems in the water and all the need to know info is displayed beautifully.



The longer version of the improvements & snag list is:

Noticed a fair bit of difference between the profiles of the Vision and that of the OSTC despite supposedly running the same algorithm with the same GFs. Pure Buhlmann on the OSTC i.e. no GF padding seemed closer to Vision profile. I'll need to do a few more dives to check it out more

It doesn't moan when you break a deco ceiling (well in the last firmware version it didn't - just displayed a flashing amber warning light - no warning displayed or audible alarm. However it just gets on with recalculating the profile using the shallower stops and doesn't lock out.

I've finally managed to get it interfaced to the PC and update the computer with two new versions of the firmware. The reason for the delay was my own fault for not reading the instructions.

Trying to download the dive logs was a big problem initially but is also now working since a new version of JDiveLog for the PC was released recently. You can also set all the preferences via this free program - gas list, setpoints, algorithm choice, GFs, last stop depth etc

The dive planner is a lot faster than before but only shows the deepest 5 or 6 stops and doesn't show a TTS or CNS% for the plan so not really usable as a planner at the moment. I've no doubt that will be fixed soon in future versions of the firmware.

Some of the settings are pretty raw i.e. low level and techy but JDiveLog shows them in a more usable fashion

The manual only just about cuts it - however there is a wiki online manual with more detail & explanation

The logbook shows the last dive as dive no.1 - again I'm sure this will be changed very soon in the next version of the firmware. Actually it may already have been fixed - I put new firmware on this eve.

A couple of the labels on the screen are a bit "German" e.g. TTS is worded "Decosum" but I can live with that.

There's a very good support forum on the manufacturer's website so I've being getting questions answered quite quickly indeed by the two main men.

Cheers, Stephen

[arturconrad]

I'm so tempted with this one...
The only thing that worries me is its 130m limitation. I'm not saying that I will be crossing that depth often though I have some plans next year...beside that's the main reason to buy the computer so I can push the cave as much as I want without worrying about deco calculations ( that sounds sooo cocky... ...
I remember when OSTC was released some guys were saying that 100m limit it's just put on it because of some components that were not officially approved below that depth but in reality it could go much deeper without any worries. Do you know what's the story with OSTC MKII? I can't afford DR5 but I don't want to leave 750e computer at home for the most important dives...

[Stephen McMullan]

Hi Artur,

According to the manual the max depth is actually 120m. I only found that out after I had broken that particular limit   Thankfully the computer worked perfectly. I'll ask the manufacturers via their forum and see what they say - there should answer pretty quickly being efficient Germans  

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/forum/read.php?2,3511

[Stephen McMullan]

I was right about efficient Germans 

Hello Stephan,

The OSTC Mk.2 uses a pressure sensor for about 130m maximum. Depth readings beyond 130m are interpreted as a defective sensor and the OSTC shuts down. So you have some safety margin but the OSTC is not intend to be used for depth below 120m, sorry.

regards,
Matthias

[Peter McCamley]

Well Lads
I got my VR3 in 2005. In that time it has only been back to Delta Technology once, after it flooded. Al Wright stuck the lastest software on it free of charge. It had never let me down and I just love it.

The Inspo is not fond of it's deep stops, however I love them, as I feel great after the dive.

eg. I  left home this morning at 5.30am, up to Donegal did the dive and back to Newry and 8pm now still wide awake.

I was just wondering why you decided on other units, say as opposed to the VR3 or should I say VRX?

Is there something about the VR3 / VRX that I should know about? Advantages / Disadvantages.

Regards
Peter 

[Stephen McMullan]

For me it was price and screen layout design and menu navigation. I have no problem with the VR3 deco information or anything like that. I dive the Vision as primary deco computer always and the OSTC's job is to follow the Vision as closely as possible in the event of a handset failure.

Take a look at the picture at the start of this thread. You can see all the info you need at a glance without the need for a backlight. I look at all the computers the lads have on the deco bar and no problem understanding the X1 or Shearwater but still need folks to show me where their TTS is on a VR3 in the muddle of info. The screen is a jumble and I don't want to know about slow press long press etc etc to do gas switches etc. That's not too good for a backup computer for a bailout scenario.

VR3 used to be quite expensive and four divers that I know well have had to send back to the factory for repairs in the last couple of years. I still have no real idea what the real difference between a VR3, VRX and NHe03 is despite looking at their website and talking to them at Eurotek. All I see are PINs and options to enable this and that at extra cost. I just got bored trying to understand it all.

Didn't inspire me to fork out hard cash I'm afraid.