Descent MK1 First 24 hours - Impressions and Issues

Lol, next time lead with “I was using EAN32 as my mixture”. You wouldn’t have hit the NDL limit, unlike standard air. Makes better sense now.

@ Garmin- any update to the diving compass issue?

Yeah, my bad on that one. Though I still think it should display something, Shearwater just displays 99 until the NDL is below that value. It was also only a 47 minute dive, the Descent includes the end of dive time out in the dive time.

Would one of you be so kind and tell me, do you see a graph with the depth data on Garmin Connect WEB version? I can only see this graph (together with HR & Temp) on Garmin Connect Mobile. On WEB version I see only HR & Temp, so no Depth graph! Someone else observes same problem?

I'm OK with the --:-- for NDL as long as I know that it means 100 minutes or longer. 99:59 might be better but I don't see it as a huge issue.

By the way, I have never had a computer that displays seconds for NDL. It is sort of a nice touch but as it is only an estimate it's probably a waste of screen real estate. I guess I will know how many seconds I have before I have to ascend a bit to prevent the watch from telling me I need a deco stop.

This is more so a suggestion than a complaint. I was teaching in the pool last night and noticed the auto dive feature. I kept the Descent in watch mode as I had a lot to do with students and didn’t have time to play with my toy. That said, anyone that’s an Instructor knows that you’re up and down with students in the pool.

I’d like to suggest one of 2 options -

1. Have the option of turning auto dive off (more feasible)
2. Adjust the starting depth of the dive (less feasible)

I’ve included a screen shot of my “dives” last night.

Ps: Any update on the Compass?

ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1312405.png

As previous mentioned in this thread, the Descent Mk1 will calculate NDL but when the NDL is greater than 99:59 it will be displayed it as --:--.

Once you know about it (being displayed as --:-- instead of 99:59), it's not a big deal, but for those that prefer to learn via use (vs reading every page of the manual), it is a big deal in the sense the question will probably be re-raised multiple times over. Additional to the proposed solutions above, how about a '+' superscripted to 99:59.

Good idea...

Garmin

Question, I can understand how with your Fenix series that you have a larger base of ownership, as opposed to the Descent which at best will be a small niche market. Now, I’ve sent in a few issues in relation to the Diving Compass issue, NDL time etc and I keep on getting the same response “our Engineers are looking into it.”

My question is are these “Engineers” Diving Instructors who are qualified to make decisions based on the sport or are they just programmers and Garmin outsources the diving decisions to another company? You have 2 Instructors here (Mark and myself) and whoever else hasn’t posted but does view the forum, that obviously would have a lot of insight to diving situations/conditions vs. a standard programmers, etc.

Thank you for the response Chris. Having beta testers that cross different fronts from a “Professional” level is definitely the way to proceed. That said, your statement of having Engineers that are “deeply experienced divers” doesn’t mean anything to a dive professional. I run a very successful dive shop in the Northeast and I have divers that have been diving through my shop since the early 80’s. That would “technically” qualify as “deeply” experienced but it doesn’t mean that they have the ability to know and or remember any of their training. In fact, I find those divers are the WORST divers because they never practice their skills. “Diving Professionals” have to go through yearly training and/or re-certification, etc and are much more qualified to making decisions in relation to dive features, changes and so on.

Now someone may be reading this and thinking, “why are you nit picking?” Well, looking at this from a “Professional” standpoint, based on what was said “deeply experienced divers” are making in-house decisions about a “Life Support Sport” without a “buffer” from professionals in the industry. You may “listen” to what your beta testers say but no “qualified” individual is making the final decision.

My initial question was predicated based on a question that was asked of me by a customer that I was trying to sell a Descent MK1 to as I’m also a Garmin dealer. But he did have a good point.

Unfortunately, your response is all the more troublesome.

I'd just add that for products which inherently have significant liability concerns, they're likely to have a very in-depth (no pun intended) and costly certification process when changes are made to the software or hardware. This will almost certainly include tweaks perceived as small and simple, even if it's thought that they couldn't possibly interfere with critical functionality. So requested changes/improvements are likely to take awhile to work through the process, even when they're clearly desirable and completely uncontroversial.

To put it another way, don't read too much into things if requests - small or large - take awhile to be implemented. That's likely just a necessary evil, considering the type of product in question.

I have had several lengthy interactions with Garmin over the last few weeks, including an in depth phone conversation this week. I am very confident that Garmin has a plan and will address any issues with the Descent. They seem very committed to making this the best watch based dive computer on the market. I will continue to dive the Descent, and will recommend it to students going forward.