DECOMPRESSION MODE:
Should a no-decompression limit be overstayed, the EMC-16 will enter the
Decompression Mode. In this mode, the Ceiling digits will display the
depth at which the diver must stop and not ascend above during final
ascent. The “TEMP” legend and two digits will be replaced with the “CEIL”
legend and two digits. The Ceiling will start at 10 feet and increase in ten-
foot increments as the diver remains at a relatively deep depth.
The Remaining No-decompression Time and “NDC” legend will be
replaced with Decompression Time and “DEC” legend (Figure 16d). Both
STOP time and TOTAL time are displayed in the upper left hand three
digits of the screen in hours and minutes. STOP and TOTAL time will
alternate at the rate of once every two seconds. In this way, the diver can
view the time to spend at a particular STOP depth, and the TOTAL time it
will take to complete all STOPS. Clearly, the larger of the two alternating
numbers is the Total Decompression Time of all stops, and the smaller of
the two numbers is the time required at the current stop. At the ten foot
stop, the TOTAL and STOP times may be the same and therefore appear
to not alternate.
When at a specific stop, the required decompression time at that stop is as
shown, and will appear to count down as it is recomputed every second,
based on the divers exact current depth. The Decompression times (both
Stop and Total) are accurate only if the diver’s depth is exactly the same
as the required Ceiling. However, it is not necessary to be precisely at
that specified Ceiling. Appropriate In-gassing or Out-gassing will be
computed regardless of the diver’s current depth.
A small margin shallower than the Ceiling also exists. Should a Ceiling be
‘violated’ (diver is shallower than Ceiling), the “WARNING” legend will
illuminate and flash along with the Depth and Ceiling digits. An Audible
alarm will sound once every two seconds. This warning will continue until
the Depth has been corrected. Out-gassing will continue even though the
diver is shallower than the Ceiling. There is no ‘Gauge’ mode or ‘Lockout’
on the EMC-16.
If the diver surfaces before satisfying his decompression obligation, the
EMC-16 will continue to give out-gassing credit as if it were in a dive, but
at a depth of zero feet and will satisfy the decompression time
requirements of the required stops using an FO
2
of 21%. The unit will
continue to log data and perform as if actually in a dive. When the
decompression obligation is finally satisfied, the ten-minute “PostDive
Interval” will begin.
Several seemingly ambiguous situations may occur with the Deco
Forecast ‘enabled’, they are:
•
Satisfying Deco Stops during ascent.
•
The Deco Gas Switch may occur early or late.
•
Forecast Deco Stop time & depths may switch up/down/up/down as
the diver ascends due to the in-gassing and out-gassing of the
different ‘controlling’ tissue group.
NOTE:
COCHRAN does not intend for this instrument to be used for
deliberate Decompression diving.
POST DIVE INTERVAL:
During the first ten minutes (or up to thirty minutes if the unit is in the
Training Mode) after a dive, the EMC-16 is in the Post Dive Interval. The
flashing "SURF" legend and a Surface Time of less than ten minutes (or up
to thirty if the unit is in the Training Mode) indicate this. Should another
dive be commenced before the completion of the Post Dive Interval, that
dive will be considered an extension of the previous dive. In this case,
Bottom Time will NOT include the time spent on the surface in this Post
Dive Interval. However, when reviewing the profile with the Analyst
®
, the
time spent on the surface in this period will be shown. In the case were the
unit has performed a gas switch; while in the Post Dive Interval the
Alternate Screen will display the Oxygen percentage of the Deco Gas
Blend and if the diver re-enters the Dive mode the unit will perform its’
calculations based on the Deco Gas Blend Oxygen percentage until the
diver descends below the Gas switch Depth. Below this depth the unit will
revert to the Normal Gas Blend for the NDC calculations.
CONFINED WATER PROTOCOL (Training Mode):
The EMC-16 is one of
the first dive computers to offer an operating mode designed to record and
store data from training dives. That is, dives performed in shallow water
environments (swimming pools, shallow lakes, lagoons, etc.) or calm open
water environments that have less than 1-foot seas. In the Training Mode,
the EMC-16
enters the Dive Mode at a depth of 2 feet instead of 5 feet and
will exit the Dive Mode at 1 foot instead of 3 feet. Also the Post Dive
Surface Interval may be extended, via the Analyst
®
from10 minutes up to a
maximum of 30 minutes in 1-minute increments after which the dive data is
stored in the computer's memory. These changes permit the Instructor to
record the complete training session, including in-water surface periods, as
a single dive.
The Training Mode can only be enabled/disabled via the
Professional Edition of the Analyst
®
PC Interface
.
TACLITE™:
The EMC-16 is equipped with the TACLITE™ tactical low-
light fiber-optic backlighted display. The standard TACLITE™ color is night
vision safe red, but it is also available in yellow for those individuals who
have vision difficulties with the color red. The TACLITE™ can be activated
on demand. To turn the TACLITE™ on, tap the face of the EMC-16 and
the TACLITE™ will turn on for the preprogrammed number of seconds (1
to 98), then turn off. By tapping the face again the TACLITE™ will turn on
again. In this fashion the TACLITE™ can be kept on for as long as
wanted. If 0 is entered, the TACLITE™ will never turn on. If 99 is entered,
the TACLITE™ will stay on continuously and only turn off when the EMC-
16 does. The number of seconds that the TACLITE™ stays on can be set
via the Programming Mode or via the Analyst
®
PC Interface, factory setting
is 10 seconds. The TACLITE™ will turn off when the EMC-16 turns off. If
the batteries get too low, the TACLITE™ will turn off and cannot be turned
back on until fresh batteries are installed.
3
