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Dive Computer Expert Reviews
Saving Your Precious Time And Finding The Best Dive Computer For You
Dive computer reviews are perfectly organized and consist of fully researched information and ratings of Aeris, Cressi, Mares, Oceanic, Sherwood, Suunto, Tusa, and UWATEC/ScubaPro brands. In Catalogue Section you may compare any models side-by-side and select dive computer according to your needs! Join thousands of happy customers!
CatalogueGeneral Information
Specifications
User Interface
Pre-Diving
Diving
Post-Diving
Summary
Your Review
Oceanic OCi is an advanced "all in one" dive watch computer, with unique exclusive Oceanic Dual Algorithm - technology that lets a diver select the basis for the decompression model, which best suits person's needs, without compromising security.
This advanced and high-tech dive computer best suits to advanced divers and serious beginners.
Copy this Oceanic OCi Features & Alarms Card for your Reference and Share with your friends and buddies!
I may say that Oceanic OCi resembles previous popular and non air-integrated model - Oceanic OCS dive computer. It has mainly the same user interface with differences regarding to setting of extra gas mix, TECH FREEdive mode, and wireless transmitters. OCi offers us four buttons to navigate through menus, sub-menus and call the dive data. Dot-matrix display inherited crisp-and-clear digits. Display layout changed to accomodate all symbols related to wireless air integration and gas in use. Size of display is big and it has large viewing area. OCi has two bar graphs - one for nitrogen loading (TLBG ) and it's located on the left side, and another bar graph (VARI) is for representation of an ascent speed. Display has main and alternative screens to provide the user with information available in certain moment whether on surface or under water.
Oceanic recommends firstly adjust digital watch parameters (time, date, alarm, alternate time) and calibrate integrated compass (also compass will rewuire calibration each time after replacing a battery). Below you may find extensive list of menus and sub-menus that shows us all versatility of this Oceanic dive computer:
If you select FREEdive/TECH FREEdive mode, you will be given another set of specific parameters that correspond to freediving:
Oceanic OCi: Diving With Air & NitroxAs a dive computer, Oceanic OCi operates in 3 modes:
Because of plenty of dive data, Oceanic OCi dive computer has main and alternative displays with all information related to type of dive, No-Decompression or Decompression conditions, Deep and Safety Stops, Air Time Remaining, and any violations you may have. Also diver may switch between gas mixes during the single dive and activate compass mode. Display layout is very intuitive and I didn't have any troubles to read it or view the digits, even the smallest ones. I set Wet activation to ON and dive computer activated NORM dive mode at depth 1.5 meters.
Copy this Oceanic OCi NO-DECO Card for your Reference and Share with your friends and buddies!
Scuba dive computer displayed Dive Time Remaining (DTR) by monitoring my current depth, oxygen accumulation, No-Decompression status. Computer showed not only my DTR at certain depth in minutes, but also displayed status of TLBG by adding or taking away segments (4 segments - No-Deco/5 segments - DECO). OCi doesn't have bar graph to display %O2 saturation, so it's value is displayed on ALT#3 screen in numerical way (if set for Nitrox dive). When you dive with compressed air – you have 79% of nitrogen and 21% of oxygen approximately in your tank. If this is the case – your tissues absorb nitrogen and Dive Time Remaining (DTR) is shown according to nitrogen loading. If you set Oceanic OCi for Nitrox – dive computer performs calculations in different way. Diver has different percentage of nitrogen and oxygen, and human body responds differently to such a gas mix. In this case diver is exposed to oxygen toxicity. When amount of time remaining before you reach O2 limits becomes less than No-Decompression (NDC) Time Remaining at certain depth, dive computer starts calculations for that depth regarding to O2 and Oxygen Time remaining (OTR) will be displayed as Dive Time Remaining on the main display. During my ascent the speed was displayed on the VARI bar graph and was quite sensitive to my ascent. VARI has 5 segments, where 4 of them is normal ascent speed and if all 5 segments are flashing - speed is too high - slow down! Upon reaching certain conditions I could get my Deep Stop and Safety Stop prompts if those parameters were set to ON and I did. Deep Stop was activated on my way up after my descend below 24 m. And Safety Stop function has fine-tuning options: I was able to set specific depth and time to perform it. It goes without saying that Oceanic OCi constantly monitors our O2 exposure and PO2 level. If you reach depth where PO2 level will be less than 0.2 ATA of the PO2 Set Point - dive computer will give you warning, and if PO2 level reaches PO2 Set Point - you will get that irritating alarm, and to shut it you must ascend where the level of PO2 will be less than Set Point. Diving computer gives a High O2 warning when oxygen toxicity reaches to 80% (240 OTU) and alarm when O2 hits 100% (300 OTU) with all vital data displayed. Switching gases was an easy procedure - from the Dive Main display by pressing M-button, I used combination of A/M/S-buttons to access Selection display and choose the mix I wanted, according to the allowable depth and current PO2. Oceanic OCi scuba computer has integrated digital COMPASS and I could access it any time from Surface Main/Dive Main/Watch displays. After I calibrated it on surface - it was easy to use underwater. It has similar display and operation as Oceanic OCS integrated compass. And if someone has had experience with integrated digital compasses before - this person won't have any issues with learning, setting, and using it on this dive computer! If I exceed my No-Decompression Limits - dive computer will activate Decompression mode. In this situation diver must safely ascend to the Decompression Stop Depth displayed and stay there or just a bit below for Decompression Time displayed. I didn't bring my test dives to DECO situation, so I couldn't comment on it. Just accept all DECO mode management from Oceanic words. I believe that Oceanic OCi performs decompression calculations very well, as it should. Also diver may create violations during Decompression Mode, like Conditional violation or Delayed violations. That means that you ascended shallower than required Stop Depth and stayed at that level for some time, or Decompression Stop depth must be performed within depth of 18 - 21 meters, or you descended deeper than Maximum Operational Depth of 100 meters. Violation Gauge Mode happens when diver needs to perform decompression at the depth more than 21 m. All those violations have appropriate main and alternative displays available.
Oceanic OCi: Diving In GAUGE ModeNext dive mode of Oceanic OCi is Gauge mode. In this mode OCi doesn't calculate No-Decompression Limits and works as a depth gauge and timer. It monitors conditions of the dive and diver can get into Delayed Violation 3 (DV3) upon descending deeper than 100 meters. In this mode I could access COMPASS mode and I might switch between available transmitters from GAUGE DIVE MAIN display. Below is a summary from main and alternative displays while diving in GAUGE mode:
Oceanic OCi: FREEdivingOceanic OCi has two FREEdive modes: FREE and TECH FREE. They have few differences and main of them are:
Depending on which freedive mode we select - dive computer has specific set of alarms and functions to support it, like:
Freedive display has main and alternative screens and below is a summary of what I had:
During freediving I could access COMPASS mode. In Freedive mode this Oceanic computer monitors nitrogen loading that you may have from previous dives and current freedive, and it displays number of segments on Tissue Loading Bar Graph respectively.
After diving I was interested mainly in NO-FLY and DESAT timers, also briefly checked max depth and temperature for recent dive, and I did planning consecutive dive as well. Dive Planner went through 9-57 meters depths with corresponding NO-DECO times and allowable max depths according to my nitrogen and oxygen loading, and whether Conservative Factor was set or not. Other modes are available on surface after diving:
Oceanic OCi: What Divers Say
Diving with Oceanic OCi dive computer resembles diving with its compatriot OCS, excluding wireless air integration in the latter. New display layout is very easy to interpret even with tons of dive data. Small digits, symbols and notations are sharp and clear at any angle view. Easy access to alternative displays by pressing one button. Everything is made to help user feeling comfortable and just enjoy diving. I didn't notice any inconveniences using display while underwater or on surface. But you need to allow yourself some time to learn all button combos thoroughly.
Compass can be accessed anytime underwater or on surface from the main display. It works fine, but first make sure that you calibrated it and set east or west declination. Gas switching can be made from dive main display by pressing M-button in certain moment. When I had to do this - Oceanic OCi presented me with display of availably mixes. I selected desired one and after dive computer picked up wireless transmitter signal from that tank - all computations started for that particular mix. In my opinion, such high-tech dive computer lacks the Dive Simulator, like we have for example on Oceanic Pro Plus 2.1. It would be easier and faster to learn this advanced scuba computer!
Oceanic OCi dive computer best suits experienced diver, beginners should start with something much cheaper and easier.
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Great dive computer and if you are like me (older) it is a great watch as well. I can see all the data without the need of reading glasses and the large buttons make it easy to adjust time zones and set alarms. I use it more as a watch, than a dive computer and it was the only brand I could find that shows day, date, month and time on the same screen at one time in an easy to read format.
Worth every penny so far (only about 30 dives on it so far).
I've bought Oceanic OCi mainly to explore technical diving with multiple gas mixes. As this dive computer was the newest on the market and I love all things high-tech - I grabbed it.
My first dive computer was Oceanic GEO 2 with 2 Nitrox mixes. OCi is very different though - more functions and more challenges! Even one new function I've ever seen - Tech freediving.
Gas setting, switching and diving helped me stay longer underwater during my multilevel diving. Wireless - is very useful thing here. I logged 50 dives recently and I've never lost it.
This dive watch computer is very stylish wrist watch and sometimes I wear it in office to make my mates green of envy!!!
I calibrated compass, but I don't use it very often. Oceanic OCi costs all money I paid to the last cent!