I'll let you know, but I want to see if anyone else can answer it first. I answered this question a couple of months ago, and I want to see if anyone was paying attention.:-d:-dWhy is it that on a big proportion of dive watches the bezel minute marks stop at 15?
I would always prefer them to mark all 60 minutes and can't for the life of me see why they stop at 15.
Cheers.
No problem Carl, glad I could help. It can be confusing at first, but once you're used to doing it, pre-setting becomes second nature. In diving that way, the hardest part for me is trusting the bezel. Uni-directionals will only shorten your time, but at first....it feels like a "leap of faith".;-)Thank you, been diving about 20 years now and never heard of pre-setting a bezel, especially as you would still want the minute marks to do this pre-setting. Seems like a good way to introduce a mistake into the mix for me.
Once more thanks. A long held ponder now answered.
Whether it's a 15, 20 or even 30 minute bezel, it's still a count-down bezel. It just allows for a longer ascent profile. What I can't understand, is why they used 1-11 instead of 10 -50.:think:It is interesting to note that the last US Navy purpose designed elapsed time bezel had minute marks for the first twenty minutes, as opposed to the usual fifteen.
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I agree, Moish. :-!Cool info subkrawler. Thanks.
Help me understand what you mean in the above statement. I take it that you don't feel the Rolex-style bezel is configured properly for a count-down application. Aside from the Kobold example, how do you think it should be configured?After all i have never seen any literature from watch maufacturers stating that method but do see literature stating the standard method and if Rolex originally intended their bezel to be used as a count down bezel instead of a timer bezel surely the markings would reflect this. I do not see a company as theirs expecting divers to jump in the water and do any form of calculation when by marking the bezel accordingly they would not have to?
As I understand it that was a GMT bezel for a second time zone. and they just added the little 20 minute hash marks as it was also a dive watch (or at least used in places where it would be underwater.)Whether it's a 15, 20 or even 30 minute bezel, it's still a count-down bezel. It just allows for a longer ascent profile. What I can't understand, is why they used 1-11 instead of 10 -50.:think:
Carl, you're very welcome. It was a good discussion and I had fun with it. Thank you for hanging in there, for my rather lengthy replies.Subkrawler.
Excellent reply thank you. It is nice that some-one understands that i am just trying to understand these things.
I wish i had seen that Rolex explanation. It surprises me that they did it this way, but when i think of it how else do we develop a sport but through trial and error.
Yes, i am used to using my watch for diving, predominantly an old seiko and they mark all the minutes so this was never an issue. Dive the plan....so true, i still use a slate with my profile pre-noted (even though i also use a computer) so can now understand how the watch was used in this manner, especially as you explain it as you have. Thanks for humouring me on this.
(and yes the education system is truly pants....don't get me started on that one!)
Once more thanks.
Got it..thanks Seth.:-!As I understand it that was a GMT bezel for a second time zone. and they just added the little 20 minute hash marks as it was also a dive watch (or at least used in places where it would be underwater.)
subkrawler, that would have been neat to see. I went looking for it, hoping that the site map would include an archive section containing it, but no such luck.Regarding literature stating the count-down use....a few years ago, when Rolex introduced the 50th Anniversary Submariner, Rolex had an interactive presentation on their website. In that presentation they addressed the design of the bezel. I don't remember their exact words, but IIRC they stated that the arrow on the bezel indicated the end of the dive, and the 15 minute scale was to help a diver time his ascent, or any necessary decompression. They even had an old photo showing divers(wearing their Submariners) decompressing while holding a line.
It really was a cool presentation that took you decade by decade through important milestones of the Submariner. It was on their website until sometime in early '07. I wish they hadn't taken it down.
Don't get me started. :-dI know it seems strange to ask a diver to do a little math calculation, but divers were different back then. That was before the dumbing down of our education system, and people could still do simple arithmetic in their heads. Oh how times have changed.;-)
D,subkrawler, that would have been neat to see. I went looking for it, hoping that the site map would include an archive section containing it, but no such luck.
I downloaded the features guide for the Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA (a little Flash application on Macs, I don't know what Windows users would get). The bezel section referred to it as being for timing the dive, specifically saying to align the triangle with the minute hand when you go into the water. This would be part of the "new method" of letting the dive computers do all the thinking, yes?
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I was reading a long thread on another forum last night, one discussing DC failures. A number of people reported that their DCs' failure mode consisted of registering insufficient depth. Now, I haven't even begun my coursework to get my OW cert, but I work in IT. Knowing computers as I do, there's about a zero-percent chance I'll go into the water without analog depth and pressure gauges as backups to a DC.
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Don't get me started. :-d
D.
Well nice said! Never thought about it that way.. Sure I would lent my buddy air but that's about it. I wouldn't want him to screw my equipment.Gauges, like everything else, are a team resource. Just because you happen to own it, doesn't mean that it exclusively belongs to you underwater. Everyone's equipment belongs to everyone during the dive.
Remind me to never dive with Frogger.:-dWell nice said! Never thought about it that way.. Sure I would lent my buddy air but that's about it. I wouldn't want him to screw my equipment.