Join DiveBuddy.com

Meet new scuba divers, maintain a virtual dive log, participate in our forum, share underwater photos, research dive sites and more. Members login here.

Scuba Forum > Equipment
 
#24
 Should Scuba Decompression Algorithms Be Public?
OceanStyle - 7/05/2025 2:03 AM
Category: Equipment
Replies: 2
Just read this article that really made me think. Are the dive computer algorithms we trust actually secret? I had no idea companies like Mares use their own decompression math and don’t fully explain how it works. I always thought all dive computers followed the same kind of science, but turns out a lot of it is kept secret. That kind of surprised me especially when our safety depends on it.

This never even crossed my mind before.
#12945
Eric_R - 7 hours 38 minutes ago.
There’s no guarantee that you won’t have a DCS hit diving on any computers algorithm. These have all been tweaked based divers not getting DCS. There are to many factors involved. I personally know two people that had hits and when they went to the doctor they found out they had a PFO. You can also alter the profile for many computers making it more or less conservative. I’m not sure sharing data is going to make us safer. DAN probably has a lot of data to say one way or another.
#24
Subscribed
OceanStyle - 6 hours 28 minutes ago.
You’re right; no dive computer algorithm can remove all the risk. Things like a PFO really do make a difference. Thanks for mentioning that some computers let you change how conservative they are. That’s helpful, but I can see how it might be confusing for newer divers. I also agree that DAN probably has the best info. It would be great if more of that data was shared between brands and researchers so we can all make smarter choices!