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Bo Tibbetts from Public Safety Dive Supply in Grand Junction, Colorado and Konstantine Kovelinko from Underwater Dynamics in Orem, UT completed their Instructor trainer program in Grand Junction, Colorado on May 19, 2012.

From Left to Right: Dennis Pulley, Konstantine Kovelinko, Bo Tibbetts

The Instructor Trainer Rating is International Training’s highest teaching level for diving instructors. The program focuses on development of evaluation techniques in the classroom, confined water, and open water. Presentation ability and skill demonstrations of instructor trainer quality are also assessed throughout the program.

The program was conducted on the Colorado Mesa University campus, with the help of Bo Tibbetts, who teaches a public safety program at the university. The state of the art facilities were a pleasure to use.

Anyone wishing to receive further information about the future ITW programs should contact the HQ Training Department via training@tdisdi.com or call 207.729.4201 for more details.

Contact SDI TDI and ERDI
If you would like more information, please contact:

SDI
Tel: 888.778.9073 | 207.729.4201
Email: Worldhq@tdisdi.com
Web: https://www.tdisdi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SDITDI

After another successful TDI and Poseidon event (first one was in 2009), TDI is ready to pair up with Poseidon and do it again, and this time we are headed to the Midwest. If you are a current CCR instructor and have not yet qualified with the new Poseidon MKVI (the world’s first recreational rebreather), here is another opportunity for you to do so.

TDI, in conjunction with staff from Poseidon, will conduct an instructor crossover course for current CCR instructors on June 12rd & 13th at Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, IL. This is the perfect opportunity to meet HQ staff, Poseidon staff, and network with Closed Circuit Rebreather instructors, as well as the manufacturer.

The $295 course fee includes:

• Registration and certification fees
• Materials
• Use of CCR during the course, including Sorb and gas
• Weights

Participants will need to provide their own:

• Thermal protection for 57° F/14° C water
• Mask and Fins

Prerequisites:

• Provide proof of open water instructor certification
• Provide proof of CCR air diluent instructor rating
• Provide proof of Discovery CCR diver certification
• Provide a Certificate of completion of TDI online familiarization course (for non TDI members)
• Provide proof of a minimum of 10 hours on the Discovery (hours can be logged after course completion)

Dive Instructors will be qualified to train divers on the Poseidon MKVI upon completion of the course, provided they have 10 hours on the MKVI recreational rebreather.

This is an opportunity not to be missed! Space is limited, so we recommend contacting TDI Headquarters today to reserve your space. Call us at 888-778-9073, outside North America call +1 207-729-4201. Or email us at sales@tdisdi.com.

There will be similar events later in the year at Dutch Springs, Mermet Springs and Blue Hole in New Mexico! See you there.

Contact SDI TDI and ERDI

If you would like more information, please contact:

SDI
Tel: 888.778.9073 | 207.729.4201
Email: Worldhq@tdisdi.com
Web: https://www.tdisdi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SDITDI

Oxygen analyzers are electronic devices that are used to measure the percentage of oxygen in a gas mixture. They run on batteries, and most are equipped with a sensor that measures the percentage of oxygen in a gas mixture. Most modern oxygen analyzers have a digital display that shows the reading. All dive centers that fill Nitrox cylinders have oxygen analyzers. They use them to check each cylinder after it has been filled to be sure that it contains the correct mixture of nitrogen and oxygen.

Oxygen analyzers are simple devices to use. In most cases, they require nothing more than to be turned on and allowed to stabilize while reading room air. After the analyzer has been on for a few minutes, it should read very close to 21 percent oxygen. If it does not, one must simply calibrate the analyzer to the correct reading, usually by turning a dial located on the front of the unit.

Once the analyzer has been calibrated, it is connected to your cylinder using some type of device that will restrict the flow of Nitrox to the analyzer so it is not exposed to high pressure. Once the Nitrox is flowing steadily to the analyzer, and the reading has stabilized, the reading is noted.

It isn’t necessary to purchase your own oxygen analyzer, although most serious Nitrox divers end up purchasing their own units for use at home or on dive trips. An analyzer is especially useful for technical divers who own more than one Nitrox cylinder, and have them filled with different mixtures. In the event a tag is lost or falls off, it is a simple matter to reanalyze your own cylinder. You must always know what gas mixture is in your cylinder.

Equipment that doesn’t need to be oxygen clean
Equipment that is exposed to low pressure oxygen, such as buoyancy compensators, their low pressure inflators and dry suit inflation valves, do not need to be cleaned or lubricated for oxygen service. There is very little chance of explosion or fire danger with dive gear that is exposed to low pressure oxygen.

Contact SDI TDI and ERDI

If you would like more information, please contact:

SDI
Tel: 888.778.9073 | 207.729.4201
Email: Worldhq@tdisdi.com
Web: https://www.tdisdi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SDITDI

Before you enroll in this course, you should purchase or rent a programmable Nitrox computer. Almost every manufacturer today offers Nitrox dive computers at prices that put them well within the budget of the majority of active divers. You may also find that many SDI dive centers and resorts rent Nitrox programmable computers.

Renting a Nitrox computer may be an excellent way to check out a specific model before buying, but be careful that you fully understand how your rented computer works before diving with it. If you rent a computer from a dive center, be sure to ask them to provide you with a copy of the manual, or at the very least, have them explain the computer’s functions to you so that you fully understand them.

Most dedicated Nitrox computers simultaneously track and display your nitrogen absorption for decompression calculations, as well as monitoring your oxygen exposure. If you are making multiple deep dives in a single day, this type of information is extremely important.

Some of the more sophisticated models even allow you to change gas mixtures while diving, a feature used by many technical divers, who switch to mixtures containing higher percentages of oxygen for decompression.

Most modern Nitrox dive computers allow you to set the percentage of oxygen in your breathing mix anywhere between 21 percent and 50 percent oxygen. A few will even allow richer mixtures. However, most require that the percentage of oxygen in the mixture be set before you enter the water. This procedure must be done prior to the start of every dive.

Some Nitrox dive computers will default to 21 percent oxygen (air) when they are first “booted up” at the start of a dive day. Others will retain whatever mixture at which you set them. Whatever type of computer you use, it is essential that you verify that it is properly set for the mixture you wish to use before each dive. This is essential for the computer to calculate your decompression and oxygen exposure properly.

In most other ways, Nitrox dive computers do not differ from air diving computers. They provide the same type of dive planning, repetitive dive calculations, and log functions.

In addition to programming your computer with the information on the mixture you will be using, you will also need to program it with the maximum partial pressure to which you are willing to expose yourself. To get the maximum depth capability from EAN32, you need to program your computer for a partial pressure of oxygen of 1.6. If you want to be more conservative, you can set your dive computer for a PO2 of 1.5 or 1.4.

It’s important to remember that none of the dive computers currently available provide an exact measurement of the nitrogen and oxygen levels inside your body. The computer only shows a mathematical model of what diving physiologists think is going on. Even if you follow your dive computer exactly, it’s still possible to experience decompression sickness or oxygen toxicity. However, these same risks apply to using dive tables, with the added risk that it is far more likely that a diver will make mistakes in his calculations when using tables and formulas.

You may also see divers using air diving computers with Nitrox. This is far from an ideal situation, as not only does one lose the advantage of the additional bottom time provided by using enriched air, air computers do not track one’s exposure to oxygen, and this must be done manually.

Get Certified for Nitrox Diving.

Learn Advanced Nitrox Diving.

Contact SDI TDI and ERDI
If you would like more information, please contact:

SDI
Tel: 888.778.9073 | 207.729.4201
Email: Worldhq@tdisdi.com
Web: https://www.tdisdi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SDITDI

If you own tanks and intend to use them for Nitrox diving (and you should!) there are a couple of things you need to do before filling them with your personal mix. It is impossible for a dive operator to determine, simply by looking at cylinder markings that indicate the cylinder was O2 cleaned within the past year, that a cylinder and valve have not been exposed to air or gas mixtures that would invalidate its O2 service rating.