forum.heinrichsweikamp.com

Hello,

The new hwOS Tech (for OSTC3, plus, cR and OSTC 2) firmware 2.98 is now available for download:
https://heinrichsweikamp.com/service/firmwares

The following changes have been applied:

- Stable Version -
BUGFIX: "lost gas" was re-activated in rare cases
BUGFIX: Internal deco planner did not display results in imperial units
BUGFIX: CNS display was out of scale (much too high) for some cases in the logbook
BUGFIX: pSCR ppO2 fixed
CHANGE: Battery names in "New Battery" menu (OSTC Plus and OSTC 3 only)

The firmware itself can be set to English, Deutsch, Italiano and Français. The firmware is split into two language versions: English + German and French + Italian. Make sure to install the correct HEX file.

Die neue hwOS Tech Firmware 2.98 (Für alle OSTC3, plus (Tech-Versionen), cR and OSTC 2 (Bei Mod. 2017 Tech-Versionen)) ist jetzt zum kostenlosen Download verfügbar:
https://heinrichsweikamp.com/service/firmwares

Die Firmware selbst kann auf Englisch, Deutsch, Italienisch und Französisch gestellt werden. Die Firmware ist auf zwei Versionen gesplittet (Englisch + Deutsch sowie Französisch und Italienisch), achtet darauf die richtige HEX Datei zu installieren.

Die folgenden Änderungen wurden eingebaut:

- Stable Version - SP1
BUGFIX: Das "lost gas" wurde in seltenen Fällen wieder aktiviert
BUGFIX: Der interne Decoplanner zeigt jetzt die Ergebnisse auch in imperialen Einheiten (Fuß statt m)
BUGFIX: Die ZNS Anzeige war im Logbuch unter bestimmten Bedingungen (viel) zu hoch
BUGFIX: ppo2 im pSCR Modus war nicht korrekt
CHANGE: Die Namen im Batterie-Menü sind jetzt eindeutig

Details on hwOS: https://heinrichsweikamp.com/hw-os

How to install: read.php?6,14509

Regards,
Matthias

Hello,

i've been using the 2.98 in a few dives, and playing with it in the simulator.

I've found an aparent bug at least in simulator mode: simulating a dive with tx21/35 (backgas) and nx50 (deco), and trying the 'lost gas' functionality for the deco gas, seems that:

1. The gas-needs calculations/warnings are not disabled for nx50 when I mark it as 'lost-gas', nor the gas-needs for tx21/35 are increased.
2. Marking the nx50 deco gas as 'lost gas' doesn't seem to affect the scheduled deco stops nor TTS in simulation mode. The simulated profile was 48m - 21' with 30/85 GF. In deco calculator, out of simulation, plannings are so different with and without nx50, as it should be.

I don't know if this thread is the better place to post potential bugs and/or wished improvements/features of the release, so please let me know if there's a better way to comunicate them.

Regards,


-------------

Hi,

thanks for the reply, shure here's the right place for bug reports etc.!

I'll analyse your finding and hopefully come back with a fix soon!

BR
Ralph

Hi again,

after code inspection i can (well, have to...) confirm it's a software bug. The only occasion were disabling gases does work is in CCR or pSCR mode combined with 2nd deco plan doing O/C bailout calculation. This bug applies to both, simulator and real dive mode.

There are currently further software enhancements under way that tackle the same part of the code were the above mentioned bug resides. Therefore bugfixing will be delivered once all works currently in progress have finished with a v2.99 release. The currently availabe 2.99 beta does not yet fix this bug.

@Eric: sorry, cave mode will not make it into 2.99, but it's not forgotten!

best regards,
Ralph

Thank you for the fast and clear answer, Ralph.

Be aware that as i've seen in further tests, in OC and at least in simulator mode, the same problem exists if you don't change to a suggested better gas during the ascent. I mean, and continuing with the same test dive: backgas tx21/35 + deco nx50, 48m 21'... the ostc calculates de deco plan assuming that you will change to the deco gas nx50 at 21m... if you don't do so, and continue your ascent in backgas, it doesn't seem to recalculate de deco plan. So same behavior as the 'lost gas' talked before... maybe the two parts are re-using the same code o calling the same routines, i don't know.

Regarding to gas need calculations, i must say that i don't understand how are the warnings and alerts working in OC, at least for the backgas. In that case the gas-needs alerts will be useful if they track the estimated gas that you have already consumed (avg.depth pressure x SAC x time), and alerts you if the remaining one it's not enough to finish the dive with the actual ascend plan. Actual alerts as 70% or 100% of the initial pressure, while you are using that gas since the beginning of the dive, doesn't have much sense for me in OC.

And while waiting for the fix, one enhancement proposal for the future release: would be nice and useful to mark with a diferent colour (maybe yellow, like a warning) the first planned stop once you arrive at its depht, in a similar way as in the current version it is marked in red if you don't respect the stop during the ascent. I've read that you're working in a consistent warning/alert strategy improvement, i don't know if this one can fit in your roadmap.

Thanks again for your help and implication.

Hi,

well, three questions, three answers:

1)
The behaviour you observe is as desired: the deco plan is calculated on basis of the selection of gases you have configured. So deco gases are figured in as long as they are not set to lost (what doesn't work at the moment...).
On the other hand, your current deco status calculations for tissue loading, ceiling, CNS, etc. are soley done with the gas you have told the OSTC to breath at moment, thus the one displayed in the lower left corner.
There is on purpose no automatic gas change on passing certain depths as this would be very dangerous: if you would forget to actually physically switch your gas, you would have no valid calculations any more. The other way around, switching gas but not telling this the computer would "just" leave the computer calculating your deco obligations being worse than they actually are.
Last but not least, to help against such situation there is the "better gas cue" that prompts you the gas you should switch to. Unlike in older firmware Versions, it will be there as long as the OSTC figures out there is a better gas für the current depth.

2)
It's the other way around: the OSTC estimates how much gas you will need to finish the dive if starting the ascent now (or in x minutes in case fTTS is switched on). The tank pressures are understud as bugdets, i.e. amounts reserved for the ascent or turn pressures. You can enter a lower budget than actually planned to add a safety margin. Once the predicted need reaches 70% or 100% of the given buget, the attention / warning is triggered. Else for shorthand: your SPGs should always show higher pressures than the gas needs read.

3)
Hmmm, there are already new color-codings in the pipe: the stop depth will turn yellow once you pass over it. As the first stop is calculated with GF-low, passing it a little bit would be no crime. If you come close to the ceiling depth (calculated with GF-high), the main depth display will turn yellow-inverted. And finally when your supersaturation approaches 100%, main depth and stop depth will both turn alarming red, invers, blinking, ...

Hope i understud all your question right,
best regards,
Ralph

Thanks Ralph.

All clear now with 2) and 3), and good news with that color-codings in the pipe that already covers my proposal.

Regarding 1), I think you've not understood me or maybe i'm missing something: i'm not talking about automatic gas change. I'm talking about the situation where you forget to physically switch your gas during the ascend, and at the same time you don't change the gas in the ostc: maybe i'm missing something, but in that situation and with the described behavior, the calculated deco plan isn't valid anymore and dangerous (calculated with a deco gas that you are not actually breathing, so your real deco obligations being worse than the ones being calculated by the computer).

Well, in that case at first the OSTC calculations will stay in line with your real tissues' current behaviour. So, tissue loading, ceiling, CNS, ... will all be correct.
Furthermore, the deco calculations are updated every couple of seconds, always starting with your current real tissue state (which, as just said, will be correct). So what you will see is that your TTS won't lower as espected, maybe it will even rise. And the stop times will also become longer (guess, TTS is the sum of stop times plus the time needed for ascent) and new stops may appear.

ok?

And never mind, questions of this sort are always welcome here - everyone using a dive computer should be able to understand what it is doing and how it comes to the numbers it displays. And by definition there are no secrets to be kept hidden with OSTCs!

well... that's the behavior that i will expect in that situation, so we agree.

The doubt comes because it's not the one i've initially seen during the simulations. At the limit, in this situation, the TTS should rise as high as in another simulation with only one configured gas (as tx21/35), and produce similar stops and durations. At the end of the day, we'll all also agree that our real deco obligations will be the same in both cases, remember simulated dive at 48m for 21' with 30/85 GF. If you run both simulations:

a) Two gases (tx21/35, nx50) and explained situation (not physically changing, not computer gas changing): TTS max near 28', since you arrive to 21m, till end of dive.
b) One gas (tx21/35): TTS max near 59', since you arrive to 21m, till end of dive.


Great differences in that two TTS. And the one on simulation a) doesn't increase. But analyzing it in detail, the final RT of both simulated dives is quite similar, 70' aprox with few minutes variation... so despite the calculated TTS (nor the calculated duration of each stop) it's not increased in simulation a), seems that the final behavior is the one that you're describing (TTS not going lower as expected, nor the minutes of each stop).

So the dangerous situation it's avoided, i agree. But during the ascent the showed TTS and stop's duration are no real, despite the calculated ones somehow are correct, because the discount from the showed ones is more slowly than expected.

Wouldn't be easier and clearer to recalculate and show the whole deco plan without the deco gas wich you've not changed to (nor phisycally nor in the computer)? Sure you have a good reason for not doing it that way...

Hi,

hope i have a good reason: that i haven't changed say at 21 meters to 50% doesn't mean i am not going to do it - there may be a delay because the stage is entangled, my buddy / the ascent line / ... has a problem and i decide to stay on back gas until the situation is cleared to be able to descent again in case i need to or whatsoever... During this time, my OSTC will constanty update (prolong) my deco schedule and like me - even if in delay - keeping the dive plan, i.e. the planned gas switches. This shall continue until either confirmed that switching is done lately, or the gas is declared as lost which means i will not (be able to) use it. Only in the latter case the dive plan will be altered regarding the gasses. Any plan-changing decision must exclusively be done by the diver!

-R.

Ok, this approach makes sense.

Thank you again for your detailed explanations, Ralph.

Hello!

any news about the new release and the included fix for the disable gas bug in OC?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Llorenç