Heinrichs Weikamp Open Source Tech Computer - OSTC 2N
Anyone in the Western Hemisphere have any first-hand experience with the Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC 2N? I really like the size compared to the Predator, and it's a few bucks cheaper, but there doesn't seem to be any hardware support on this side of the pond, and it appears that Imperial Units aren't supported.
In my search for dive computers, this is at the top of my list simply because it is open source. No longer is your dive computer dated and inflexible, if there is a feature you want (like imperial units) you can change it yourself, or convince your programmer buddy to change it.
I applaud HW for putting the intensive development time into creating the UC and mechanicals for such a project.
Unfortunately, I haven't saved up enough cashola to buy one yet......
-Jon
Actually the OSTC is very popular in Europe and other parts of the metric world. I´ve had the mk2 since late 2010 and the N2 since last fall. Thousands of units have been shipped of the mk2 and N type and are being actively used. Also the software has matured a lot and while it did contain several (mostly minor) bugs in the past, it can now be considered extremely stable. As Jon mentioned, it is metric only out of the box. The biggest benefits compared to competitors are, in my opinion: small and rugged housing, USB-rechargeable battery that runs for 40 hours+ with one charge, several different algorithms to choose from with trimix support, a great variety of customization options, very nice color OLED display, detailed logbook plus PC/Mac support and finally, *LOTS* of units in the field, that means it has been tested heavily. Also the service usually goes directly through the manufacturer and has proven to be outstanding. The only major show-stopper, you would probably have to order it from somewhere in Europe. You will find a lot of information on the forum, the link is on the manufacturers page. If there´s anything else you want to know, just ask or send email.
Oh, and if you intend to use the computer with imperial units, I would probably choose another one. That would be a major change in the firmware and unless supported, I would personally not do it (but that´s just my opinion). Also if you´re not familiar with assembler and setting up compilers, you would have a very hard time doing it in the first place. Or as Jon said, find someone to do it for you
As the euro get's more affordable against the dollar the price will only continue to drop.
It's a pretty cool computer.
I'd thought about getting one and putting in the time to convert it from metric to imperial but figured I'd rather spend my time on other pursuits.
Did you see any critters in that cave? StygoBites.com
I have not looked at the source code for this computer but it seems like the conversion would be straight forward - let the computer do everything in metric and just modify the display / output routine to do the conversion.
Or even better, join the rest of the planet, and learn the metric system. Dive calculations are much easier in metricOriginally Posted by Merlin Rhoda
Well it would be nice if it were only the display, but there´s a little more to it. The depth is used in many other places like the integrated simulator, configuration of the gasses, the custom settings - just to name a few. Even the horizontal separator lines in the internal logbook indicate 10 meters each, which is a very cool feature. There´s just a couple of things that will need to be taken care of. Also if you change anything in the display output, you need to tweak the position and width of the texts in the corresponding masks as well. And on top of that, compiling is not all that simple either since everything but the deco code is written in assembler. So for someone who is familiar with this, it won´t be much of a problem at all. But for the average diver it is not an easy task, if not impossible to do.
FW´s suggestion (plus a new set of SPG´s) would be a lot simpler
Something I've considered anyway. Getting buddies to jump off the bridge with you may be the hardest part though.Or even better, join the rest of the planet, and learn the metric system. Dive calculations are much easier in metric
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