What program to buy to download my SUUNTO Cobra 3 dives into a log?

[Pasley]

OK, since SUUNTO (great dive compuer, bad dive log program) DM4 has to be the worst computer program ever (calling it a program is giving it more credit than it deserves. See my other post of SUUNTO DM4 for details) I am forced to buy a 3rd party software to download my dives into a log. DM4 is no where near ready for release or use, and has no manual. I will not use a program that has 2 parts, one on my computer and one on the internet that I have to access seperatly to finish the entries for the log.

What software would you recommend and why to download your dives. Here is what I am looking for:
1. Download eaisly directly from SUUNTO Cobra 3 using the cable.
2. Able to print with out having to make a PFD first.
3. Records Dive number and keeps track of same.
4. Records Time of entry and exit from the water.... Can you belive DM4 does not do that?
5. Accuratly computes SAC
6. Maintains database of my air tanks (cylinders) and their size.
7. Computes PP O2 for Nitrox
8. Computes PP Nitrogen
9. Charts the dive
10. Records dive site Catalina CA, Bird Rock, or Laguna Beach CA, Deadmans Reef
11. Records dive buddy
12. Dive Boat name or shore dive
13. Max Depth
14. Bottom time
15. Generous area for notes.
16. Exports to DAN
17. Exports to format SUUNTO DM will inport (just in case SUUNTO ever gets it together).
18. Imports from SUUNTO DM4 and DM3 so I can bring my past dives into it.
19. Does not require me to log into an online program after importing into the on my computer program some of the dive details to enter the rest of the dive details such as dive buddy, location etc. (can you belive DM4 makes you do this), or for me to maintain a online posting of my dives to have all the dive details recorded.
20. Place for visiblity
21. Place for weather, sunny, rainny, overcast, night dive etc
22. Place for weights used
23. Place for dive gear used, drysuit, wetsuit, 2 piece wetsuit etc.

The programs I am currently looking at are:
Sharkpoint by Dream Dives
Divelob by Seawolf.com
Dive Log 5.0
Scuba base dive log

Anyone out there have any experience with these programs and would recommend or not recommend one over the other and why? Any other programs I should look at?

[Pasley]

82 views and no one has any suggestions? Seriously?

[LCF]

Well, I don't use a Suunto, and I don't do some of the things you want to do . . . but I use Diving Log 5.0, and I'm very satisfied with it. It allows me to record all the data I want from a dive, and add new discriminants if I want them. It's easy to search. You can link photos or other images to a particular dive as well. You can put the dive boat name in the comments, or I suppose you could add it to the "additional" criteria. I don't know if it exports to DAN, or to any Suunto-compatible format, and I've never tried to print from it. It definitely records date and time, and you can add buddy and whether it was a boat or shore dive. It allows you to record what tank you were using, and it does calculate SAC rate (although, IIRC, it doesn't put that into the permanent record -- you would have to do that under comments).

So I think it's a great program, but the reason I didn't answer is because I just don't know if it meets ALL of your criteria.

[DwayneJ]

I'm a Shearwater Predator fan and Shearwater Desktop program and uploads via Bluetooth work good enough for me on my Mac. An Android upload program is just around the corner. PPO2/PPN2/Max Depth/Avg Depth/Dive Profile/Temp/SI etc are the important bits and any other field that is not included in the program of your choice can be entered into a specific field comma or slash delimited. Here's a sample of what the Predator can provide...


Moving your curser over any of the lines details the specific value at that point in the dive...


Fields and Optional Fields supported...


As you can see, this was the 12th dive on that computer and I'm sorry to say, I don't really log dives... Just upload to my computer for review.

[b1gcountry]

I use the Uwatec Smart TRAK software, so I can't help.

I do use a generic IR dongle (looks like a thumb drive), and it works great.

Tom

[LCF]

I love the Uwatec software -- but you can't download anything but Uwatec to it. Diving Log has the advantage that, if you change computers, you can probably still download to the same program.

[b1gcountry]

Is that the GUE program, or is that just DiveLog? I tried using the GUE software once (it came with decoplanner), but it didn't work.

Tom