Mares Quad Air Instruction Manual
Instruction Manual
Quad Air Dive Computer
Quad Air Dive Computer
2
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
IMPORTANT WARNINGS 3
DISCLAIMER 3
1. INTRODUCTION 3
1.1. GLOSSARY 3
1.2. OPERATING MODES 4
1.3. USERREPLACEABLE BATTERY 4
1.4. CONNECTING QUAD AIR TO A PC OR MAC 4
1.5. BUTTON OPERATION 4
1.6. MOUNTING AND PAIRING OF THE TANK MODULE OPTIONAL 6
2. MENUS, SETTINGS AND FUNCTIONS 7
2.1. MODE 7
2.2. SET 8
2.2.1. SET DIVE 8
2.2.1.1. LGHT BACKLIGHT 8
2.2.1.2. P FACT P FACTOR 8
2.2.1.3. ALT ALTITUDE 9
2.2.1.4. WATR WATER 9
2.2.1.5. UNITS 9
2.2.1.6. GAS INTEGR GAS INTEGRATION 9
2.2.1.7. FAST FAST ASCENT 10
2.2.1.8. ALRM ALARMS 10
2.2.1.9. ERASE ERASE DESATURATION 10
2.2.1.10. RUN AWAY DECO 10
2.2.2. SET TIME 10
2.3. LOG LOGBOOK 10
2.4. PLAN DIVE PLANNER 11
2.5. PC 11
2.6. INFO 11
3. DIVING WITH QUAD AIR 11
3.1. A FEW WORDS ABOUT NITROX 11
3.2. ALARMS 12
3.2.1. ASCENT RATE 12
3.2.2. MOD/PPO2 12
3.2.3. CNS = 100% 12
3.2.4. MISSED DECOMPRESSION STOP 13
3.2.4.1. MISSED DECO STOP MODE 13
3.2.5. LOW TANK PRESSURE IF OPTIONAL TANK MODULE IS
USED 13
3.2.6. LOW BATTERY 13
3.3. DISPLAY INFORMATION 13
3.3.1. RUNAWAY DECO 14
3.4. AFTER THE DIVE 15
3.5. DIVING WITH MORE THAN ONE GAS MIXTURE 15
3.5.1. SETTING MORE THAN ONE GAS 15
3.5.2. SWITCHING GAS 16
3.5.3. SPECIAL SITUATIONS 16
3.5.3.1. SWITCHING BACK TO A GAS MIXTURE WITH
LOWER OXYGEN CONCENTRATION 16
3.5.3.2. SUBMERGING BELOW THE MOD AFTER A GAS
SWITCH 16
3.6. BOTTOM TIMER MODE BT 16
3.6.1. DIVE VIOLATION INDUCED BOTTOM TIMER MODE 17
4. TAKING CARE OF QUAD AIR 17
4.1. TECHNICAL INFORMATION 17
4.2. MAINTENANCE 17
4.2.1. REPLACING THE BATTERY IN QUAD AIR 17
4.3. WARRANTY 18
4.4. WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS 18
4.5. HOW TO FIND THE PRODUCT SERIAL NUMBER 18
5. DISPOSAL OF THE DEVICE 18
3
• 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. GLOSSARY
AIR:
Air dive
:
Symbolizes decompression stop violation.
:
Symbolizes uncontrolled ascent and uncontrolled ascent violation
ASC:
Total ascent time, the time it takes to perform the ascent from your current depth to the surface in a decompression dive,
including all decompression stops and assuming an ascent rate of 10m/min or 33ft/min.
ASC + 5:
The overall ascent time inclusive of all decompression stops if the dive is extended by 5 minutes at the current depth.
AVG:
Average depth, calculated from the beginning of the dive.
CNS:
Central Nervous System. CNS% is used to quantify toxic effects of oxygen.
DESAT:
Desaturation time. The time needed for the body to eliminate the nitrogen taken up during diving.
Gas integration:
The feature in Quad Air to include tank pressure information in its calculations and to display it on the computer screen.
Gas switching:
The act of changing from one breathing gas to another.
Max depth:
Maximum depth attained during the dive.
MOD:
Maximum Operating Depth. This is the depth at which the partial pressure of oxygen (ppO
2
) reaches the maximum allowed
level (ppO2max). Diving deeper than the MOD will expose the diver to unsafe ppO2 levels.
Multigas:
Refers to a dive in which more than one breathing gas is used (air and/or Nitrox).
Nitrox:
A breathing mix made of oxygen and nitrogen, with the oxygen concentration being 22% or higher.
NO FLY:
Minimum amount of time the diver should wait before taking a plane.
No deco time:
This is the time that you can stay at the current depth and still make a direct ascent to the surface without having to perform
mandatory decompression stops.
O
2
:
Oxygen.
O
2
%:
Oxygen concentration used by the computer in all calculations.
P Factor:
Personalization factors, which allow the user to select between the standard decompression algorithm (P0) and an
increasingly more conservative one (P1, P2).
Pairing:
The act of establishing a coded RF communication between Quad Air and a tank module.
ppO
2
:
Partial pressure of oxygen. This is the pressure of the oxygen in the breathing mix. It is a function of depth and oxygen
concentration. A ppO2 higher than 1.6bar is considered dangerous.
ppO
2
max:
The maximum allowed value for ppO2. Together with the oxygen concentration it defines the MOD.
Switch depth:
The depth at which the diver plans to switch to a higher oxygen concentration mix while using the multigas option.
S.I.:
Surface interval.
TTR:
Time To Reserve, it is the time that a diver can spend at the current depth and current breathing rate before reaching the
tank reserve.
• IMPORTANT WARNINGS
No part of this document may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form without the written permission of Mares S.p.A.
Mares adopts a policy of continuing improvement,
and therefore reserves the right to make changes
and enhancements to any of the products
described in this manual without notice.
Under no circumstances shall Mares be held
responsible for any loss or damage sustained
by third parties deriving from the use of this
instrument.
WARNING
A dive computer is an electronic
instrument and as such it is not immune
to failure. To protect yourself against the
unlikely event of a failure, in addition to the
dive computer, also use a depth gauge, a
submersible pressure gauge, a timer or
watch, and dive tables.
WARNING
Do not dive if the display appears unusual
or unclear.
WARNING
The dive computer must not be used in
conditions that preclude its use (e.g.: low
or no visibility, making it impossible to
read the gauge).
WARNING
The dive computer cannot ensure against
possible decompression sickness.
DISCLAIMER
This manual describes how to operate an
instrument and it describes the information
provided by the instrument during a dive.
Neither this manual nor the instrument are a
substitute for dive training, common sense and
good diving practices.
How the information provided by the
instrument is interpreted and put to use by
the diver is not the responsibility of Mares.
Read the manual carefully and make sure you
understand completely how the instrument
works and the information it provides during
a dive, including information on depth, time,
decompression obligations and all warnings
and alarms. Unless you fully understand how
the instrument works and the information
it displays and unless you accept full
responsibility for using this instrument, do not
dive with it.
Quad Air Dive Computer
4
1.2. OPERATING MODES
The functions of the Quad Air computer
can be grouped into three categories, each
corresponding to a specific mode of operation:
• surface mode: Quad Air is dry on the
surface. You can change settings, review
your logbook, use the dive planner, see
remaining desaturation after a dive,
download to PC and much more;
• dive mode: Quad Air monitors depth, time,
tank pressure, temperature and performs
all decompression calculations; dive
mode itself can be broken down into 4 sub
categories:
- pre-dive (Quad Air is on the surface but
actively monitoring ambient pressure, so
that it can begin to calculate a dive the
instant it is submerged below 1.2m/4ft);
- dive
- surfacing (Quad Air is on the surface at
the end of a dive; dive time calculation
is halted but if the diver submerges
within three minutes the dive is resumed
including the time spent on the surface);
- post-dive (after the three minutes of
surfacing mode, Quad Air closes the
logbook and reverts to a display showing
desaturation time, no-fly time and surface
interval; this lasts until the desaturation
and the no-fly time both have been
reduced to zero).
• sleep mode: the computer is on the
surface after 1 minute without operation
(3 minutes from pre-dive mode). Though
the computer appears to be turned off
completely, it is still active. Quad Air
computes tissue desaturation and checks
the ambient pressure once every 20
seconds for uninterrupted monitoring of the
environment.
1.3. USERREPLACEABLE BATTERY
Quad Air uses a CR2450 user-replaceable
battery. See section 4.2.1 for instructions on
how to replace it. Good quality batteries should
suffice for approx 100-150 dives, depending on
the usage of the backlight and the temperature
of the water. Diving in cold water, usage of the
backlight and of the beeper increases battery
consumption.
The display alerts you of the status of the
battery. The three possible situations are
described as follows:
- battery symbol not visible: the remaining
battery charge is adequate for diving;
- steady battery symbol on the display: there
is enough charge for a few more dives, but
you should consider replacing the battery at
the next opportunity;
- blinking battery symbol on the display
(surface only): the battery is too weak for
diving. Quad Air will not function as a dive
computer and will not turn on if submerged.
The level of the battery charge can also be
found on the “INFO” page (see section 2.6).
1.4. CONNECTING QUAD AIR TO A PC
OR MAC
To connect Quad Air to a PC or Macintosh
computer, use the optional clip and the USB
cable and Dive Organizer to download your
dives to a PC or Divers’ Diary to download your
dives to a Mac. Both software programs can be
downloaded from www.mares.com.
1.5. BUTTON OPERATION
Quad Air has 4 buttons, labelled UP, DOWN,
ESC and ENTER. On the surface, ENTER allows
you to enter a menu and confirm a setting, ESC
exits a menu and goes up one level, UP and
DOWN increase/decrease the value of a setting
or move to the next item in a list.
During the dive, there is no distinction between
left side and right side buttons, so that both
upper buttons become the UP button and both
lower buttons become the DOWN button. This
is called Specular Button Arrangement and
it simplifies the use of the computer. The UP
button modifies the top row (depth information)
whereas the DOWN button modifies the lower
right corner of the display. Press and hold the
UP button to activate the backlight.
An overview of the button function both in
surface mode and during a dive is presented in
the next figures.
5
SURFACE MODE
POST-DIVE
only when desat and no fly > 0
PRE-DIVE MODE SETTINGS
SET DIVE
SET TIME
STATISTICS
ADD
SURF INTERVAL
NO DECO
DECO
PC
READY TO CONNECT
SOFTWARE /
HARDWARE
VERSION
DIVE 1
DIVE 2
AIR
EAN
BOTTOM TIMER
LOGBOOK PLANNER PC INFO
ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTERESC ESC ESC ESC
ENTER ESC
ENTER ESC
ESC ESC
DIVE MODE
press
press and hold
NITROX ONLY NITROX ONLY IF DEEP STOP ON
NITROX ONLY NITROX ONLY NITROX ONLY
SPECULAR BUTTON ARRANGEMENT
SPECULAR BUTTON ARRANGEMENT
4s TIME OUT
Quad Air Dive Computer
6
1.6. MOUNTING AND PAIRING OF
THE TANK MODULE OPTIONAL
Quad Air can communicate with up to 3 tank
modules regarding tank pressure and gas
consumption information. Each tank module
needs to be mounted on a high pressure port
of a first stage regulator.
HP
HP
HP
HP
HP
HP
In order for Quad Air to display tank pressure
and gas consumption information, you must first
establish a channel of communication between
the tank module and Quad Air. This is called
pairing. This operation needs to be performed
only once and ensures a permanent and
interference-free link between the two devices.
NOTE
To perform the pairing operation, the tank
module must be pressurized to at least
15bar/220psi. Hence it must be mounted
on a first stage regulator, which is itself
mounted on a full scuba tank and the valve
opened.
To mount the tank module on the first stage
regulator, first remove the high pressure port
plug, then screw in the tank module gently by
hand until you feel a minimum of resistance,
then use a 19mm wrench to tighten it.
NOTE
- Do not force the tank module while
holding it by the plastic cap.
- Do not overtorque while using the
wrench: the o-ring seal is assured as
soon as you feel the first resistance. The
only reason for using a wrench to tighten
a bit more is to prevent the tank module
from unscrewing itself over time.
The Mares tank module communicates via radio
frequency with Quad Air. For best transmission,
we recommend positioning the tank module as
described in the next figures.
To pair the tank module with the Quad Air,
proceed as follows:
- Open the tank valve to pressurize the tank
module. You now have two minutes to
perform all steps listed below;
- Go into SET/SET DIVE/GAS INTEGR/
PAIRING.
- The display will show G1 in the lower right
corner and the word PAIR in the middle. The
top left corner shows the letters nP (Not
Paired) or P (Paired) to indicate the current
status of that channel. Use the UP and
DOWN buttons in case you are trying to pair
channel G2 or G3.
- Place Quad Air at about 15 cm / 6 inches
from the tank module as shown in figure 9.
HP
15
cm
- Press ENTER and wait until either OK or
NOT OK appear on the display.
In the first case you have successfully
established a connection, in the second you
need to repeat the operation, but you must
turn off the valve and depressurize the
first stage completely, then wait 5 minutes
before attempting again.
NOTE
- When diving with more than one gas
mixture, tanks G1, G2 and G3 must be
set to increasing oxygen levels. Refer
to section 3.5 for more information on
multigas diving.
- A tank module can only be paired to one
channel on one Quad Air. If you pair the
same tank module to a second channel
on the same Quad Air or to a second
Quad Air, the first one will be erased.
After a successful pairing of G1 to Quad Air, the
pre-dive display will show the tank pressure
in either bar or psi upon pressing and holding
the lower left button. If tank G1 has not been
paired, Quad Air will show nP instead of a
pressure value. If G1 has been paired but Quad
Air is not receiving any signal, it will show - - instead of a pressure value.
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