14
Your IQ-600 monitors and adjusts for changes in altitude
in all modes except Dive and Date/Time Set Mode. It will
display its current altitude settings in all modes except
Log, Date/Time Set, Upload and Profile Modes (in Log
Mode it displays the altitude settings applicable to a
particular dive).
Upon arriving at altitude, your IQ-600’s Residual Nitrogen
Bar Graph may show that there is excess nitrogen present,
even though you may not have made any dives in the
preceding 24 hours. It may also display a surface interval
value, which later re-sets itself.
If you have obtained the Altitude Specialty Diver training
which everyone should have before diving at altitudes
substantially above sea level, you already understand that
this should be expected. By ascending to a higher altitude
from a lower one, your body will have more nitrogen
saturated in body tissues than would be present had you
spent the preceding 24 hours at the higher altitude. By
displaying residual nitrogen and a surface interval, your
IQ-600 is merely reflecting this fact.
If less than 24 hours has passed since a previous dives, your
IQ-600 will display additional information while in Surface
Mode. This information will or may include:
4. Desaturation Time
—If your IQ-600 calculates that there is
residual nitrogen present from previous dives, it will display a
value for Desaturation Time (DESAT.). This represents the
amount of time, expressed in HOURS: MINUTES, that the
IQ-600 calculates must pass before residual nitrogen levels
drop to the point where subsequent dives may be treated as
single (non-repetitive) dives, thus allowing the maximum
possible bottom time.
