3 NiTek Owners Manual Also covers NiTek1 NiTek® is a registered trademark of Lamartek, Inc., dba Dive rite Read this manual, in its entirety, before using your NiTek. Failure to follow the instructions it gives, or to heed the warnings it provides, can lead to serious personal injury or death. 117 West Washington Street • Lake City, FL 32055 • USA Phone (386) 752-1087 • Fax (386) 755-0613 www.diverite.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 2 NiTek1/NiTek3 Limited Warranty ➤ Dive Rite will—at its sole discretion—repair or replace NiTek system components proved to be damaged by faulty manufacture or material, at no cost, for a period of up to one year (365 days) from the date of purchase. ➤ This warranty applies only to the original retail purchaser. It does not cover commercial or rental use, nor does it extend to units purchased from other than an authorized Dive Rite dealer.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 3 Table of Contents Introduction....................................................................................................4 Key Features.............................................................................................................................. 4 Common Sense Warnings......................................................................................................... 6 Using the NiTek .......................................................
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 4 Introduction This information has been developed for your safety. Please read and understand this manual completely before using your NiTek dive computer. This manual contains important safety and maintenance information. Read this manual thoroughly and become familiar with all of your scuba equipment before diving.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 5 ➤Your NiTek activates automatically upon descent. It need not be manually activated beforehand. ➤ On the surface, the computer constantly displays a minimum of date and time. ➤ The NiTek uses large, easily accessible and highly reliable push buttons instead of exposed electrical contacts (works even with gloved hands!). ➤ Both NiTek models are programmable for mixtures ranging from air (EAN21) to EAN99 (i.e., pure O2).
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 6 sampled in user-programmable intervals of 5, 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds (longer intervals allow data for a greater number of dives). ➤ Depending on use, the NiTek’s battery can last up to five years or more before needing replacement. Battery replacement may be done by an authorized Dive Rite dealer, or by the consumer, following the instructions appearing in this manual.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 7 no diver should lend his or her NiTek to anyone else until it calculates that no measurable residual nitrogen remains after previous dives, and no longer displays the “Desaturation Time” indicator while in Surface Mode.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 8 ➤What audible or visible warnings may be sounded or displayed in each mode or screen, and how to respond to them. Accessing Display Modes and Screens There are some display modes that the NiTek enters and/or exits automatically. For example, by taking the NiTek under water, you automatically activate its Dive Mode. Upon surfacing, your NiTek will automatically enter its Surface Mode.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 9 We refer to such instances as being in a particular display screen, rather than a display mode. Surface Mode Surface Mode is the NiTek’s default mode. In this mode, the NiTek’s Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays a minimum of date, time of day and Altitude Rank. Within 24 hours of surfacing from a dive, the NiTek may display additional information while in Surface Mode. Figure 3: Surface Mode.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 10 2. Time of Day—The NiTek uses the 24-hour clock format, common in aviation and military service, to signify time of day. Thus, a displayed time of 13:04 would represent 1:04 PM. Whenever the NiTek displays time of day, the colon separating hours and minutes will blink. 3. Altitude Rank—Among the NiTek’s many features is the fact it adjusts automati- cally for diving at altitudes of up to 19,680 ft/6,000 m.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 11 Your NiTek monitors and adjusts for changes in altitude in all modes and screens except Dive Mode and the Date/Time/Unit and Sample Rate Set screens. It will display its current altitude settings in all modes and screens except Log, Upload and Profile Modes, and the Date/Time/ Unit Set screen (in Log Mode it displays the altitude settings applicable to a particular dive).
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 12 7. Oxygen Limit Index (OLI)—This is a column of up to eight circular pixels representing the cumulative effect of your exposure to elevated partial pressures of oxygen (PO2s). Eight pixels is roughly equivalent to having used up 100 percent of the theoretical “CNS Clock” you learned about during your initial Nitrox Diver training. The number of pixels displayed will tend to increase during dives and decrease during surface intervals.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 13 Another Mode—Take the steps outlined shortly to enter Dive Plan, Log, Profile or Transfer (Upload) Modes, or the Date/Time/Unit and Sample Rate Set screens. ➤ Enter Diving—You can also simply take your NiTek under water, thus activating Dive Mode. ➤ Go Sample Rate Set Screen Your NiTek allows you to choose how frequently it samples depth data and store this information in its Random Access Memory (RAM).
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 14 Figure 4: Sample Rate Set Screen. Items displayed include: 1. Depth Calibration—F for fresh water; S for salt. 2. Profile Time Value—5, 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds. 3. “Change” Indicator—Appears in lieu of the Mode Indicator. ➤ To change Profile Time increments, simply press the B button. If you accidentally go past the time value you were shooting for, simply continue; you will cycle back through to the time value desired.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 15 To exit this screen: You may exit the Sample Rate Set screen in a variety of ways: to Surface Mode—To do so, simply complete the process of scrolling through and, if necessary, changing all the various Profile Time increments and Depth Calibration settings. Then, by pressing button A one more time, you will return to Surface Mode automatically. ➤ Return ➤ Access the Date/Time/Unit Set Screen—We describe the method for doing so next.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 16 Figure 5: Date/Time/Unit Set Screen. ➤ To change the digits representing minutes, simply press the B button. Each time you do so, the number shown will advance by one. If you press and hold the B button, the numbers displayed will advance rapidly. If you accidentally go past the number you were shooting for, simply continue; you will cycle back through to the number desired.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 17 Nothing—If you take no further action while the Date/Time/Unit Set screen appears, the NiTek will return automatically to Surface Mode within five to six minutes. ➤ Do FO2 Set Screen Prior to every dive, it is important to ensure that the computer’s current FO2 settings match the oxygen concentration in your breathing media.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 18 FO2 values. Use a value of 99 percent for pure oxygen. If you scroll past 99 percent, the FO2 value displayed will change to 21, and the cycle will repeat. On the NiTek3, press button A if needed to select mix 2 or 3. For each mix, button B will function the same as it does on the NiTek1.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 19 Figure 7: Dive Plan Mode. What you will see: As shown in Figure 7, what you will see when you first enter Dive Plan Mode will depend on its current FO2 setting. It will also vary somewhat depending on whether you are using a NiTek1 or NiTek3. Here is what you will see upon entering Dive Plan Mode, if using a NiTek1: 1. Depth—When you first enter Dive Plan Mode, the initial depth displayed will be 30 feet or 9.1 metres.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 20 PO2 of 1.6 atmospheres, a series of horizontal bars will appear in place of the No-Decompression Limit. Do not plan dives to depths deeper than those for which the NiTek is capable of displaying an available No-Decompression Limit. Doing so could cause you to exceed the No-Decompression Limits or a limiting PO2 of 1.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 21 ➤ Push button A. The mix 1, 2 or 3 indicator and FO2 will begin to flash on and off. (Which indicator flashes depends on which of the three available mixes is currently set to be the starting gas mixture.) ➤ Push button A once, twice or three times to select mix 1, 2 or 3. ➤ Push button B. The computer will begin to scroll through the available depth and NDL combinations for the gas mixture you selected in largely the same manner as it does on the NiTek1.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 22 ➤ NiTek1s will emit a three-beep audible signal as soon water immerses all of its exposed electrical contacts. For approximately the next three seconds, its display will continue to show all the information it did while in Surface Mode, plus the current FO2 setting. The screen will then change to the regular Dive Mode display, described in Figure 8. ➤ NiTek3s will emit the same three-beep audible signal as NiTek1s do.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 23 2. Dive Time (DIVE T.)—Time spent (in minutes) under water, measured from the time at which the NiTek first descended below a depth of 5 ft/1.5m. Note that the abbreviation MIN. blinks on and off. 3. Altitude Rank—The Altitude Rank setting in effect at the beginning of the dive. 4. Current PO2—Based on the current FO2 setting. 5. FO2 Setting—On the NiTek3, the current Gas Mixture (mix 1, 2 or 3) will also appear. 6.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 24 Depth Range Ascent Rate 0 ft/0m to 19 ft/5.9m 20 ft/6.0m to 58 ft/17.9m 59 ft/18.0m or deeper 26 ft/8m per Minute 39 ft/12m per Minute 52 ft/16m per Minute Figure 9: Ascent Rate Warning. If you exceed these ascent rates, the NiTek’s audible alarm will sound, and the computer will display its Ascent Rate Warning, as shown in Figure 9. This consists of current depth indicator blinking on and off.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 25 Be aware that, should the PO2 Warning activate at a depth of 20 ft/6m or less, you most likely have not exceeded a limiting PO2 of 1.6 atmospheres. What is more likely is that you forgot to set the NiTek’s FO2 prior to the dive. As a result, the computer has defaulted to an assumed FO2 of 99 percent oxygen. Such a high FO2 will, of course, set off the PO2 Warning prematurely.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 26 To activate the Out-of-Range Warning, you would have to do one or more of the following: • Descend below 328 ft/100m. • Exceed an Actual Bottom Time (ABT) of 599 minutes. • Accrue a decompression obligation requiring stops deeper than 90 ft/27m. An NiTek displaying an “Out of Range” Warning is incapable of displaying other critical information such as depth, time, Ascent Rate, PO2, OLI and Deco Stop Violations, and required decompression stops.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 27 Figure 10: Dive Mode (Decompression). As soon as your NiTek exceeds a No-Decompression Limit (NDL), several things happen. The computer’s audible alarm sounds for three seconds. Additionally, as shown in Figure 10, new information appears on the computer’s display. 1. The Nitrogen Exposure bar graph will display all nine pixels, and will continue to do so as long as the computer determines that mandatory decompression stops are necessary. 2.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 28 5. …a Total Ascent Time. This indicates the total of the time you must spend (in minutes) at the current stop, time required at shallower stop depths (if any), plus ascent time required between stops. Be aware that it is possible to make stops at depths deeper than those indicated; however, you may find doing so increases the time you must spend at each stop. For example, let’s say that the indicated stop is five minutes at 10 ft/3m.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 29 If you cannot correct an indicated Deco Stop Violation, the warnings will continue for five minutes after surfacing. At this point, the computer will not be usable for the next 24 hours. To exit this mode: Assuming you have no Decompression Stop or Out-of-Range violations, your NiTek will exit Dive Mode and return to Surface Mode automatically upon ascent.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 30 information, and can upload profile data to a personal computer at the end of the dive. Additionally, being in Gauge Mode extends the computer’s operating range to a depth of 656 ft/200 m. To enter this mode: First, access the FO2 Set screen. Then, for mix 1, set FO2 to a value of 0 percent. Next, press button A. (Note that you cannot enter Gauge Mode until the NiTek calculates that there is no significant residual nitrogen left in your body from previous dives; i.e.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 31 As shown in Figure 13, a NiTek3 in Gauge Mode will show the following data while under water. 1. Current Depth—As in normal Dive Mode. 2. Dive Time—Also as in normal Dive Mode. 3. Mode Indicator(s)—The will point simultaneously to DIVE and GAGE. To exit this mode: If you have not actually take your NiTek3 diving while in Gauge Mode, pressing button B will return it to FO2 Set Mode.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 32 In your entry-level Enriched Air Nitrox Diver training, you learned that among the greatest risks Nitrox (EANx) use poses is that of CNS Oxygen Toxicity. One way CNS Oxygen Toxicity can occur is when divers breathe Nitrox at depths where the partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) exceeds safe limits. The NiTek is designed to help divers avoid such situations by presenting information and warnings regarding current PO2 levels and cumulative exposure to elevated PO2s.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 33 actually go diving. In instances such as these, the NiTek will hold its FO2 setting until midnight, then default. This helps protect you in the event you dive the next day with a cylinder whose oxygen content does not match that of the cylinder you intended to use the day before. Later-model NiTek3s differ from earilier models in the following ways: later-model NiTek3s will default at midnight, they do not default ten minutes after surfacing from a dive.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 34 that precludes making an immediate ascent?) In such situations, common sense must prevail. ➤ From the understanding gained during your entry-level Nitrox Diver training, you should know that, unless you have somehow managed, during the preceding 24 hours, to exceed a limiting PO2 of 1.4 atmospheres, or accrue a total of more than 300 minutes of Actual Bottom Time (ABT), you are actually well within your overall oxygen limits.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 35 A Special Note to NiTek3 Users—Earlier, we recommended that NiTek3 users make sure that all three of their computer’s gas mixes are set to a value other than FO2 default. Doing so will help ensure that they do not accidentally find themselves in FO2 default under water. However, should this occur, NiTek3 users may be able to solve the problem by switching to the correct gas mixture without surfacing.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 36 2. Dive Number—This indicates whether, on the date in question, the log data displayed is for dive number 1, 2, 3, etc. 3. Actual Bottom Time—This includes any safety stop or mandatory decompres- sion stop time. 4. Altitude Rank—The rank in effect at the beginning of the dive. 5. Gas Mixtures Used—On the NiTek3, mix 1, mix 2 and/or mix 3 will appear, depending on which of the three available gas mixtures that were actually used during the dive.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual ➤ Ascent Page 37 Rate Warning—The “down” arrow located near the Maximum Depth indicator flashes. ➤ Decompression Stop Violation—The deco indicator flashes. ➤ PO2 Warning—The ➤ Oxygen Maximum Depth indicator flashes. Limit Index (OLI) Warning—The OLI bar graph flashes. ➤ Out-of-Range Warning—The entire display flashes (this also occurs if a Deco Stop Violation was ignored. To exit this mode: You can exit Log Mode in a variety of ways, including.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 38 3. FO2 Setting—The FO2 in effect at this point in the dive. 4. Depth—At this point in the dive. 5. Time—How far into the dive you were when the other data being displayed applies. 6. Mode Indicator—This points to PROF. To exit this mode: You can exit Profile Mode in a variety of ways, including. ➤ Go Diving—The NiTek will automatically enter Dive Mode. ➤ Return to Surface Mode—You can do so by simply pressing button A.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 39 Figure 18: Transfer (Upload) Mode. What you will see: Upon entering Transfer Mode, the only thing you will see is the Mode Indicator pointing to the words log and prof. At this point, attach the personal computer interface to your NiTek and upload data to your PC, following the instructions supplied with the software and interface. To exit this mode: You can exit Transfer Mode by completing the data transfer, doing nothing for ten minutes or simply pressing button B.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 40 ➤When in hot and/or humid environments, dip the computer in water for several minutes to cool it to room temperature before using it. Similarly, allow the computer to completely warm to room temperature if it is cold and, again, do not take it under water immediately after doing so. Failure to follow these instructions may result in damage to the NiTek. ➤ Do not transport your NiTek on an aircraft or take it to altitude while it is sealed in an air-tight container.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 41 ➤ Do not rely solely on this—or any other—dive computer. Take a back-up dive computer or tables (along with a separate means of monitoring depth and dive time). ➤ Be aware that the NiTek makes assumptions regarding residual nitrogen based on altitude settings. Avoid making abrupt changes in altitude following a dive, as doing so may be very dangerous.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 42 ➤ Denatured alcohol (use in conjunction with cotton swabs to remove unwanted deposits of dirt and grease ➤A pencil with an erase tip in good condition ➤A small Phillips head screwdriver. You should also have at your disposal a suitable working area. This area should be clean and well lit, and as far away as possible from excessive moisture and windblown sand, dirt, rain or salt spray. A dive boat is not a good place change your NiTek’s battery.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 43 11. Use a cotton swab to remove any dirt or grease from the area on the battery compartment door where the O-ring normally rests. Put the O-ring back in place. 12. Replace the battery compartment door. Much as you would if tightening lug nut, apply pressure evenly to all four bolts, in succession. 13. Once the battery compartment door is back in place, confirm that the NiTek’s memory has, in fact, been reset, turn the computer over.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 44 Product Specifications Algorithms Nitrogen Uptake/Release Oxygen Exposure Modified Buhlman Hamilton/Bohrer ➤ The modified Buhlman 16 algorithm the NiTek uses to monitor nitrogen uptake/ release uses nine theoretical tissue compartments. Accuracy Time Depth Temperature ±30 seconds/month ±3% plus 2 ft/50cm ±4°F/2°C Operational Ranges Depth (other than Gauge Mode) Depth (in Gauge Mode) Altitude Temperature ➤ Depth 0–328 ft/99.9m 0–656 ft/199.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 45 Dimensions Unit Dimensions (see Figure 19) Figure 19: Dimensions. Audible Alarm Alarm Pattern Figure 20: Alarm Pattern.
NiTek1/NiTek3 Owner’s Manual Page 46 Seriel Number______________________________________________ Notes:____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
