Dive Rite Bridge II

Diving is full of new innovations designed to make our sport safer and easier. For several years dive computers have allowed us to take full advantage of our time underwater. More recently Nitrox has entered the realm of sport diving allowing for longer bottom times. For those who dive Nitrox using an air computer this increased bottom time potential can be used as an additional safety margin. But to take full advantage of the benefits of Nitrox it is necessary to plan Nitrox dives using either sets of tables or an enriched air computer such as the Bridge II. The Bridge II, manufactured by Dive Rite is a wrist-mount computer designed to perform all the dive and decompression functions for use with different blends of Nitrox. I have used this computer several times while diving on air but the Bridge II is user adjustable in 1% increments from 21% (air) up to a 50% EANx mixture. The screen of the Bridge II is laid out in three framed sections, each of which displays a variety of information depending on which of the five basic modes the computer is in, and the Bridge II uses over ten different displays. This may sound cponfusing but the information is well presented. The variety of modes is accessed by manipulating the three metal contacts along the bottom of the screen in different combinations for various lengths of time. Two other contacts along the side of the screen are used when downloading information to a PC using the optional interface. In addition to providing you with all necessary dive and decompression information, the Bridge II also tracks your exposure to oxygen which is displayed on the Oxygen Limit Indicator (OLI) bar graph. The extended range of the Bridge II, will track a divers progress down to 100 metres and for bottom times up to 599 minutes. During a dive, a series of audible alarms alert you to changes in status or any infractions. Before any use of the Bridge II with an EANx mixture other than air, the mixture must be entered into the computer, otherwise the computer will default to the theoretically impossible mixture of 50%O2/79%N, causing alarms to sound and displays to flash long before the user can get into any trouble. Depending on the use of the Bridge II, batteries are good for up to two years and are factory replaceable. Metric and Imperial versions of the Bridge II are available. Diver Magazine would like to thank Aqua Sapiens Diving Ltd. for their assistance in preparing this article.