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FAQ Top 10 questions Lost passwords Dive planning Quick startCCR & SCR planning SCR fiO2 adjustmentsOther Printing Quick Start
Important points
Planning considerations in VPM V-Planner offers VPM-B and VPM-B/E models for planning dives. The VPM-B is the current model in wide spread use today. VPM-B/E is an extention made for divers undertaking very deep and long dives. It generates plans that simulate an overlapped bubble model and a Haldane plan, for time times when maximun safety is required. For most divers, the B and B/E plans are the same, because B/E only begins to deviate after large gas loads (90-100 mins deco required). The VPM in V-Planner is a highly tuned deco tool and you must follow the plans closely. Any large deviations from planned ascent in depth & time during decompression, must be avoided. Significant changes will require additional deco time to compensate. You may add extra time, if required to the last deco stops without side effects. Plans with deco mixes will generate slightly faster run times for the mid level stops - even before any gas change has occurred. VPM calculates decos in an iterative process, and adjusts for additional off gassing capability later in the deco from the high O2 mixes to come. If you are forced to adopt a new plan in water from lost / broken deco gas - wait out the additional time between the two plans, at the current level, and then commence timings per the new plan. (see also question 1 in top ten) A faster deco from deep dives is usually possible when the first deco gas switch is at, or just above, the same level as the first deco stop. High helium deco mixes after trimix dives, usually do not accelerate deco. Top Configuration Depth Select either Feet or Meters. RMV's Units for calculating gas consumption's. Stop Times Set the rounding up factor for all deco stops. Water Fresh or salt water (2.6% change). Conditions - Deco Steps Stop Size deco step spacing.Conditions - Deco mix depths Max depth on 100% O2 Sets maximum depth for use of pure O2 deco.Conditions - RMV Bottom Consumption rate for descent, bottom and climb to first deco stop portions of the dive. Specify in litres/min or cubic ft/ min, at 1 ATA.fiO2 adjustments This setting cause the program to adjust the inspired mix by the values supplied. See the SCR rates topic. Extended Stops Add to stop time - this controls if the time specified is a minimum time, or will add extra to the required stop time.Accelerated Stops This procedure permits the diver to briefly violate the ascent ceiling limitation under normal decompression. It is included to satisfy the "fast helium" concept. The off gassing rate is accelerated due the increased Pss permitted in this period, by this option. It is conditional on the dive using full O2 as a final deco mix. Three different mix ranges are availableCCR Setpoints Set this to match the set point controller / ppO2 readout on your rig. Bar = 1000mb. Atm = 1013.25mb Conservatism Nominal is the base value, and is for the super fit and divers with a proven track record of fast deco. Plus 2 or 3 is the normal setting for most divers. Set to plus 3 or 4 with strenuous, cold, a series of multi day dives, extra safety, or a prior history of DCS or symptoms. This setting increases the Critical Radii of N2/He inside the VPM algorithms, from these base values, by this increase: 1 = 5%, 2 = 12%, 3 = 22%, 4 = 35%, 5 = 50%. The Critical Volume setting is on by default. VPM Model V-Planner offers VPM-B and VPM-B/E models for planning dives. The VPM-B is the current model in wide spread use today. VPM-B/E is an extention made for divers undertaking very deep and long dives. It generates plans that simulate an overlapped bubble model and a Haldane plan, for time times when maximun safety is required. For most divers, the B and B/E plans are the same, because B/E only begins to deviate after large gas loads (90-100 mins deco required). Descent Ascent rates Values must cover all dive depths, no overlaps in each range. Elevation data Elevation Dive elevation.Printer Full will print the dive plan as per the display. Short will print only the depth, stop time and run times, in a vertical display. See output files Top Travel gas Switches in mixes during the dive are controlled by inserting legs into the plan, with a time of zero(-). e.g. Switch in descent from travel to bottom mix. 25, - , 32 travel gas 32% to 25m. 95, 30, 12/60 30 mins at 95m, on 12/60 mix Multi level descent with switch 22, 5, 32 5 mins at 22m, 32% 22, - , 18/30 swap to bottom mix when leaving 22m 65, 20, 18/30 20 mins at 65m on mix Switch in ascent, on a multi level plan. 40, 30, 21 30 mins at 40m, air 21, - , 50 swap to 50% in ascent at 21m 10, 20, 50 20 mins at 10m The program reads down the list of legs, and creates plans based on the order each leg is encountered. To rearrange the order of legs - drag the selected leg up / down the list (hold down left mouse button), or right click and select Sort List. Top Deco gas switch depths All switch depths onto deco gases / mixes, are controlled by the ppO2 settings in configuration. The program will select a gas from the checked items in the deco gas list, based on the max ppO2 settings, for each of the required stops. Top Multi level The program reads down the list, and creates plans based on the order each leg is encountered. Multi level plans (or cave profiles) are entered by specifying each level (and gas change) in sequence. e.g. Multi level descent with switch 22, 5, 32 5 mins at 22m, 32% 22, - , 18/30 swap to bottom mix when leaving 22m 65, 20, 18/30 20 mins at 65m on mix Multi level ascent. 40, 30, 21 30 mins at 40m, air 10, 20, 21 20 mins at 10m, air Multi level ascent, with gas switches. 55, 25, 18/25 25 mins at 55m, 18/25 mix 21, - , 50 swap to 50% at 21m 10, 20, 50 20 mins at 10m, 50% Multi level saw tooth dive. 60, 25, 18/30 25 mins at 60m, 18/30 mix 10, 20, 21 20 mins at 10m, swap to air 30, 15, 21 back down to 30m on air 15, 25, 21 up to 15m for 25 mins on air In all cases above, any gas in the deco column is not utilized until the last dive plan leg has been processed. If a switch to another gas is required in mid water, then insert a leg with a time of zero. See travel gas. On multi level ascent plans with sufficient change between levels, V-Planner will insert decompression stops mid water prior to reaching the next level. This also triggers the program into Critical Volume off mode. The program reads down the list of legs, and creates plans based on the order each leg is encountered. To rearrange the order of legs - drag the selected leg up / down the list (hold down left mouse button), or right click and select Sort List. Top Multiple plans 
Enter multiple dive sequences using the tabs along the top. Each tab for the next dive becomes visible, only after sufficient data has been entered for the current dive.Top Air Breaks Air or other Gas breaks can be put in the plan. These changes in inspired mix, are not just inserted, but actually calculated as part of the decompression for the dive. Conditions Select the conditions that will trigger the breaks to commence. Timing The Reset will cause the timing intervals to be interrupted each time a new level is started. Leave this unchecked to keep break timings at the intervals specified. Break gas Select the gas used on breaks. Last Deco mix will break to the gas used as the previous deco mix (if present) or the bottom mix when relevant. Use Special Mix when a unique gas is used for breaks only. Top Saved plans & logs Saving a plan updates your tissue loading data. This is where V-Planner keeps track of tissue gas loadings for repetitive dives. Note that the repeat factor in VPM can be as long as two weeks. You may plan and replan a dive as often as you like, but once the Save button is pressed, the data is committed. There is no Undo function. Please ensure that the saved information is an accurate record of the dive. The Dive log lists all the saved dives to date. The items are SI: = surface interval in minutes Profile: (depth,time,mix),(...) Deco: mix,mix,... Each diver has a seperate tissue data record and log. Top Conservatism levels Feedback from divers has suggested these settings should be applied. Nominal is for navy divers and the super fit. Plus 2 or 3 is the normal setting for most divers. Set a plus 3 or 4 with strenuous, cold, a series of multi day dives, extra safety, or a prior history of DCS or symptoms. Inside the program, the conservatism setting increases the Critical Radii of N2/He in the VPM algorithms. From these base values, by this increase: 1 = 5%, 2 = 12%, 3 = 22%, 4 = 35%, 5 = 50%. The Critical Volume setting is on by default. In VPM this adjustment actually changes the dimensions of bubble nuclei for computing decompression requirements. Contrast this with some other deco programs that "fake" conservatism by simply inflating the depth or time of the dive. You may notice on some dives in VPM, setting the conservatism higher has little apparent effect. This will happen because at some point, decompression is complete no matter how much extra conservatism is added. Do not fake conservatism in VPM e.g. using Nominal and inflating the depth or time. Doing so will cause the repetitive factor time penalty to be reduced, and subsequent dives plans (all dives for two weeks) will have insufficient deco time applied. Top Guest / Diver mode The program will save data to each unique diver name entered. Each diver should save dives to their own name / record. The saved tissue gas loading data is used in all subsequent dives for repetitive calculations (two weeks). The Guest mode starts with a clean tissue status, but cannot be saved too, or used in Advanced mode. Top Warning levels & colors This will monitor the output for conditions that are selected. Any levels triggered will be highlighted with a background color in the displayed plan. Press the checker panel next to an item, to change a selections color. The following conditions are monitored: High or low ppO2, CNS and OTU levels, Rebreather base mix ppO2 vs depth, Tank volume vs consumed values, Isobaric Counter Diffusion levels. CNS percentages, OTU count, minimum and maximum ppO2 for each segment of the dive. For CCR divers, when the natural ppO2 (from depth) of base diluent ppO2 exceeds the setpoint selected. IBCD (Isobaric counter diffusion) levels. This monitors for changes in the inspired mix when switching to a new deco mix. It will flag a level when the rise in inspired partial pressure of N2/He exceeds the selected amount (default 0.5 ATA). A visual representation of this can be seen in the ppInert graphs display. Top Turn pressure and consumption rate matching You may create new formula from the array of predefined variables and calculated consumption rates provided. Use the diagrams and Identifiers to create the required formula. A complete list is displayed in the Set test values screen. Expressions: Predefined variables, integer (signed 32bit), floating point (double precision). Operators Precedence * / 1st + - 2nd Use parenthesis () to change operator precedence. Nested formula not permitted at this time. Recursion not permitted. Verify the formula for expected output, by initializing the value of test variables in Set test values. Calculated values for consumption section / segments return value consumed in tank pressure. Values for Depth return ATA absolute. Time values return in minutes. Rates are pressure consumption per minute per ATA (SAC) - in psi or bar. Any variable specified in a formula but is not used in the dive plan, will return a value of zero (0). Use the error switch to control if this should generate an error, or proceed. Buddy calculations: The program automatically reverses the Prime and Second diver positions (rates, equipment sizes) - the calculation is run as if the Second diver was the Prime diver, and the result for the Buddy is displayed in this context. i.e. the Second diver consumption rate is corrected to match any difference in supply from different diver tank sizes. Sample formula: SimpleThirds: 2/3rds of Primary diver tank pressure. Top SCR fiO2 adjustments For SCR, KISS, RB80, and CCR in SCR mode. Several planning methods offered: Volume Ratio Gas Addition method, adjustment of base inspired mix by factor or literal values. For VRGA: Enter extraction ratio Ke (RMV / uptake of O2). Enter dump ratio r% - the fresh gas addition component. Sample values can be seen in the panel below. For factor and literal: Enter values that represent sample points in the depth range of the dive. The fixed setting will keep the adjustment fixed beyond the deep value specified. Separate set of values for Descent, Bottom, and Ascent (all deco is ascent). Adjustment can be applied as a literal adjustment to the mix, or as a factor reduction to the mix. O2 content. The program will alter the inspired values across the dive. Top SCR - plans SCR dives plans can be generated with dynamically adjusted inspired mixes by using the SCR fiO2 adjustments. Otherwise, they are identical to OC plans. Top CCR - Levels, diluent, setpoint CCR planning is much like OC planning, with the addition of a Setpoint. The program calculates the inspired mix from the diluent and current depth. The program assumes instant loop changes with new levels or settings - no slides, no time delays. When setpoint exceeds natural pp of 100% O2 for given depth, the program assumes an O2 flush. When setpoint is lower than natural pp of diluent, the program assumes that the loop has been breathed down. Legs and changes are entered like so: Dive with changes in diluent and setpoint 50, 30, 10/40, 1.30 30 mins at 50m, 1.3 setpoint 20, - , 21, 1.40 change to air diluent, and 1.4 at 20m 6, - , 21, 1.60 O2 flush at 6m, 1.6 decreasing to sfc. Gas or setpoint changes in mid dive 50, 30, 12/40, 1.30 30 mins at 50m, 1.3 50, 10, 12/40, 1.20 change to 1.2 with another 10 mins 40, 10, 16/30, 1.20 10 mins on new diluent at 40m 20, - , 16/30, 1.40 switch to 1.4 in ascent at 20m, continue to sfc. Multi level ascent dive 60, 30, 12/40, 1.30 30 mins at 60m, 1.3 20, 10, 12/40, 1.20 ascend to 20m, program will insert mid stops 6, - , 21, 1.60 O2 flush at 6m, 1.6 decreasing to sfc. Bail out SCR for 5 mins, then ascend 60, 30, 12/40, 1.30 30 mins at 60m, 1.3 60, 5, 12/40, SCR 5 mins on diluent only SCR, followed by SCR ascent The Start Setpoint value is used from surface to the first level or leg encountered in the Diluent & Setpoint list. Top CCR - SCR & OC bail out Switching to OC for bail out is done by entering the gas in the OC Deco column. Once the program switches to OC mode, it stays this way for the remainder of the dive. For bail out from the bottom on diluent, enter the diluent mix into the OC Deco column. For dives that supplement deco with OC gas, enter these in the OC Deco column also. Gasses in the OC Deco column are subject to the Max ppO2 checks. Bailout or regular planning may be performed in SCR mode. Enter dive legs with the SCR option instead of a setpoint. The SCR fiO2 adjustments control the inspired mix for these legs. Top Printing Press the print button at any time to print the displayed screen. Font size can be set with the configuration settings. Top Output Files Each time a calculation is performed, that data is saved to file automatically. It overwrites the previously saved one. All data is saved into a set of folders, located in the "My Documents" location. This location depends entirely on your computer and choices and is typically: "C\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Documents\V-Planner\" Calc generates vpln-out.txt same as displayed plan vpln-sht.txt depth, time, runtime - aligned vp-short.csv depth, time, runtime - aligned in csv format Lost Deco generates vp-lost.csv depth, time, runtime - aligned in csv format Less or More generates vp-mrlss.csv depth, time, runtime - aligned in csv format Each of the csv files can be imported into Excel, and manipulated or formatted further. Files can be numbered sequentially. Right click the mouse on the main screen, and select Sequential Files. All files will be name separately from AA through to ZZ. Top Excel graphs V-Planner can link dive data directly into the Microsoft Excel program. The data link is via COM and should work with Excel version 97 and onwards. V-Planner is supplied with a graph template (located in "My Documents\V-Planner\template" folder). To start the link into Excel: Press the green Excel button in the menu bar. Excel should load and be visible next to V-Planner. Then plan and calculate a dive as normal in V-Planner. Each time a dive is computed, the data and a graph will be drawn into Excel. This also applies to Lost gas and Alternate (-/+) plans. If Excel stops responding, then an error has probably occurred. The only sure way to recover from an OLE/COM error is to restart the whole computer. If excel fails always fails to start, try the re-register procedure. In the Run box, type excel /register. Excel relies on several services to be running on the computer - DCOM, RPC. Options: Located on a context menu in the top menu bar (right click the top menu bar area).
Custom templates: You may build your own custom templates for use in this COM link. V-Planner always writes to first WorkSheet in the book (the "Data" sheet in the sample book). That sheet may have any name you choose. The graph sheets are optional. You create links between the data cells and your graph design. See the Excel help and samples for details on this. In the worksheet: Columns 1 through 8 - all drawn as general formatting and floating point numbers, except the mix column which is text. This repeats again for each dive, at a column spacing of ten columns. Columns 9 and 10, ("spare1" and "spare2") and never touched (read, write or cleared). These columns are for your own custom formula. If the Link to Graphs option is selected, then V-Planner will:
If Excel stops responding, then an error has probably occurred. The only sure way to recover from an OLE/COM error is to restart the whole computer. If excel fails always fails to start, try the re-register procedure. In the Run box, type "excel /register" Top VPM & VPM-B information Varying Permeability Model (VPM) References Information on the VPM model and how it works can be found here. http://www.decompression.org/maiken/VPM/VPM_Program_Site_Map.htm V-Planner offers VPM-B and VPM-B/E models for planning dives. The VPM-B is the current model in wide spread use today. VPM-B/E is an extention made for divers undertaking very deep and long dives. It generates plans that simulate an overlapped bubble model and a Haldane plan, for time times when maximun safety is required. For most divers, the B and B/E plans are the same, because B/E only begins to deviate after large gas loads (90-100 mins deco required). Top VPM test data VPM is experimental. There is no database of proven dives, or scientific results to look over. However many divers around the world are using this and other bubble models in their diving, and feeling better than ever before. Note that VPM is a highly tuned deco model and it requires disciplined control of depth and time during decompression. If you're getting started and unsure about VPM, try planning with conservatism of +4 and padding out the last two or three stops to look like any M-Value deco model. Over several dives work your way closer to a +3 or +2 setting, without the padding. Top Advanced settings V-Planner allows you to set the raw parameters in the VPM model and algorithms. For more information on these values, consult the numerous documents at http://www.decompression.org/maiken/VPM/VPM_Program_Site_Map.htm and http://www.decompression.org/baker/home.htm. WARNING - changes to these values will have a significant affect on the deco schedules produced. Top Palm, Pocket PC, Handheld devices Pocket PC version is available now - download. A VPM/B style application is available on the Palm. You may join the Yahoo user Group here. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palmvpm/ Top Linux, Unix, Mac Linux version is available now - download. MAC details on FreeBSD install. Report on virtual PC7. Top Top 10 questions
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