Suunto D5 User Guide

Dive modes

By default, Suunto D5 has three dive modes: Air/Nitrox, Free and Gauge (bottom timer). Select the appropriate mode for your dive under Dive settings » Mode. If you select Off mode, you can use your Suunto D5 as a regular watch. In this case, all dive functionalities are switched off.

Air/Nitrox mode

By default, Air/Nitrox mode is for diving with regular air and diving with oxygen enriched gas mixtures.

Diving with nitrox gas mixture allows you to increase bottom times or reduce the risk of decompression illness. Suunto D5 provides you with information to adjust your dive and stay within safe limits.

When diving with a nitrox gas mixture, both the percentage of oxygen in your tank and the oxygen partial pressure limit must be entered into Suunto D5. This ensures correct nitrogen and oxygen calculations and the correct maximum operating depth (MOD), which is based on your entered values. The default oxygen percentage (O₂%) setting is 21% (air) and oxygen partial pressure (pO₂) setting is 1.6 bar (23 psi).

Air/Nitrox mode has four views:

• No deco - The arch shows the no decompression time.

  

• Compass

  

• Tank pressure - For more information on what is shown on the display, see Tank pressure.

  

• Timer (visible after customizing with Suunto app)

  

Gauge mode

Use Suunto D5 as a bottom timer with Gauge mode.

The timer in the center of the display shows dive time in minutes and seconds and activates at the start of the dive.

Gauge mode is a bottom timer only. It does not use any decompression algorithm, thus it does not include decompression information or calculations.

Gauge mode has three views:

• Timer

  

• Compass

  

• Tank pressure - For more information on what is shown on the display, see Tank pressure.

  

Freedive mode

With Free mode, Suunto D5 can be used as a freediving instrument.

Go to Main menu » Dive settings » Mode to activate Free mode. Suunto D5 will restart to change mode. When you activate Free mode, the display shows you data in white color. Depth is indicated in the unit you set (see How to set language and unit), dive time in minutes and seconds in the center of the display. Temperature information is at the bottom of the display. With the lower button you can change the window at the bottom of the display.

The freedive starts at 1.2 m (4 ft) with water contact or 3.0 m (10 ft) without water contact and ends when your depth is less than 0.9 m (3 ft) with water contact or 3.0 m (10 ft) without water contact. For more information on the water contact sensor, see Water contacts.

Freedive mode has three views by default:

• Time
• Depth
• Compass

A fourth view is available after customization in the Suunto app:

• Timer

You can change the views with short pressing the middle button.

Time

Before dives:

During dives:

Depth

It is the default view. The white arrow on the left side of the arch moves according to the depth. The yellow arch shows the depth between the max depth (defined by Depth notify 5) and the next deepest active depth notification.

Before dives:

During dives:

Compass

Before dives:

During dives:

Timer

This view is available only after customization in Suunto app.

Before dives:

During dives:

On the surface after freediving

When you are on the surface after freediving, the data on the display turns green. You can see your last depth, the time of your last dive, and the number of dives you have done (white number with a hashtag).

Surface notify

In Timer view the surface interval time is being counted in minutes and seconds at the bottom of the display in a green field until the value you set in Main menu » Dive settings » NOTIFICATIONS » Surface notify.

If Surface notify is off, the surface interval counter runs for 4 hours, after that, or after the previously set surface interval time has passed, the counter disappears from the display. Your Suunto D5 will show the following data:

Under the surface time icon , the time spent on the surface is shown in hours and minutes in white color.

For setting depth notifications, see How to set depth notifications (freedive only).

Surface timer

While freediving, you can use the surface timer to help you prepare yourself for your next dive. Suunto D5 starts the counter as soon as you reach 0.9 m (3 ft).