UWATEC Galileo Sol Review: Take Your Diving To The Next Level

Computer Type	Wrist
Air Integration	Wireless (Not Included)
Display	Full Dot Matrix
Backlight	Yes
Memory	100 Hours
User Changeable Battery	Yes
Nitrox Compatible	Yes to 100%
Gas Switching	Yes (3 Mixes)
PC Interface	Yes (Not Included)
Automatic Activiation	Yes
Integrated Digital Compass	Yes

The UWATEC Galileo Sol is truly a “smart” wrist mount dive computer and features state of the art technology you won’t find on many dive computer.

Despite this,  the Galileo Sol is still very easy to use. Its interactive user interface and extra-large dot matrix screen makes programming and reading important dive data very simple.

It also comes equipped with  four dive modes including Air, Nitrox with gas switching (Up to 3 mixes), Gauge, and even a Free Diving mode. It’s also water activated so there’ s no need to worry about switching the dive computer to dive mode.

Features such as optional wireless air integration that can monitor up to 4 wireless transmitters, full tilt compensating digital compass with bearing memory, and upgradeable  firmware via infrared  would be the envy of any dive computer.

However, apart from all these advanced features, what makes the Galileo Sol unique is its exclusive heart rate monitoring system which tailors your decompression calumniation by incorporating  your overall workload.

The Galileo Sol is truly a computer among computers and in this UWATEC Galileo Sol Review we are going to look at some of these advanced features, a complete video overview, and  what other divers who’ve used the dive computer are saying.

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By the way, you can get the Galileo Sol for the best price online here

UWATEC Galileo Sol Review Video

Following is a video overview of the Galileo Sol done by SimplyScuba.com. In the video, you can take a closer look at some of its features, menu system, and digital compass.

 

Simple To Navigate Interactive User Interface

The Uwatec Galileo Sol is controlled by 3 easy to press stainless steel buttons, which makes programming the dive computer quite simple and very user-friendly – similarly to those of smart phones.

This is because the buttons are multi-functional with each function clearly displayed on the screen under each button. The screen can also be rotated 180° so you can choose whether you like the buttons on the top or underneath the screen.

The dive computer is also operated in 3 basic modes, these are  Surface, Dive, and Sleep Mode.

• Surface Mode – when the computer is on the surface, this mode allows you to change the settings, plan dives, see remaining desaturation, connect to your PC, view your logbook, etc.
• Dive Mode – In this mode Galileo Sol will monitor your depth, time, temperature and perform all decompression calculation.  The dive mode is also water activated at 0.8m/3ft, so if you forget to manually activate the dive computer you can rest assured that all aspect of your dive is calculated once you enter the water.
• Sleep Mode – The computer will enter sleep mode if it’s on the surface for 3 minutes without operation. While it might seem to be turned off it still monitors your environment by checking  the ambient pressure every 60 seconds.

While accessing the basic functions on the dive computer are straight forward, you will need to read the user manual to use all its features.

Wide Easy-To-Read Display

The Galileo Sol has an extra-large full dot matrix display, that allows you to see what you want, when you want, giving you more time to enjoy your dive instead of looking at your computer.

It  also comes with three per-configured display modes, allowing you to display only the dive information you want to see

These are:

• Light – In the mode the dive computer will only show dive time, depth, tank pressure and no-stop information. Because there is little information to display on the screen, the digits are over-sized, making them easier to read if your visually challenged.
• Full – In this mode you can maximize all the information you want to see at once.  It will display your deco information, dive time, depth, tank pressure, remaining bottom time, time of the day, stopwatch, temperature, maximum depth, Average depth, heart rate, average depth, and micro-bubble saturation. At first, the screen may look a little congested, but after a while it becomes easier to digest.
• Classic – This display configuration strikes a balance between the Light and Full configurations. You will find it to be complete while still being clear and clean. Deco Information, dive time, depth, tank pressure, temperature, and remaining bottom time is always displayed on the screen.

The computer is also equipped with a bright backlight, which makes the display quite easy read at night or low light conditions.

4 Dive Modes Including Gauge and Free Diving

The UWATEC Galileo Sol also gives you the ability to dive in 4 different modes,  These are Air, Nitrox, Gauge and Apnea mode (Free Dive Mode).  Below is a brief description of all the modes:

• Air – This mode is used when diving with standard air, and is the same as diving with an oxygen mixture of 21%.
• Nitrox – This mode is used when diving with enriched oxygen mixes with an oxygen level great than 21%(standard air) up to 100%. It also has the ability to easily switch between 3 different gas mixes while on the dive.
• Gauge – In this mode the dive computer only monitor your depth, time, tank pressure, heart rate and temperature, but will not make any decompression calculations.
• Apnea – This mode allows you to track your depth and time when doing breath holding dives. It also has the ability to check your heart rate and alert you when it drops below a certain level. With a fast sampling rate of  4 times per second,  you can be sure the Galileo Sol will always record your deepest depth. However accessing this dive mode requires you to  update the firmware to version 1.6.

Algorithm And Heart Rate Monitor

The Galileo Sol Algorithm uses Profile Dependent Intermediate Stops. Basically what is does is calculate intermediate stops based upon the amount of nitrogen your body has absorbed during the dive. Also taking into account your previous dives and gas mixtures for longer, safer bottom time, giving you more confident while diving.

No two divers are the same, and it’s no secret that  each dive taxes our bodies slightly differently. Up until now, dive computer were “one size fit all” and are not specifically tailored for the individual diver.

However, the Galileo Sol  is the only dive computer that tracks your heartbeat (heart rate monitor optional) on the dive to measure the intensity of the exercise and incorporate it into the decompression calculation. This increases your underwater efficiency and adds an extra layer of  safety to each dive.

It is also adjustable for diving at altitude as high as 13300ft or 4000m. However, there is no need to set this manually as it will deal with altitude adjustments  automatically. It does this by monitoring the atmospheric pressure every 60 seconds.

Wireless Air Integration For Easy Pressure Monitoring

The Galileo Sol also comes equipped with optional wireless air integration, and will provide you with current cylinder pressure and your true remaining bottom time. This allows you to put all your dive data in one place on your wrist.

What makes Galileo Sol stand out from other dive computers is the fact that it will also factor in your air consumption into the decompression calculations, giving you a more accurate representation of your deco status.

It also has the ability to simultaneously monitor up to four wireless transmitters. Three of which can be assign to monitor three different gas mixes for easy gas switching on the dive, and one designated to receive tank pressure  information from your dive buddy’s  compatible wireless transmitter.

Built-In Digital Compass and Navigation

The Galileo Sol also offers an integrated digital compass that  Scubapro claims is virtually unaffected by tilt and can be used at almost any incline. You can now navigate the depths of the sea confidently knowing your heading is accurate and true.

The compass is a graphical representation of a compass rose, and can be called up at any moment during your dive as well as on the surface.

While diving the compass will replaces your main dive computer screen, and will use more battery than normal, you can set the compass to time-out between 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 second to help conserve energy.

You can also set  compass bearings. After doing so, the Galileo will automatically mark the posts at 90, 120, and 180 degrees to help with navigation.

User Replaceable Batteries For Easy Maintenance 

The Galileo Sol is powered by a user power by a 3 volt CR12600SE Lithium user replaceable battery.

This greatly reduces maintenance cost because you don’t need to send it to an authorized service technician to have the battery changed.

The battery should last anywhere between three to five years or 300 to 500 dives before needing to be replaced.

Replacing the battery is pretty straightforward, but requires special attention. If you install the battery improperly you can risk damaging the entire dive computer.

Log Book and PC Interface

The Galileo Sol has a very extensive log book with charts to show a graphical representation of your dives.

It can also store up to 100hrs of your most recent dives. But if this is not enough, you can also upload all your dive dada to your PC using the optional SmartTRACK Infrared device. There you can access charts and graphs to accurately review and evaluate all of your dives and help improve your diving technique.

The SmartTRACK infrared device also allows you to download optional software to the dive computer as well as update the firmware. A feature many dive computer don’t have, which makes them become outdated very quickly.

It also allows you to change settings on the dive computer right from your PC, as well as uploading dive map pictures to aid in navigation.

What Are Other Diver’s Saying?

The overall feedback from people who dove with the Galileo Sol is very good. At the time of writing this review it had a rating of 4.6 out of 5 on Leisurepro.com.

Most divers who use the dive computer feel that it is very well-built and offers everything they could ever expect from a high-end dive computer.

Some of the feature most talked about is the ability they had to customize the display to give added personal information, the ability to upgrade the software, how easy the digital compass was to read and operate, and the fact that the battery was extremely easy to change.

While there are a lot of great things  being said about the dive computer, some users feel that it is a little bit too complicated for their use. Also, while they do appreciate the many built-in alarms,  they suggest adjusting a few of the audio alarms, because you could have alarms going off every two minutes. But, overall the UWATEC Galileo Sol dive computer is  a winner among most divers.

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What’s The Bottom Line?

The bottom line is, the Galileo Sol might be overwhelming and a little complicated if you’re planning on purchasing it as your first dive computer.

While accessing the basic functions of the dive computer are pretty straightforward, you need to read the manual and take your time to familiarize yourself with the computer to access all the information and features you need.

Your Thoughts

Have you used or own the Uwatec Galileo Sol? We would love to hear what your think.You can share your experience with the dive computer by leaving a reply below.

 

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