RAID Nitrox Course

Nitrox

Do you want to extend your in-water dive time? Do you want to gain a better understanding of decompression and use a gas that will allow you to do that?

The answers to these two simple questions are the reason why nitrox is the most popular diver specialty in the industry. Nitrox has proved to be so popular within the diving community that many dive centers offer only nitrox as their breathing gas.

Nitrox use has many benefits for sport divers. But most divers use nitrox because it helps better manage the risk of decompression sickness. In the Nitrox course, you will learn the pros and cons of using nitrox as a breathing gas for sport diving.

You will learn new skills and extend your diving knowledge, including information such as why nitrox is often a better choice than air. Most importantly, this course will teach you how to plan nitrox dives, what you have to do to stay safe when you use nitrox, and how to analyze and label dive cylinders so that there is never a mix-up.

The Nitrox course may be completed using RAID's REMOTe-Training curriculum option. This is significant because it means you can earn the Nitrox certification by attending virtual classroom sessions on your computer. You will complete the online course academics; your RAID Instructor will take time to review your results and then demonstrate how to use a nitrox analyzer safely.

If you do not have access to your own analyzer, you can download the Nitrox Virtual Analyzer app, powered by RAID, from your favorite app store.

PROGRAM CONTENT

During the Nitrox program, you will complete the online academics and learn the following:

• How to use nitrox mixes from 22%-40% oxygen
• How to plan dives to a planned maximum PO2 of 1.4 bar and a contingency PO2 of 1.6 bar
• What the causes and effects of oxygen toxicity are and how to avoid them
• How to safely analyze the oxygen content in a nitrox mix and know the depths at which you can use it
• How to label your nitrox cylinder appropriately
• How to fill in a nitrox log
• What the benefits of enriched oxygen are for sport divers

Note: Two open water dives may be offered by your instructor for this program, but these dives are not mandatory.

PREREQUISITES

• You must be a certified RAID Open Water 20 diver or equivalent.
• You must be a minimum of 12 years old.

COURSE SIGN-UP

Sign up today and get ready to enjoy all the benefits of nitrox.

The RAID online system allows you to study at home, on your own time, through a time-honored interactive system. You will always have complete access to the Nitrox course manuals as a reference, and when we update the manual, you will see those changes immediately.

Contact your local RAID Dive Center to achieve your certification.

NITROX DIVER STANDARDS (ISO-11107:2009)

I. Purpose

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to safely use Enriched Air Nitrox to a maximum of 40% oxygen, to the maximum depth of their highest certification.

This course is designed to safely train certified divers to:

• Use nitrox breathing gas with an oxygen percentage ranging from 22 percent to 40 percent.
• Plan dives within modified No Decompression units using a programable personal nitrox dive computer or by using dive planning software.
• Describe the hazards of handling high-oxygen gas mixtures, and the basic requirement for cleaning scuba gear for high-oxygen environments (i.e. mixes up to 40% oxygen)
• Calculate the Maximum Operating Depth of an analyzed nitrox breathing gas at a target depth between 6 meters/20 feet and 40 meters/130 feet and a partial pressure of oxygen between 1.0 and 1.6 bar.
• Understand the relationship between an oxygen partial pressure and NOAA time limits to determine oxygen CNS loading.
• List the signs and symptoms of Central Nervous System oxygen toxicity
• Understand how to calibrate a simple oxygen analyzer and use it to measure O2 percentage in a cylinder of diving gas. To familiarize themselves with the standards procedures for gas analysis, students should use the Nitrox Virtual Analyzer powered by RAID App.
• Demonstrate how to properly label an analyzed diving cylinder.


Note: THE NITROX DIVER SPECIALTY COURSE IS NOT A DECOMPRESSION COURSE.

II. Student Prerequisites

• Be a minimum 12 years old.
• Be a certified RAID Open Water 20 diver or equivalent.
• May be included as part of any RAID program including Open Water 20, Junior Open Water Diver, Scuba Diver and Junior Scuba Diver.
• Complete the registration process, including all mandatory paperwork.
• Obtain guardian permission, if a minor.
• Access to an oxygen analyzer or use the Nitrox Virtual Analyzer App.

III. Student-to-Instructor Ratios

Classroom or Remote Classroom

8 students: 1 instructor

Optional Open Water Dive(s)

Age: 12 to 14 Years Old

• 6 Students:1 Instructor

Age: 15 Years and Older

• Students:1 Instructor
• 10 Students:1 Instructor plus 1 Certified Assistant

Note: When the water temperature is 6°C / 43°F and below or the visibility is less than 5 meters/ 15 feet then the ratio is reduced to 2:1 with 3:1with a Certified RAID Assistant.

IV. Depth Limitations During Training 

When optional training dives are planned, depth must not exceed the current certification level of the least experienced participant.

• For training dives 1, the maximum depth must not exceed 25 meters/82 feet.
• For training dives 2, the maximum depth must not exceed 40 meters/130 feet.

V. Supervision


All training must be conducted by a RAID Nitrox instructor. The instructor must be physically present and in direct supervision of all segments of training.

Note: This course may be delivered as a REMOTe-Teaching course with the instructor conducting the class using an appropriate audio/visual platform. All segments of remote training must be duplex (capable of two-way conversation between the instructor and student ideally, or at least allowing student to type questions in real time).

To familiarize themselves with the standards procedures for gas analysis, students may use the Nitrox Virtual Analyzer powered by RAID and available from their favorite app store, in lieu of an actual nitrox analyzer.

An Instructor may not use the Nitrox Virtual Analyzer to demonstrate analyzing gas, they must use a real analyzer and cylinder.

VI. Equipment Requirements

Refer to Equipment Requirements in this RGDS.

VII. Course Requirements

To obtain certification, the student must fulfill the following requirements:
1. Complete the online academic modules, quizzes, and exam.
2. Complete all the skill requirements as outlined in the Instructor Guidelines for use of nitrox.
3. Demonstrate familiarity analyzing and labelling cylinders filled with nitrox.
4. Must know how to complete a nitrox fill log.

VIII. In-Water Training

Both the confined and open water dives are optional (See above)

IX. Certification

The Nitrox Specialty Diver certification entitles the holder to dive with a certified dive buddy, autonomously, to a maximum depth in accordance to prior certification using a nitrox breathing gas delivering an oxygen partial pressure to a planned PO2 of 1.4 bar and a contingency of 1.6 bar or less at maximum planned depth to a maximum of 40 meters/130 feet.