New OSCAR tutorial in the works

So I have someone to help me compose a new tutorial and it will be OSCAR mainly.
Might have a few examples from brand name software but don't look for much about other machines that OSCAR doesn't support.
I plain to start with just the basics and explain the basic stuff first....what people see on the detailed report and what it means.
Like what is a 90/95% definition and explain AHI, leaks, etc
I won't be going into all those graphs that really have such wide variations in normal that it is impossible to explain or set parameters as to normal.
I will also redo the instructions on what we want to see on the detailed report that people post screen shots of when they want help.
That will be included as well since even though I have it in the Sticky...newbies please read before posting...obviously many people don't read.

This way when someone posts a question about something all we have to do is point them to the tutorial itself. Think of it like a book with chapters about different things.

It will be just an explanation of what is seen on the software data reports. It's NOT going to be a DIY guide for going off on a dial a winging thing. I can't possibly cover all possible scenarios and that sort of stuff is best left to individual circumstances in individual topics once someone understands the data they see in front of them. No one should go off dialawinging without understanding what they are doing and why.

I promise to try to not write small novels but everyone here knows that being concise is not one of my strong points. I do tend to over explain things and ramble a bit.
I am going to be using a lot of RobySue's stuff...and she's probably almost as bad as I am with the short novel stuff. She will get credit when I use her stuff.

I finally got some big help with my Photobucket images. I had been trying to download them so I could more easily get to them and make it so my old links to those images didn't have the photobucket logo plastered all over them. I never could download my album there to get my images back and the original images are on a non working older computer. Palerider was able to get my images from Photobucket for me so now I have easy access to all my old report screen shots. Some of them are really good for visually showing something I want to explain. Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words.
A lot of images are SleepyHead images but since OSCAR is based on SleepyHead they still pretty much visually convey same data.

The new tutorial will be a read only thread. Part of the reason my first tutorial is so massive and unreadable was simply people did what I asked them not to do....ask questions in the tutorial when they had a problem and didn't start their own thread.
Now they will have to start a new thread.
I couldn't believe the stuff I saw when I went through the tutorial this past weekend and did some clean up. I found someone posted a SoClean question in it. Geeezzz.

Anyway....my reason for this thread....ideas that you guys/gals think I should include in the new tutorial. What do you think we need to explain or expand upon to make it easier for someone just starting to use OSCAR to understand what they see or deal with cpap treatment issues?

So it's going to include some common problems as well and how to deal with them. Like condensation issues or aerophagia issues.
Sort of one stop shopping for information on various problems.

We all know we rarely see a brand new never seen problem or question. Most Newbies don't know how or where to look for answers.

I am once again starting with a blank sheet of paper in front of me and my eyes glaze over. It's like my mind shuts down and I don't know where to start. Ask me a specific question and my mind can compose a novel but I have to have a starting point and I have trouble coming up with starting points. Remember folks....I avoided as much English composition as I could in college. My strong points were in math and science and medicine.

I do have some help this time though but we need ideas from you guys/gals as well. I want this to be a group effort in a way.

I'll be looking forward to this. I regularly recommend new people use OSCAR to examine their therapy, but it can be overwhelming at times...especially when they think that myAir is all you need.

It'll be great to be able to give a new user something to explain how to maximize their therapy without being overly technical.

ups4 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 19, 2020 8:28 am

It'll be great to be able to give a new user something to explain how to maximize their therapy without being overly technical.

That's the part I won't be doing in the tutorial because there's just too many variables that need to be clarified before we start suggesting changing something to be changed.

Other than maybe something very general like "if you AHI is too high"...start a thread of your own and post pictures and let's figure out what needs to be done.

Unfortunately most of the time we have to get technical to do a good job and if we are going to do a job...I want it to be a good job.

Too many times I have seen someone post "my AHI is till too high (like 15) what can I do" and that's all the information given and someone chimes in "increase your pressure" and we don't even know what kind of events are too numerous in that AHI. Totally inappropriate to be suggesting an increase in pressure without knowing what kind of events.
More pressure helps obstructive stuff but won't help centrals and potentially could make them more numerous.

That's why it won't be a dialawinging tutorial. I don't want people dialawinging on their own without understanding the why behind we do something or don't do something.

Now I will do specifics on how to maybe help with aerophagia or condensation and stuff like that.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 19, 2020 9:29 am

That's the part I won't be doing in the tutorial because there's just too many variables that need to be clarified before we start suggesting changing something to be changed.

Ahhh, yes that's true. Too much information in the wrong hands usually won't end well.

Still, letting people know that you guys can tweak their therapy with OSCAR data and what it does will be invaluable.

Maybe a new eye catching title.

Like:
ATTENTION NEW POSTERS
New Free CPAP Software and Tutorial Available Now

I am only half joking.
Like you have already mentioned, it is always irritating how people get on here and have obviously not read a single thing in preparation to posting their questions.

I will be looking forward to it and will read it completely myself. Bet I learn something new.

JPB

1. A list of the features and specifications their machine must have to use Oscar.(no matter what brand)

2. Request the written description of brand and model of posters machine and mask instead of the little picture of same.

I am sure you have already thought of this. Just trying to get the ball rolling.

JPB