Info Backscatter Hybrid Flash HF-01: preliminary review

[Germie]

It is a custom 3d printed design. Form fitting to the port. I have made versions with both ABS and PLA. 3mm walls and about 8% grid infill. I used acetone smoothing on the ABS version for better sealing and then painted on epoxy resin. The most recent one i added a carbon fiber wrap for durability.

The first attempt didn't last but later iterations are holding up well after about 40-50 dives to a max 100-105 ft. I have variants for the 105mm and 60mm lens ports.

And does this work to over 300ft? For me 100ft is not enough, I dive over 160 quite regularly.

 

[davehicks]

And does this work to over 300ft? For me 100ft is not enough, I dive over 160 quite regularly.

Unlikely. I will have to start pushing it to maybe 140. I think it would need to be aluminum to survive at 300.

 

[stuartv]

Yeah, like Germie said. Stix are no good at depths past recreational limits.

But, whatever material Nauticam used for the buoyancy collar on my WWL-1 seems pretty durable.

I've taken mine to 200' with no apparent change in its size/shape/buoyancy.

It feels like a really hard styrofoam. Unfortunately, Nauticam does not list a max depth spec for it on their website.

If one could figure out what that material is, and you had some basic "machining" skills, it seems like you could maybe make your own buoyancy collars for other ports or lenses than just the WWL-1.

 

[davehicks]

Yeah, like Germie said. Stix are no good at depths past recreational limits.

But, whatever material Nauticam used for the buoyancy collar on my WWL-1 seems pretty durable.

I've taken mine to 200' with no apparent change in its size/shape/buoyancy.

It feels like a really hard styrofoam. Unfortunately, Nauticam does not list a max depth spec for it on their website.

If one could figure out what that material is, and you had some basic "machining" skills, it seems like you could maybe make your own buoyancy collars for other ports or lenses than just the WWL-1.

I have a WWL-C which has an aluminum float collar. The WWL-1 is not metal?

 

[Barmaglot]

I have a WWL-C which has an aluminum float collar. The WWL-1 is not metal?

The original WWL-1 has a foam collar, WWL-1B and WWL-C have metal float collars.

 

[grantmac]

Yeah, like Germie said. Stix are no good at depths past recreational limits.

But, whatever material Nauticam used for the buoyancy collar on my WWL-1 seems pretty durable.

I've taken mine to 200' with no apparent change in its size/shape/buoyancy.

It feels like a really hard styrofoam. Unfortunately, Nauticam does not list a max depth spec for it on their website.

If one could figure out what that material is, and you had some basic "machining" skills, it seems like you could maybe make your own buoyancy collars for other ports or lenses than just the WWL-1.

It's likely ROV foam. Like the shroud on a Genesis DPV.

 

[BoltSnap]

whatever material Nauticam used for the buoyancy collar on my WWL-1

Do you have a Nauticam housing? I thought that you had something else. Do Nauticam wet optics work with non-Nauticam housings?

 

[Germie]

Do you have a Nauticam housing? I thought that you had something else. Do Nauticam wet optics work with non-Nauticam housings?

I use Isotta for my Olympus.

 

[BoltSnap]

I use Isotta for my Olympus.

And use Nauticam wet lenses with it, no problems?

 

[Germie]

And use Nauticam wet lenses with it, no problems?

Don't have nauticam wet lenses. Have from AOI a +15 and from Saga a +10.
But the CMC seems to work, but haven't tried.