Anyone remember when...

[diverrick]

I was packing some stuff for our next trip, and took note of all the gadgets we use now-a-days when we dive, which got me to remembering my first depth gauge, and other old stuff we used to dive with.

Does anyone besides me remember the capillary gauge? I thought it was real slick back then. Now you never see them, even as back ups.

I bet I still have it somewhere out in a dive chest in the garage. Heck it might even be a collectors items now. Man....I am getting old!!!

 

[Stu S.]

Sure. Take a picture of it if you can. I looked into that when I started diving, as it cost about five bucks at a local discount store. I dove with a guy that had one. The problem was the graduations got smaller as you went deeper. An experienced diver sold me a good used "Calypso" gage so I would have something better. I believe he cut me a break because I was a young guy, $10.

 

[Rick Inman]

My first depth gage was a ScubaPro capillary depth gage (1971).

Sometimes it even worked. Most of the time I ignored it 'cause we dived depths we knew in advance with hard bottoms, and we were pretty good at guessing. My first SPG was... well, actually, back then we didn't use an SPG. Didn't need it. We had watches and knew about how long those 72's would last at those shallow depths we dived (usually less than 60'). Besides, we just dived until the reg started getting hard to pull air through and then pulled our reserve lever on the J valve and went straight up.

No computers, no compass, no spg, no octos, no auto-inflate BC's.... And we were teenagers so we knew we were going to liver forever anyway.

But what we lacked in gear, we made up for in goodie bags full of abalone we harvested.

 

[miked]

I remember them as well. They were often hard to read-"where is that bubble??"
Basically a neat gadget, with the "glow in the dark face that you had to hold a light up to, to "charge it" so it would glow.

Some other "old stuff: the J valve, the horsecollar BC-with the CO2 cartridge,
That was the day.....maybe??

Mike

 

[cudachaser]

Oh yes...I had several...but often a slug of water would get in the capillary tube messing up it's reading...one thing for sure...couldn't ask for more basic piece of equipment
Joe

 

[fisheyeview]

Ah, the days of yore. Horse collar BC's (or no BC's), double hose regs, no octos, an spg without depth guage. My first BC had no LP inflator, but it did have the Co2 cartridge. Beaver tail wetsuits. And the joy of a giant stride while wearing a horse collar BC.

Remember the Bottom Timer.

My first computer was an Edge. You could remove a lot of lead from your belt when you wore one.

 

[ba_hiker]

My first depth gage was a ScubaPro capillary depth gage (1971).

Sometimes it even worked. Most of the time I ignored it 'cause we dived ...

I have, and carry with me in my equiptment bag, one of those just like the picture. I keep it to remind me how much things have changed, I don't actually use it any more.

 

[Doc]

Back before we had compressed air....

Well, at least when we really did buy it at Gas Stations. Really.

 

[Gilldiver]

Those gauges were acctualy very accurate, at least till you got a drop of water into them.

As for the Bottom timers, well there is still a Princton Techtronics stop watch type on my hose.

 

[Luis H]

I own a couple of old Scubapro capillary depth gauges. I don’t use them anymore except for vintage equipment dives.

I always thought they would make the best deco gauge for their precision in shallow water. Half the gauge displays the last 30 ft.


Anyone interested in vintage gear should join our discussions in the Sea Hunt era of this message board or VintageDoubleHose.com or VintageScubaSupply.com.

There are a number of us who regularly dive with vintage equipment and some of us dive what we call eclectic configurations. I normally dive a double hose regulator with what resembles a backpack with harness (with a modified modern BC mounted on it), Jet fins, two piece wet suit, etc. I do use a pressure gauge, an octopus, a computer, and even a modern mask, but it is black. I do try to keep it as simple as the conditions allows.