-hh
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On the regulator issue..... A friend gave me a Scubapro Mark 2 1st stage and R190 2nd stage back around 1989 or 90. It has never been serviced, only hose replacement and mouthpiece replacement. It works as well today as it did in 1990. This was the least expensive regulator Scubapro made back then ( I think) and the simplest. I did at least 200 or more dives to beyond 250 feet with it, so air flow is just fine for any need you will have.
The good news is that regs have gotten tremendously better over the past 25 years and today's low-to-middle range products are competitive to the highest-end regs of a decade ago.
The Mk2 (and variants) do have a well-deserved 'bulletproof' reputation, although its internal valve design does have its HP seat assembly closed (in physical contact) when at rest, which some techs will claim will cause it to "wear" even if not used. The reality here is that the LP seat in most 2nd stages also rests on its orifice and is generally more susceptible and will need service first...but it is wise to get both serviced at the same time anyway.
In any case, the Mk2 is an unbalanced piston design and as such, caution is merited when going deep, especially if paired with an unbalanced 2nd stage (the R190 is a balanced stage), as its WOB (Work of Breathing) will increase, even if the operator doesn't happen to notice.
Today I have it on my rig for diving single tanks...
I have a Mk200 ... which is by some claims a slightly higher performance Mk2, due to a larger piston diameter, which I use on pony/stage setups. I personally found that it made for a noticable difference in WOB below 130fsw...roughly equivalent to a balanced ScubaPro 2nd Stage Regular's "VIVA" control being in the non-boost position. What promoted me personally to upgrade to a balanced 1st stage were some dives to the 130-150 range.
...and avoid a big monster console...just get the analog pressure guage, and you don't even want a boot for it. The big consoles are expensive, and they are drag and snag annoyances. Wear your computer or timer/depth guage on your wrist, and on the other wrist a compass.
Yes, do be concerned about the 'dangly' of a console hose, but the best place to position a dive computer, depth gage & compass are ultimately up to the individual to decide based on their diving environment, needs, etc. Again, the best place to start is with their most local mentoring divers because one single size doesn't fit all.
For example, there's some UW Bug Hunters who advocate keeping nothing on their wrists because they don't want anything whatsoever on their wrists because they're concerned of it snagging when they reach their hand into a hole for a nice lobster. On the other hand, some consoles really are big monsters and lack any good way to secure them to prevent them from being ugly. The decision may very well be one that is the 'least of all evils' type of decision.
Or, get the $16 small compass that fits on the watch/timer/depth guage wrist strap--they work just fine for anything except the most serious underwater navigation over huge distances.
The smaller the compass's diameter is, the less precise of a navigational aid it will be. Those tiny "pill" sized ones are barely adequate to agument natural terrain-assisted navigation in high visbility warmwater. In any case, a full size compass isn't expensive ... figure $50 max.
-hh