Designing a new equipment room

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SeaWarden

Contributor
Messages
145
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31
Location
Singapore
# of dives
200 - 499
Hey guys, so we are building a new resort in Indonesia in the next few months. Scheduled completion date is Feb 2021. An idea that I proposed was to put in a specific equipment room with the following:

1. Climate control box for your gears and camera, with humidity control.
2. Table with a lot of lights so that you can repair and fix your gears.
3. A full set of tools to repair anything that might need repairing.
4. Internet.
5. Computer and calibrated monitor to review the photos.
6. Wet box to wash your gear..

Anything else I am missing, or anything you have seen else where that I forgot about?
 
multiple tables to let let multiple divers setup their gear at once I hope ...
small packaged items for sale like silicone lube for seals/O-rings ..
 
Get 2 sets of tools n keep the 2nd set locked away in the office. Since tools have a habit of disappearing, n disappear faster as the number of persons with access to them increases, a second set becomes useful. Immediatly reorder any tool that is given out of the 2nd set.
Heated ultra sonic bath, 2-3 quart size
Set of LP hoses in all posible lengths, reorder what gets used. 9/16" to Inflator adapters
Couple of Hp hoses n swivels.
Whatever else you need.

Michael
 
spools of bungee cord and / or rubber tubing

lots of bolt snaps. 'cause who doesn't love bolt snaps, right?
 
Actually these are equipment, we are going to include inside the room.. The ultrasonic cleaner, any reason for a heated one vs a normal non-heated?
 
USB sockets at multiple convenient locations.
No need to use electricity converters from local standards to USA, EU, UK plug.

RFID Tag your tools so you can find them when people take them to their room to "work on their equipment" .


Decent drying racks for wetsuits and regulators etc.
 
Hey guys, so we are building a new resort in Indonesia in the next few months. Scheduled completion date is Feb 2021. An idea that I proposed was to put in a specific equipment room with the following:
Traveling SEA 3 times a year with more than 40kgs of dive and photo gear, I had various experiences with camera rooms, most of them I didn't use because they were too cramped, too dark and either too cold or too warm. So either you build a decent useful camera room or you save your money for something else taht will please non photographers.
Also I am not that fond of paying expensive stuff included in the resort rate that I won't use anyway.

1. Climate control box for your gears and camera, with humidity control.
If you go with the camera room concept, you'll need one individual station per guest (we photogs are not fond at all of sharing our workspace), otherwise forget about the camera room..
I don't think humidity control is needed, certainly not when outside it's 100% humidity and 34C. It will just fog your euipment when carrying it out. Just need some cool, breezy and clear area.
I repeat it's critical that the room is clear and well lit because our black camera cases and bags seems to attract the mosquitoes a lot.

2. Table with a lot of lights so that you can repair and fix your gears.
It's the individual workstation, pls avoid dark tables, a light color work plan is better for finding out where that o-ring jumped or where you put the small screwdriver.
It's better that you organize the work plan on different levels : some shelves at eye level to charge batteries (lots of power plugs any type, available battery chargers would be a good idea).
A little lower should be large shelves to put all our stuff like ports, lights, nuts and bolts. Photogs have a lot of them which take a large space on the main work table..
I always dreamt of individual work stations on two or three levels like a staircase : you have to understand how photogs work first, stage 1 we soak the housing into a water tank then stage 2 leave it somewhere on a towel and dry it with a air hose, this needs to be done on a lower level so it doesn't splash around on the main work table, then Stage 3, rest it dry on the work table which should be ideally on a higher table away from the "wetter" area. This is the dry area where you would kit up your camera, change lenses, ports, batteries or memory cards, etc. Most of the time this area is always mildly humid because of stage 1 and 2. This should also be the well lit area.

3. A full set of tools to repair anything that might need repairing.
Tools should be on demand otherwise you'll have to purchase a set every fortnight.

4. Internet.
Better in the rooms.

5. Computer and calibrated monitor to review the photos.
...and Lightroom + Photoshop latest version, etc.?
I am not sure with that one, photogs are all traveling with own and use our softwares customized as we like it. TBH I wouldn't care about an external computer.

6. Wet box to wash your gear..
Yes but do take into consideration the staircase arrangement I described. Compressed air hose to dry the water off the housing is critical for each work station.
Lots of towels needed, at least 3 per station.


I read about what the other members proposed and have a comment :
Beware about silicone lubes and Orings sets, either you can provide multiple sorts (like Ikelite transparent grease and black orings, Sea&sea grease adapted to blue oRings and Nauticam white grease to grey Orings) or you the very expensive one used for aeronautics and tech gears that will go with almost everything like Tribolube (Good luck). Putting the wrong silicone grease on certain O-rings leads to disaster. Been there done that.
 
Traveling SEA 3 times a year with more than 40kgs of dive and photo gear, I had various experiences with camera rooms, most of them I didn't use because they were too cramped, too dark and either too cold or too warm. So either you build a decent useful camera room or you save your money for something else taht will please non photographers.
Also I am not that fond of paying expensive stuff included in the resort rate that I won't use anyway.

1. Climate control box for your gears and camera, with humidity control.
If you go with the camera room concept, you'll need one individual station per guest (we photogs are not fond at all of sharing our workspace), otherwise forget about the camera room..
I don't think humidity control is needed, certainly not when outside it's 100% humidity and 34C. It will just fog your euipment when carrying it out. Just need some cool, breezy and clear area.
I repeat it's critical that the room is clear and well lit because our black camera cases and bags seems to attract the mosquitoes a lot.

2. Table with a lot of lights so that you can repair and fix your gears.
It's the individual workstation, pls avoid dark tables, a light color work plan is better for finding out where that o-ring jumped or where you put the small screwdriver.
It's better that you organize the work plan on different levels : some shelves at eye level to charge batteries (lots of power plugs any type, available battery chargers would be a good idea).
A little lower should be large shelves to put all our stuff like ports, lights, nuts and bolts. Photogs have a lot of them which take a large space on the main work table..
I always dreamt of individual work stations on two or three levels like a staircase : you have to understand how photogs work first, stage 1 we soak the housing into a water tank then stage 2 leave it somewhere on a towel and dry it with a air hose, this needs to be done on a lower level so it doesn't splash around on the main work table, then Stage 3, rest it dry on the work table which should be ideally on a higher table away from the "wetter" area. This is the dry area where you would kit up your camera, change lenses, ports, batteries or memory cards, etc. Most of the time this area is always mildly humid because of stage 1 and 2. This should also be the well lit area.

3. A full set of tools to repair anything that might need repairing.
Tools should be on demand otherwise you'll have to purchase a set every fortnight.

4. Internet.
Better in the rooms.

5. Computer and calibrated monitor to review the photos.
...and Lightroom + Photoshop latest version, etc.?
I am not sure with that one, photogs are all traveling with own and use our softwares customized as we like it. TBH I wouldn't care about an external computer.

6. Wet box to wash your gear..
Yes but do take into consideration the staircase arrangement I described. Compressed air hose to dry the water off the housing is critical for each work station.
Lots of towels needed, at least 3 per station.


I read about what the other members proposed and have a comment :
Beware about silicone lubes and Orings sets, either you can provide multiple sorts (like Ikelite transparent grease and black orings, Sea&sea grease adapted to blue oRings and Nauticam white grease to grey Orings) or you the very expensive one used for aeronautics and tech gears that will go with almost everything like Tribolube (Good luck). Putting the wrong silicone grease on certain O-rings leads to disaster. Been there done that.


I was going to comment but this is exactly what I think I would have said with one exception. Compressed air at each workstation allows your neighbour to blow water from their camera housing to your camera lenses, batteries etc. Put the dunk tank with compressed air and a table outside the camera room for drying housings.

The very best camera room I have seen is at NAD in Lembeh. Copy that and you are good.
 
Actually these are equipment, we are going to include inside the room.. The ultrasonic cleaner, any reason for a heated one vs a normal non-heated?
Heated ultrasonic cleaners work well, unheated ultrasonic cleaners also work well as soon as the liquid has heated to around 60°C by the 400+W of ultrasonic energy.
Underpowered ultrasonic cleaners are built to separate a fool from his money, lots of power from the transducers, heat and sweep frequency function work well, anything missing doesn't work as well.
Easy test for too little power, if you can put your finger in the cleaner while it is operating at full power without feeling pain - it's underpowered.

Michael
 
I was going to comment but this is exactly what I think I would have said with one exception. Compressed air at each workstation allows your neighbour to blow water from their camera housing to your camera lenses, batteries etc. Put the dunk tank with compressed air and a table outside the camera room for drying housings.

The very best camera room I have seen is at NAD in Lembeh. Copy that and you are good.


Amazing, thank you for all the tips. The problem with R4 is that it is targeted to divers.. period.. I have seen families bored out of their minds after the first hike to paynamo and snorkel with fishes. Hence I think it makes sense to have a nice camera room with proper lighting, equipment and tools that allow people to work on within their own rooms. If the market changes, we will just turn it into a walk in closet.

Any pictures of NAD in Lembeh?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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