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Consider that the typical SPG is not likely more accurate than +/- 200 psi. Consider also that it sells at wholesale for about $50 to $60 and at retail for about twice that. Consider that the wholesale cost of most items are about 4 to 5 times actual manufacturing cost, before overhead...

I publish my cancellation policy on my web page and in my charter brochure. I leave myself enough leeway that I can take a group out that I think can handle moderately challenging conditions if they want to go or cancel a trip with newbies who I don't think are ready for marginal weather.

In my experience, I find it unlikely that the insurance companies have any such restrictions in their contracts. Businesses frequently pass blame to their insurers for decisions they themselves make because they do not want to take the responsibility or explain their actions to their customers.

I have never had any problems with SDI/TDI's on-line ordering. They also have a system that allows you to print plastic cards at your own location in real time.

You might also encounter some older European regulators with British Standard pipe threads, often mistakenly referred to as "metric threads." You can get adapters for those also.

A friend of mine came along on a Caribbean dive. He was buddied with his wife but went in ahead of her, following the mooring down to the bottom. He snagged a large fish hook that was tangled into the mooring line. The hook buried itself deeply into the meaty part of his thumb. His wife was...

I operate a charter out of Waukegan, just north of Chicago. Most charter boats are not affiliated with an LDS except that charter trips are booked through the LDS. Charter boats usually do not provide tanks with the price of the trip in the Great Lakes because most of their customers have...

I have seen many instructors demonstrate turning the valve on while holding the gauge with the face turned away from them. The problem is, they were starring right into the overpressure relief plug on the back of the SPG.

I was wondering if I would get the response.

Perhaps the question should not be, "Why are some divers being trained this way?" but "Are there any advantages to turning the valves partly back that outweigh the risks?" More than one diver has died as a result of going in the water with a partially open valve. What will take to change the...

This is another example of what happens when divers are taught to turn the valve back a 1/4 or 1/2 turn. Tank valves should always be turned either all the way on or all the way off. It is also a good idea to learn how to reach and turn your own valves.

Diver Doug, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Every year PADI publishes a list of members who achieve milestone anniversaries. These are 5, 10, 15, 20.... years with PADI. Counting the names on that list, I think you could arrive at a reasonable estimate of the number of active PADI members. That might be a good start.

I think the emphasis on learning to ditch weights in an emergency comes from the early days of diving when most divers started out as skin divers. A skin diver would be weighted to make himself neutral under water. In an emergency or when exhausted he would ditch his weights to make himself...

We just put a mooring line and bouy on the steamship, Seabird, Saturday. For the uninformed, Seabird was a sidewheel steamer that sunk as the result of a fire in the late 1860's. She rests in 28 feet of water near Great Lakes Navy Base, Lake Michigan.

Passenger vessels are divided into two classifications: Inspected Passenger Vessels and Uninspected Passenger Vessels. Inspected Passenger Vessels may carry more than 6 passengers, must have a captain with a "master's" license and must be inspected annually by the US Coast Guard. They are...

This last weekend we made several dives on the wreck, S.S. Wisconsin. Divers went descended on the midship mooring - the one fastened just above the hole where the cars are located. They reported the visibility was so good that from that location they could see the stern of the wreck. The...

Yes, it ranks right up there with letting kids scuba dive. :D

Be very careful when using DEET around scuba equipment. It is very aggressive in dissolving neoprene and other rubber products. It will turn your drysuit seals into a mess of goo on contact. It will do the same to neoprene wetsuit material and many regulator components.

You are quite correct, the ambiguity is in the tank's rating but the ambiguity is there. Given only an SAC expressed in units of pressure over time there is an ambiguity. That is what I said and that is true. In order to eliminate the ambiguity one must know the volume of the tank(s) with...