back some 50 years ago

[Scuba Lawyer]

The file name of the original picture indicates 1967 as the date and Cozumel as the location. I was under the impression that there were national laws back then about spearfishing with SCUBA. Or does that just apply to Europe?

I spearfished with my dad in Cozumel in 1969. The local dive shop threw in the spearguns when we rented our gear. M

 

[Popgun Pete]

I think the silvery round object by the diver's leg is his octopus unit, it has just snagged on the other line. You can see the adjustment knob on one side of the second stage. My Poseidon "Cyklon 300" regulator had an octopus unit added in my second year of diving with it which was on a hose of great length that nearly touched the ground when walking with the tank being carried in my hands for loading into a vehicle after a dive. The octopus regulator was clipped to an attachment strapped above the tank boot and when required was easily pulled free. Prior to the "Cyklon" I used a US Divers "Aquarius" regulator and with the contents gauge yet to be invented we relied on our J-valve reserves and our dive watches. The SOS decompression meters were available, but could not be relied on as the assumptions made in their operation did not always reflect the dive profile.

 

[drbill]

Back in the 60s I never saw an octopus (at least that I can remember)

 

[Sam Miller III]

SPG -- A 1970 review of the United States Diving manufacturing/importing companies

Aqua Craft - No SPG

Dacor P # 29 -- Part # DPG= Underwater Pressure gauge $25.50

GMC - No SPG

Healthways P #7 - Part # 1620 = Submersible Tank Pressure gauge $29.50

King Athletic goods -- No SPG

Nemrod P #2 Part # 99-6919 Submersible Pressure Gauge $27.50

SCUBA Pro - P# 20 Part # 130 The Submersible Pressure gauge $30.00

Sportsways P 14 Part # 1401 Sea View Gauge $32.00

Swimaster P #5 Part # DS 108 Underwater Pressure gauge --$30.00

US Divers (aka Aqua Lung ) P #10 Part # 7018 Sea Div Guage $28.50

Voit-- No SPG

White Stag - No SPG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The term "SPG aka Submersible Pressure Gauge" can be directly traced back to Nemrod which was a Spanish based company with their products imported by Seamless Rubber Company therefore the comopany is often identified as Nemrod -Seamless or Seamless
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not one company listed a "Octopus" in their 1970 catalogs

So @Popgun Pete in 1960 it was not an octopus !

The Octopus appeared much later -- When ?
(I don't want yo do any more research aka page turning )

Sam Miller,111

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Not one company listed a "Octopus" in their 1970 catalogs

It appeared much later -- When ?

Sam Miller,111

We were still teaching buddy breathing when I went through my NAUI ITC in 1986; however, I do recall when the ScubaPro AIR II came out in about 1979. Not really an octopus reg because you had to donate your primary (only) reg from your mouth then pick up the AIR II to breath off of. My 2 psi.

 

[Popgun Pete]

The first stage only needs a port to fit a second hose and regulator second stage and someone may have done that on their own initiative, you don't need any special insight to do that, only a single hose regulator as you sure could not do that on a twin hose (corrugated hose type). First stages often had a port on the intermediate side fitted with a plug.

The other diver has a J-valve tank and a Dacor backpack because I have one just like it, my first tank being a US Divers steel 72 cubic foot before I moved on to an 80 cubic foot alloy "D" rating tank. First cylinder pressure contents gauge I remember was the sliding column unit manufactured by "Airdive" Australia..

 

[Sam Miller III]

Pete, Pete...
You are rapidly joining the I think, I suppose, I heard. some one told me....

The thought of an independent emergency breathing hose did not arrive in the divers armentarium until much much later

Recall the introduction of the Viking Buddy Tube ? When introduced it was considered a novelty -- almost a joke in the then very small dive community That was the genesis of the Octopus

SAM

 

[Popgun Pete]

Pete, Pete...
You are rapidly joining the I think, I suppose, I heard. some one told me....

The thought of an independent emergency breathing hose did not arrive in the divers armentarium until much much later

Recall the introduction of the Viking Buddy Tube ? That was the genesis of the Octopus

SAM

As a commercial offering, but divers are inveterate tinkerers and the only thing preventing it would be no spare port on the regulator first stage. I had some gear which you will never see in a catalog which I made myself, as did others before me.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Show us some pictures of your equipment that we will never see in a catalog -
'
During the span of the last 60 plus years I have been a expert witness in litigations and a consultant /advisor to most of the major SoCal dive companies

We were always searching desperately for new diving innovations but seldom -if ever - had them generated from the diving public.

SDM

 

[Popgun Pete]

You never saw this in a catalog because I made it.

In fact I made two of them with a third going to a guy who had his own gun, but he never fitted it. The 12 gauge cartridge sit on a sprung loaded sliding column of my own design.