Best signalling equipment from the searchers point of view

[jsquaredFL]

#3 Sea DYE Marker
PROS: Cheap. Passive marker. If you are tired/incapacitated you don't have to do much to deploy.
CONS: Choppy/strong current/rough waters tend to dissapate quickly. Useless at night
If you dunk it to make a "Dye slick" and then put away until slick goes away and repeat - it'll last longer

OnStar

First off, thank you for the information, very helpful as I put together my emergency gear


Secondly, would you have any recommendations for Sea Dye? I saw this OMS Dye Marker, Accessories: Signaling, OMS, OMS Dye Marker at the scuba toys website but I have no way of evaluating it.

Thanks again and thank you for your service as a naval aviator

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Secondly, would you have any recommendations for Sea Dye? I saw this OMS Dye Marker, Accessories: Signaling, OMS, OMS Dye Marker at the scuba toys website but I have no way of evaluating it.

This question comes up often and I've saved what I think are best/most often referenced sites ...

A very good, if long, read on rescue trials conducted in real world conditions in the Scapa Flow ... probably my favorite
... How far can you see me? ... Diver location trials: Introduction

.. Surface Survival Primer ... Surface Survival Primer

.. Equipped to Survive ... EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm) - SIGNALING GROUP and the rest of the website is a treasure trove of info ... Survival Gear and Equipment Evaluations - EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm)

The dye marker is evaluted in the Surface Survivial Primer. All three links that DB provides are well worth the time to read.

 

[jsquaredFL]

The dye marker is evaluted in the Surface Survivial Primer. All three links that DB provides are well worth the time to read.

Yeah, I read those before I posted, I just didn't know if there was any experience involving other products that may be worth checking out. The articles only cover one or two different products.

 

[Doc Harry]

Welcome Navy OnStar, thanks for the great information.

Done any left-hand turns lately?

Harry
Connie '85
****ty Kitty '87
JFK '88

 

[SparticleBrane]

I like the idea of the Halcyon Diver's Life Raft. A little expensive at $269 from any Halcyon dealer, but you can get OUT of the water -- and that's priceless in a survival situation, especially if the water is cold.

If you want flashy stuff to put at the top of an SMB, go to DiveSigns.com. I can't remember the specific name of it, but the reflective material they use is meant to reflect the light back to the source, rather than everywhere. Note that they have reflective tape/lettering for all sorts of stuff -- canister lights, stage/deco bottles, SMBs, etc. They even have "stealth" reflective stuff that only lights up when it has a light on it.


My dive buddy has the reflective tape on his SMB. He took this series of pictures at night using only the flash from his camera...

15ft

50ft

100ft

 

[SparticleBrane]

Walter,

As Catherine mentioned, it can be put into a housing. OMS makes a housing that's good for 660fsw. Or, you could do like a I did and make your own canister. Mine is good for something like 750fsw.

Doing something like that would be a good idea; you could probably put a lot of surival gear in there. What are the dimensions of that canister?

I had considered the idea of buying a Halcyon Pro14 canister, or at least having one made that's essentially the same size, with a sealed lid. LOTS of space inside to throw things for ocean diving.

 

[D_B]

The reflective tape is called SOLAS ... Safety Of Life At Sea
... DiveSigns.com: Reflective hard wearing vinyl stickers for all your diving needs..., Be Seen When It Counts ... that's a great site SparticleBrane

A couple of sites I've bookmarked ...

... Flashback - Home Page ... various reflective products
... IDENTI-TAPE - 3M US Coast Guard 3M SOLAS Safety Reflective Tape

 

[Navy OnStar]

First off, thank you for the information, very helpful as I put together my emergency gear


Secondly, would you have any recommendations for Sea Dye? I saw this OMS Dye Marker, Accessories: Signaling, OMS, OMS Dye Marker at the scuba toys website but I have no way of evaluating it.

Thanks again and thank you for your service as a naval aviator

I Haven't done any product research for the dye marker so I can't tell you which one is best. I have one from Survival Dye Marker but had to get a waterproof container to put it in. I would get the OMS one next time.

 

[Rickg]

Navy OnStar,

The only thing you might want to consider adding to your list of emergency gear that you carry with you is a length (I use about 15') of nylon line with clips/caribiners on each end so you can clip you and your dive buddy together and anyone else that might be in the same situation with you in order to make for a bigger target.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

This is a great thread! There is a lot of wonderful ideas and info for all divers to consider.

Thanks to all.