Question Buy A Regulator in Australia to Save $$

[Pressurehead]

Same one for those 19 years, S-600.

I have one also , my go to 2nd are G260 x 2, G250v x1 , S600 x1 or G250 x2, all solid.
Mix and match on Mk10, Mk10+, Mk25 EV0 DIN, Mk19 EVO DIN, Mk17 EVO and my pony Mk2 EVO DIN.

The Mk17 yoke and S600 and G260 is my travel set.

The S600 is a great underrated regulator.

I have plenty of old Conshelf 1st and 2nds [with parts] and downstream SP 2nds I just don't dive anymore.
You collect stuff when you have a dive business, now sold.

 

[Umpire2943]

I have one also , my go to 2nd are G260 x 2, G250v x1 , S600 x1 or G250 x2, all solid.
Mix and match on Mk10, Mk10+, Mk25 EV0 DIN, Mk19 EVO DIN, Mk17 EVO and my pony Mk2 EVO DIN.

The Mk17 yoke and S600 and G260 is my travel set.

The S600 is a great underrated regulator.

I have plenty of old Conshelf 1st and 2nds [with parts] and downstream SP 2nds I just don't dive anymore.
You collect stuff when you have a dive business, now sold.

What do your guys think about Apeks reg? XTX50/XTX200. I think the past 10 years Scubapro and Apeks are two major player in the AU reg market.

 

[Pressurehead]

What do your guys think about Apeks reg? XTX50/XTX200. I think the past 10 years Scubapro and Apeks are two major player in the AU reg market.

If we are going off topic, sorry, it is the norm on this site.

There are plenty of very good regulators on the market.
But for me , it is Scubapro , Atomic or Mares , I know I know, Apeks and Aqualung and all the others I will not name are solid regulators , they do the job.
I serviced a lot of regulators in the past, I just know what I like, and what I can get parts for and having the required tools helps a lot with my bias.

 

[Umpire2943]

If we are going off topic, sorry, it is the norm on this site.

There are plenty of very good regulators on the market.
But for me , it is Scubapro , Atomic or Mares , I know I know, Apeks and Aqualung and all the others I will not name are solid regulators , they do the job.
I serviced a lot of regulators in the past, I just know what I like, and what I can get parts for and having the required tools helps a lot with my bias.

Thanks for the details explanation.

I look at regs from a user's standpoint, and you are from user's and technician's standpoint. That is a huge difference.

 

[Pressurehead]

and you are from user's and technician's standpoint.

I am retired from all that now, I did my first service course in 1985 while I was still in the Navy and for years before that just dived what I was given, I knew how they worked but a new respect for the engineering required to build such a simple solid device to breath at depth started from then on.
You know what? These regulators were designed and built without computers, and what worked back then, is the same as what works now, piston or membrane [which is even older], how many people know that?
You want simple, look inside a Scubapro Mk2, a trained ape could service it [and I am sure some do] .
Sorry for the rant.
Anyway here is a little history of who is the real hero of many modern regulators, and it it is NOT some French dude.
This is the first regulator I was given to dive in 1968 and it was an old set even then.
Ted Eldred.

Porpoise (scuba gear) - Vintage Scuba Gear Australia

Porpoise is a tradename for scuba developed by Ted Eldred in Australia and made there from the late 1940s onwards. The first Porpoise was a closed circuit oxygen rebreather, and the following models were all single hose open circuit regulators.

www.vintagescubagear.com.au

BZ

 

[Umpire2943]

I am retired from all that now, I did my first service course in 1985 while I was still in the Navy and for years before that just dived what I was given, I knew how they worked but a new respect for the engineering required to build such a simple solid device to breath at depth started from then on.
You know what? These regulators were designed and built without computers, and what worked back then, is the same as what works now, piston or membrane [which is even older], how many people know that?
You want simple, look inside a Scubapro Mk2, a trained ape could service it [and I am sure some do] .
Sorry for the rant.
Anyway here is a little history of who is the real hero of many modern regulators, and it it is NOT some French dude.
This is the first regulator I was given to dive in 1968 and it was an old set even then.
Ted Eldred.

Porpoise (scuba gear) - Vintage Scuba Gear Australia

Porpoise is a tradename for scuba developed by Ted Eldred in Australia and made there from the late 1940s onwards. The first Porpoise was a closed circuit oxygen rebreather, and the following models were all single hose open circuit regulators.

www.vintagescubagear.com.au

BZ

Well this is some history lecture you don't get everyday.

I know the design of 1st stage or 2nd stage, like scubaPro and Apeks, remains very much the same the past 2 decades. Anything from before 2000, it is kind of burry to me.

I owned a set of MK2 / R190 for a few month last year. Yes, the thing was rock solid.

 

[Fibonacci]

@Pressurehead seeing as we are going so impressively OT, here's a whole thread on Ted Eldred and the Porpoise

Porpoise CA-1 regulator

Neptune smiled on me at the start of 2019... I stumbled across a 1954 Porpoise CA-1 regulator complete with the original case and twin tank adaptor! It is in pretty good condition, quite rare to find in Australia these days... so I'm now having fun trying to source NOS or reproduction parts to...

scubaboard.com

 

[Pressurehead]

Thanks for the reminder.
I do remember that topic and the gear some people have from that time.
I know where there is an original set in Sydney, not on display to the public though.

 

[Pressurehead]

Historical Diving Society Australia – Pacific​

 

[living4experiences]

Whatever would make you think that it's cheaper to buy gear here than in the US? It's often cheaper for me to buy from the US and get it sent over here!

The U.S. dollar is stronger against AUD. Maybe it's a myth, but when I run into divers from other parts of the world, I hear that U.S. dive equipment is the most expensive.