Cyalume replacements
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overexposed2X:
Yes you should have a primary and a backup light for night diving. Am not actually talking about either one of these though. On a night dive you also use a cyalume, usually tied to your tank as a further reference point for those around you. The glo toob looks like a good replacement for the cyalumes, as it is bright, pressure resistant and re usable. Unlike cyalumes, use em once and chuck em away.
mogwai:
Interesting. Are these brighter than your primary or backup?
Here is what I'm trying to get at:
I would think your buddy should always be able to see your primary light and never need something else as a reference point. When I dive at night with my buddy or buddies we always use our primary lights for communication. The only time we don't see each others light is at the end of the dive on the surface. Occasionally we will temporarily shield our lights to check out the ambient lighting, but that is by agreement. If I can't see my buddy's light at all times it makes me very nervous and I start trying to figure out what is wrong.
Heck out here we use our lights for most daytime dives. A friend of mine has an HID 22 W light that blows my 10W light out of the water. It's great for signaling even when the vis is 100' and it's sunny. As long as I can see my buddy's light then I don't need to look for him.
IMHO this sort of light is not at all necessary. It is just one more thing to fail and get itself tangled up in places it shouldn't. I'm also not sure if it doesn't breed complacency with buddy skills. It also seems to be a waste of money.
I welcome you to correct me if I'm wrong as I'm always trying to learn new things.
SueMermaid
Guest
I got a light thingy for my tank in Bonaire, it cost something like 10 bucks. It uses a Ni/Cd battery, which still works after like 8 years. It is the size and shape of a Cyalume.
Damselfish
Contributor
overexposed2X:
Ah yes, was expecting the the purist position to be coming.
Sure these aren't necessary, but sometimes they are nice. If you're not swimming side by side, sometimes you can't see someones regular light as well as a light on a tank because of your relative positions. (Most people aren't using HIDs.) Sometimes you can actually tell someone's orientation better from a tank light, or certainly from the combination of the 2. Especially if your buddy is a photographer and may be doing who-knows-what with his light at any given time. (Mine is, and I actually tend to track him by the little power lights on his strobes rather than his dive light.)
Often these gizmos appear more unique at night than people's dive lights and can help with telling which person is your buddy when too many people gang up to see some neat critter. (Here we're obviously talking about when there's a group of people off a boat or something, not just 2 on their own.)
Another thing is, whatever you think of these, some dive ops require them for night dives.
If it fails, so what? You're not relying on it, it's more of a "sometimes nice", and it's failure doesn't take anything with it. As far being a dangly, I'll grant most usually aren't ideal in that department unless someone makes an effort, but really unlikely to be a problem in most places people use them.
Damselfish:
Smart night divers often color coordinate signal lights with their buddies, for instant identification. Some DM's do this too, for the same reasons with groups.
One of the more important reasons is safety. If your dive light fails (and most folks do NOT carry a backup), the boat is gonna have a bleeding hard time tracking you down on the surface. Even with flashlights you have trouble here, as divers often focus 'em downward. Most signal lights are unidirectional.
kittyjg
Guest
As for relying on my buddy's primary light to keep track of her instead of a cyalume attached to her tank - during a night dive last Oct in 20-30" vis, my buddy turned off her light as everyone else's light was enough to see and her's and mine only added spatter. I was able to keep in touch with her as we both had blue tank tubes. We were in a group of 6 plus a DM. We used our lights when we had to check gauges and when we surfaced because of a low tank. Without the tank lights, I feel I would have lost track of her because of low vis and high surge.
They also work if you stick them into your sausage on the surface to make it glow.
(I know, sounds suggestive, have fun.)
They also work if you stick them into your sausage on the surface to make it glow.
(I know, sounds suggestive, have fun.)
Pretty much been answered but will add my bit as well. No they are not brighter than your primary light. They are there as i have said as an extra visual reference. I also use a strobe, but on top of this the cyalume. Colour coding can also let me see who is who. I also have my primary and backup light. Light stick is visible if someone turns away, or if above someone. As for the failing and tangling up? Things are 6 inches long and secured by cable tie to my tank handle. Not drifting along on a 1 metre line. If it is going to get tangled then pretty sure my pillar valve and cylinder will end up doing so first. Then will take appropriate action. Failing? If it fails it fails. Still have a primary, backup and strobe. No biggie. As i have said it's an extra reference. Is also recommended when night diving. Am also never complacent when diving with a buddy. Having a cyalume on your tank certainly doesn't breed complacency in me, my buddies or the attention i give to students in the water.
Good points about group diving. It's not something that I do much of and when I do, my buddy and I move away just a bit so not to be part of the school. We still can see the group and be part of it if needed, but it is seldom that this sort of item would be needed to clarify who my buddy is. I can see where in this sort of environment that this is a useful tool. Distinguishing the DM or Instructors by color is important here.
The complacency issue that I brought up is because, IMHO, you should be able to see your buddy's light at all times. Using the marker to keep track of each other may keep your buddy from using their primary light in such a way to facilitate that. This is also where I feel that it is a failure point. If your buddy becomes dependent on being able to I.D. you this way and your marker should go out, you may have an issue on your hands. For me it is far better to be diving in very close proximity to one another in a low light environment. At night (for me) it is not much more than an arms length.
When I dive at night I always carry at least one extra backup light if not two. I expect my buddy to carry an extra light as well. I do a fair bit of night diving so I've found this works for me. It may not work for anyone else.
Again I can see in a group that these markers are useful.
The complacency issue that I brought up is because, IMHO, you should be able to see your buddy's light at all times. Using the marker to keep track of each other may keep your buddy from using their primary light in such a way to facilitate that. This is also where I feel that it is a failure point. If your buddy becomes dependent on being able to I.D. you this way and your marker should go out, you may have an issue on your hands. For me it is far better to be diving in very close proximity to one another in a low light environment. At night (for me) it is not much more than an arms length.
When I dive at night I always carry at least one extra backup light if not two. I expect my buddy to carry an extra light as well. I do a fair bit of night diving so I've found this works for me. It may not work for anyone else.
Again I can see in a group that these markers are useful.
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