Got my first ever DH reg

[Underwater Tourist]

@James79 that would be great!

@Luis H @happy-diver the gentleman I bought the reg from actually gave me his 1970s front mounted bc, I will try it one day, but one new piece of gear at a time

 

[SubseaSports]

Plenty of good info posted already.

I would ask though what wing are you planning to use? This will come into play with which plate you use (allow for tank straps to thread through).

I offer a DH plate as Nemrod posted.

I often thought the Piranha plastic plate you posted would work. If its the one I am thinking of, the material is a bit thin and it is actually a replacement plate for an existing jacket bcd. Price is right though.

Have fun experimenting.

 

[Nemrod]

Some good things about the VDH style plate is that it is perfectly fine with your favorite single hose regulator and can be used with or without a wing.



Another currently NLA plate that can work with the DH reg is the Freedom Plate.

A problem with many BC jackets is that without a harness they tend to float away from your back. But, I did rent a Scubapro Equator BC once, the only non-wing or horse collar I have ever used, and I was able to get the regulator close to correct position and snug it down enough that it did not float off.

Another shot comparing the Oxy UL Travel plate and the original VDH plate. That one was my spare which of course my wife immediantly confiscated along with my spare VDH 18# wing.

 

[James79]

@James79 that would be great!

Attaching it to this post. My youngest is using one cut to this pattern that a friend with a CNC cut for me. My oldest is diving the previous version (hand cut with drill, dremel, and skilsaw). The original prototype (also hand cut) has been passed on to a young DH diver in the mid west and still gets dove. The handle depicted is the existing handle on the cutting board I used, A farberware 11x 14 that's about $6 on Amazon. The slots are set up to cross the shoulder straps through the handle, helping set the plate lower on your back... Here's the prototype to show how the shoulder straps route:

Respectfully,

James

 

[Underwater Tourist]

So many plates suggestions, so few places to try them in person!

Thank you everybody, I will do a try dive with my curved plate just because thats what I have at hand, and then I will look to get a dh-optimized plate

 

[James79]

So many plates suggestions, so few places to try them in person!

Thank you everybody, I will do a try dive with my curved plate just because thats what I have at hand, and then I will look to get a dh-optimized plate

While you try it in the pool, play with body orientation (horizontal face down/face up, vertical head up/head down). With the suboptimal positioning of a modern plate the differences in breathing characteristics in different positions will be exaggerated greatly, but it's a neat exercise for understanding the relationship between can position, mouth piece position, and breathing characteristics.
Also, as @Nemrod said the one way valves make clearing the mouthpiece easy.... However, that water gets pushed into the exhale hose. So after clearing the MP, an exhale while doing a half roll left will push the water around the hose and out.

Respectfully,

James

 

[rx7diver]

Some good things about the VDH style plate is that it is perfectly fine with your favorite single hose regulator and can be used with or without a wing. ...

Another currently NLA plate that can work with the DH reg is the Freedom Plate. ...

Curiously, my VDH Classic Plate, set up correctly for my PRAM, doesn't work well for me with a single hose regulator. The 1st stage of the single-hose regulator is way too far down my back.

And since the BC (mine is a VDH Argonaut 23# Wing) is "fixed" to the VDH Plate plate by the cylinder straps and "indexed" to the crown of the cylinder, then to make the VDH Plate work well enough involves adjusting (shortening) the shoulder straps and lengthening the crotch strap (to effectively pull the rig farther up my back), which leads to other issues! Too much fiddling around for me for a suboptimal setup!!

And my PRAM is deep enough that my Freedom Plate doesn't work well for me with my PRAM. (I am NOT able to drop the cylinder down far enough in the Freedom Plate before the PRAM contacts the Plate, preventing it from dropping farther. The Freedom Plate is effectively "indexed" to the upper curve in my back.)

I use my VDH Classic plate with my PRAM.

And I use--continue to enjoy using--my Freedom Plate with my single-hose regulators.

If I had one wish, it would be for an aluminum Freedom Plate (mine is stainless), or a stainless VDH Classic Plate, so that I would no longer have to adjust the weights on my weight belt when I switch back and forth between the two rigs.

rx7diver

 

[Nemrod]

Curiously, my VDH Classic Plate, set up correctly for my PRAM, doesn't work well for me with a single hose regulator. The 1st stage of the single-hose regulator is way too far down my back.


rx7diver

How does it matter if the tank postion stays the same? You could just raise the tank in the cam bands. For dh my top cam band is at the highest point on the tank before it curves down to the neck, for single hose I just set the top cam band an inch or two lower thus setting the tank higher.

I have an adjustable loop on my BP/wings, all of them, that I loop over the valve neck and cinch up to position the plate while futzing with the cam bands. That is what sets the up and down. I want the tank higher, I let out on the loop, lower I take the loop up. Same as on any BC.

This strap here, see it on the left side, with the clip, goes around the tank neck and allows me to easily postion my tank the same each time, higher or lower or whatever.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

went to a lds across the road to strap a tank with my current plate, and this is how low i can get the reg (i could squeeze in a couple more inches, but then the single tank adapter might touch the regulator, and i thought its better to avoid it)

 

[James79]

went to a lds across the road to strap a tank with my current plate, and this is how low i can get the reg (i could squeeze in a couple more inches, but then the single tank adapter might touch the regulator, and i thought its better to avoid it)
View attachment 792542

He height is close to right... The distance the backplate and STA space it from your back is the problem you'll have. Like I said above, pool test it and you'll see the difference in breathing characteristics... With DH regs body position in the water will always effect it, but that large gap off your back will make it more pronounced.