Got my first ever DH reg

[Underwater Tourist]

yep that was literally when i just went down and didnt adjust the gear underwater at all

only had a snorkeler film me, so in 90% of the shots you cant see the gear config properly

 

[Nemrod]

If using a wing with a DH compatible plate such as the Freedom Plate or VDH style plate or the Oxy textile travel plate using weight integration, weight distributed in cam band pockets and on the waist strap in QR pockets, prevents the wing and plate from floating away from the body. In other words, I do not find a conventional weight belt compatible with a plate and wing with a DH regulator as the two fight one another pulling in opposite directions.

The regulator can needs to touch the back low between the shoulder blades and the wing and plate need to stay snug to the contour of the back by pulling the waist strap snug.

Many DH divers will swim rolled slightly to one side or the other, whichever side is more useful at the time. This lowers the DH regulator cans in the water column. No need to grossly exaggerate the list but it does reduce WOB.

 

[rx7diver]

... Worst case, if I don’t feel happy enough after a couple of pool dives, I will just sell it, so someone might get very lucky at SB ...

For me, using my PRAM is all about moving my exhaust bubbles away from my vision and, especially, away from my ears. When I wore a thick hood for diving in very cold water, I was not bothered by my exhaust bubbles flowing past my ears. Now that I usually dive sans hood, or wearing a thin hood, these noisy exhaust bubbles are much more audible to me.

And U/W critters come much closer to my scuba mask (since they are not scared away by exhaust bubbles flowing near my mask).

For the diving that I do now, these benefits of diving my PRAM usually outweigh the effortless breathing, etc., of my Scubapro Mk 10 + D400.

rx7diver

 

[Sensorone]

It may or it may not, there are 2 types of threads on the AK, the early ones had a standard US Diver thread (custom for USD) , the later ones had a metric thread. Which you have I can't tell just be looking at the photo .
To be honest, unless you have a really good reason for DIN, just stick with the yoke. Also, please understand diving a DH reg, new or old is different than diving a single hose reg. Proper reg placement in relationship to your body is very important. Most modern BCs do NOT work well with them due to less than ideal reg placement. Worn correctly the AK is unbeatable in performance, it out does Scubapro and Atomic but only if set up and dove correctly. Worn/setup incorrectly it won't harm you but it's performance can suffer greatly unlike a single hose reg that doesn't care how it's placed. Spend some time hunting information and learning about diving a DH reg, they are great, mostly what I dive but they are different. There are a number of us on this board and a couple others that have a lot of time diving a DH reg, ask questions.

Thanks for all of your help/tools Herman. Rig dive Flower Gardens NMS. Phoenix RAM from Bryan purchased through Scuba Museum. I replaced the thinner more supple diaphragm with one from TSM and it behaved wonderfully with the 6ft drops off the boat and was a great at depth. I like it alot. Going again next week.