Halcyon tank cam straps - HELP!!

[Scubaroo]

First of all YAY! just got my new Halcyon SS backplate and Pioneer wings in the mail (no Halcyon dealers around here).

Now for the fun part, putting it all together. The supplied cam straps had the buckles threaded two different ways - and neither of them made sense, and I've pulled them both off now anyway to thread the straps through the backplate. Can someone with a Halcyon and a digital camera PLEASE post a closeup picture or two of how the strap runs through the buckle?

PS Please don't try and explain it! A picture is worth a 1000 words

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by bengiddins

PS Please don't try and explain it! A picture is worth a 1000 words

Shoot.... I wanted to try to explain it with words!

Congratulations Ben!

 

[Windknot]

I can get you a link, but someone on D2D/scubadiving.com just posted that Last week.

I know, cause I had it bookmarked for when my wings and harness come in this week. Only problem was that Rodales had a server crash or some other thing like that and all of the posts for several days were lost.

I'll post a request for whoever had the pictures up before to repost them.


WIND, WINGS, WATER OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Windknot]

These are the most useful pictures I have found as of yet. Hope that works for you.


http://www.scubadiving.com/members/divetips.php?s=302

 

[Scubaroo]

Thanks a heap Windknot - my 95 LP is now sweetly strapped to a shiny new backplate.

Only other problems I found putting it all together was that the supplied bolts for attaching the wing to the backplate aren't long enough to go through the backplate, webbing and wing in the top hole - looks like a trip to the hardware store tomorrow. Bottom hole is fine. I could contact my dealer (even though it's the Halcyon-supplied bits at fault), but I'm diving this weekend and I can't wait around for them to arrive. A lot of people seem to have commented on bolt problems with the Halcyon gear, at least they are supplying metal ones now (even for the soft pack), instead of the plastic fasteners people were complaining about.

Oh yeah, and the ACB+ pockets which are rated at 10lb DONT hold 10lb of soft weights - they seem designed for a more compact solid weight. Bummer seeing as I have 28lb of soft weight kicking around the house.

Oh yeah, and I have to wait 4 more days before I get to dive it

 

[tombiowami]

I used plastic ties to hold the soft pocket fabric that goes on the bp and they seem to do fine, just make sure to put the lock piece on away from your back. The nylon bolts were a bit of a nasty surprise to me as the other gear was so top notch.

I also just bought a couple ss nuts and bolts to hold the wing onto the bp since the built in single tank adapter was a pain to me when putting it on tanks. Especially since the cam straps are not closed loops. Makes it much easier IMO.

Contgrats on the gear, once diving it I understood why people rave so much. It took me one good dive to get the webbing to the correct tightness, and then I just forgot it was there and could concentrate on my diving.

Tommy

 

[Windknot]

I dont know your whole set up, but if your are looking to put a few extra pounds on your rig and solve the bolt problem to boot, you might want to consider a FredT two piece SingleTankAdapter. Once all of my gear gets here I am going to write a very detailed and documented (photos) gear report for ALL of my decisions. But in the interim let me brag a bit about my FredT STA.

I too had read the stories in post after post of people's problems with the supplied bolts and that concern was in the back of my mind when I ordered a backplate and STA from Fred. Much to my suprise however, both the backplate and the STA came with a (dont flame me machine-heads...I dont know my bolts) substantial bolt with a tapered screw head that countersinks FLUSH with either the backplate or STA!!!! Why no one else has figured that one out yet is beyond me. An added benefit of the STA is it's price....$50.00 for the two-piece "lightweight" or $50.00 for the one-piece "heavy."

The following is from FredT's most recent product guide......

Both are made of the same material with the same bends. The material here is 3/16" (.188") thick 316 SST. Both STAs are designed to accept any tank from the 6.8" diameter old steel 72s to the "blimp" tanks similar to Scubapro's old LP 95s that are almost 12" in diameter. The "heavy" STA has negative buoyancy of a little over -5 pounds. The "light" totals about -1.9 pounds for the two part set. Tank straps on the heavy STA are 11' center to center. The tank straps on the "light" set are centered on whatever bolt holes you use in the back plate. The shortest spread is about 9"; the longest spread possible is 12.5". Those using "nonstandard" smaller sized 60's or 72s, or larger LP or HP 120 tanks will want to strongly consider the 2 part "light" set for more flexibility in tank mounting when singling up. The "heavy" pattern is there for cold water drysuit divers who need the extra mass to offset heavy underwear. STAs come with one set of hardware for 1/8" plate thickness.

He obviously covers the technical angle much better than I could!

If you want to contact him i'll forward you his info and emai (which is readily available on the board also...just search for FredT)

Glad the photo link helped.....

DS,DD,DH

 

[Lost Yooper]

Let us know if you have any hiccups with fit, trim, or other problems with your new BC. The only really critical part to it is not to have the shoulder straps too tight (keep the waist strap and crotch strap snug). You should be able to get in and out fairly comfortably.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[retnug]

I have one of the Halcyons BPs also. Mine is rigged as follows. I don't have the STA ( although am thinking about getting one). The bolts on mine are long enough. They go through the wing and backplate but not the cam belt. The belts go through the wing and backplate across the "v" on the diver's side of the back plate and back through the other slot in the BP and wing. My cam straps also go around my keel weight holding it snugly in place.

I have attached a crude paint drawing of how I have the cam buckle threaded. The way that is pictured in the other thread works but uses alot of webbing. If you dive some of the larger tanks this leaves a pretty short tail. ( at least it did in my case when I tried that way to see if it was better. See I always will try another methoe to see if its better than another. The consumate tinkerer. ) This may be a little different but it works.

Regards.

 

[Scubaroo]

Got the backplate in the water today - TOTALLY comfortable. Just need to loosen my shoulder straps up a bit - my suit is thicker than I thought when I adjusted it for fit.

#1 PROBLEM: Top bolt in the backplate/wing fell out, so when I inflated the wing on the surface at the end of the dive, it pushed the tank off the backplate, popped the buckle open, and I'm left with a 200m surface swim trying to hold a tank in one hand and a regulator in the other. The bolt for the top hole HAS to go through the harness webbing, as the webbing crosses the backplate DIRECTLY over the bolt hole, and there is even an eyelet in the harness webbing for this. The supplied bolt was simply too short, and didn't have enough thread engaged to grab and stay put. I'm not talking about the bolt going through the tank cam strap, but the backplate harness itself. There's no way to move the harness webbing out of the way of the hole - that's where it lines up.

Anyway, upshot was my tank slid out. Screwed up an otherwise excellent dive at Pebble Beach (yeah, the golf course) that included some seals and a leopard shark.

So I'm looking at an STA (the extra weight would help as well), my question is, is the STA (apart from having decent bolts) going to help hold the tank more securely? My Pioneer wing has the integrated STA, but that relies on just wedging the tank against the wing material for stability, rather than in a metal "groove" so to speak.

Thoughts?

PS Interesting prelude to the dive was another diver coming out of the water on a kayak rather stressed about his 3 buddies who had somehow all ended up stranded on some rocks with their kayaks because of waves or swell - so he calls 911, police show up, and he and his stranded buddies are nowhere to be found - police are asking US if we're alright and need assistance, and the Pebble Beach staff are going nuts about lost divers off their private beach (where it is permitted to dive with a reservation). No idea if the other divers got out okay or what. Thing was when we were in the water (within 30 minutes of this happening) conditions where about as ideal as you could hope for a shore dive. Guessing and hoping they got off the rocks and kayaked around the next point to safety.