How old is "vintage" gear?

[DebbyDiver]

I was just going through some old stuff and found six still-packaged Cyalume sticks for a "TEKNA COMBO-LITE Illumination System". I never owned this particular item, so I'm assuming my former spouse left it behind.

The packaging says "Easy to use, replaceable, and now standard on all 1987 TEKNA Analog Gauge Combos. With each bracket you receive 6 Cyalume lightsticks." I don't think I have the bracket (I'll have to look) but the packaging says that you snap the bracket onto the guage combo and slide the lightstick into the bracket. I know I've seen the bracket around my garage and didn't know what the heck it was and was too afraid to throw it away, but I might have finally liberated it in spring cleaning. I hope not.

There are five tiny cyalumes left now because I tried one, and darn it but that 20 year old thing lit right up!

I was just wondering if 1987 is considered "vintage". This seems like a very primitive way to light guages. Wasteful, too.

EDIT: geez, AFTER I posted this I see that vintage is pre-1980. Sorry about that. It's still a very unusual item, though.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Tekna gauges glowed really well to start with with just brief exposure to light, so the lightstick thing always struck me as being pretty dumb.

But Tekna was a very innovative company and had some excellent ideas, many of which are still in use. (The Oceanic and Aeries sccooters are Tekna DV-100 clones, and most of the rest of the scooters out there still use the same motor/prop/shroud design.)

The Tekna depth gauge was very accurate for the era and gave much better resolution that most available depth gauges, they had one of the first truly useful electronic bottom timers, and their console was very small compared to the monsters of the time.

--

But 1987 is not exactly vintage. That term mostly applies to double hose regs and the pre-BC, pre-octo era. Although some single hose regs and horse collar BC's are also often considered to be vintage.

 

[WD8CDH]

This has been discussed before. The Vintage Diving era ended the day the pink wetsuit came out.

 

[herman]

This has been discussed before. The Vintage Diving era ended the day the pink wetsuit came out.

Why? Pink and Black were the rage in fashion in the late 50's.... or so I understand, a little before my time.

In any case, the general date I have seen is 1975 since that was the last year that US Divers listed the DA Aquamaster in it's catalog.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'm a big fan of the Aquamaster, but there were a couple other double hose regs that hung on a bit longer - into the early 1980's - to cater to a very small group of photographers.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Thanks y'all, maybe I should have this moved to the guage section.

I do agree that TEKNA had some really cool stuff back in the day. My first "computer" was a TEKNA Timer, or at least I think that is what it was called.

My dad started diving in the late 1950's in California, I sure wish I had some of his old gear! I didn't get certified until 1980 so I don't have any really "vintage" gear.

Sorry to post in the wrong forum, but thanks for being nice about it.

 

[WD8CDH]

Why? Pink and Black were the rage in fashion in the late 50's.... or so I understand, a little before my time.

In any case, the general date I have seen is 1975 since that was the last year that US Divers listed the DA Aquamaster in it's catalog.

Pink and Black were in fashion in the late 50's but I am pretty sure that the first pink wetsuit was advertised in the mid '70s. There were other bright colors in dive gear prior to that but not pink.

Seriously, most people place the cutoff at about 1975 or for equipment models that were in production during 1975 but continued beyond that time. Especially things like the Nemrod Snark III double hose that was produced into the '90s and single hose regulators with metal housing second stages that started production prior to ~'75.

 

[Paladin]

What about the USD Aquarius?

 

[Nemrod]

Vintage gear is pre 1974. Vintage diving is the use of equipment, methods and techniques used widely before 1974. Essentially if it is not in the earlier releases of the "The New Science of Skin and Scuba" then it is not vintage.

Somethings are difficult, for example, the Scuba Pro Stab Jacket was introduced in 71 but since it is not in the New Science and since it represents the beginning (overlapping the end of vintage era) of modern sport diving it is therefore not vintage. Essentially no BC is actually vintage but most guys accept the horsecollar style as being vintage if only barely. On the other hand, another example, Scuba Pro Jet Fins have been around since 1963 and were widely used by vintage era divers. They are therefore accepted as at least faux vintage in their modern version which differs in the emblem only from the original.

The search for the missing scuba link continues by NAVED members in lakes and ponds and oceans around the world.

N, certified paleoscubaologist and I have the fossil evidence but he escaped

 

[Zieg]

What about the USD Aquarius?

Might be. Nemrod stated pre-74. I got my Aquarius in 1973.