rainman_02
Contributor
I can read the gauge under the arm with an 80 and 40 slung. Sometimes I go over, sometimes under. It kinda depends. I prefer to not do the chicken wing while scooting.
Length of the 24" SPG hose
- Thread starter liuk3
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You're so funny.
I called it that (Chicken Wing) originally - then I went back and edited it out of my post and replaced it with "arm extension."
Cracking me up. That is SO what it feels like in the breeze of the scoot.
---
Ken
I cheat and check under the arm when on a scooter too.
Haven't had to "broken wing" my arm out while scootering in a cave yet. Someday maybe, although once you're scootering caves you probably got stages and never really look at the backgas gauge. Cause of course your lighthead isn't mobile in the right hand while scootering so its impossible to bring the gauge to it.
Steve, just try the chicken wing deal in OW a few times. Guaranteed you'll find it easy enough to check your gauge over or under the arm in a few dives. Then you'll know the motions and can choose the best way when/where it applies.
Haven't had to "broken wing" my arm out while scootering in a cave yet. Someday maybe, although once you're scootering caves you probably got stages and never really look at the backgas gauge. Cause of course your lighthead isn't mobile in the right hand while scootering so its impossible to bring the gauge to it.
Steve, just try the chicken wing deal in OW a few times. Guaranteed you'll find it easy enough to check your gauge over or under the arm in a few dives. Then you'll know the motions and can choose the best way when/where it applies.
digital_steve
Contributor
I'll definately give it a go
KMD
Contributor
Just as a side note, you can just as easily check the SPG under the arm in a cave and not throw weird light signals. The glow in the dark crap they put on SPG's doesn't need that much light to activate. you can use the edge of the light cone from your light to charge it up and then simply bring the gauge to your face to read it.
This was not taught in my fundies class. We were never told one way or the other on how to check an SPG.
As for never being able to move your light from the forward position in a cave - how do you learn the cave, side passages and all if you can't shine your light to the side to look in them as you pass by? How do you find unmarked jumps?
We move our lights all of the time. In a new team, particularly in class everyone is "jumpy" But, once you learn to move the deliberately and not jerkily (which SPG checking tends to do at first) and to regularly put it in the spot where your buddy is checking for it, you can then start looking for leads etc. (In a coordinated team, your teammates will generally be following your light as well anyway.)
SparticleBrane
Contributor
This is something that has bothered me for awhile -- the idea that in DIR your light while cave diving should always be in the same spot. I've seen it posted here several times now. I'm not cave certified but I'll look at it from a logical point of view:
Most people cave dive to see the beauty of the cave, right?
So...how do you see the beauty of the cave if your light is always in the exact same spot?
Seems to me that moving it around to look at the rock formations or clay banks isn't a huge deal.
Having the light always in the exact same spot just seems a bit...uptight. I've seen video where someone's light died on a dive, and you can tell pretty darn quickly when half the light suddenly disappears into blackness. I would imagine that having a light totally go black vs. moving your light around is easily discernible. But then again I could be quite wrong.
Most people cave dive to see the beauty of the cave, right?
So...how do you see the beauty of the cave if your light is always in the exact same spot?
Seems to me that moving it around to look at the rock formations or clay banks isn't a huge deal.
Having the light always in the exact same spot just seems a bit...uptight. I've seen video where someone's light died on a dive, and you can tell pretty darn quickly when half the light suddenly disappears into blackness. I would imagine that having a light totally go black vs. moving your light around is easily discernible. But then again I could be quite wrong.
limeyx
Guest
There is no requirement to have the light in the exact same spot.
What you need to do is move the light slowly and deliberately in the normal case, not jerk it around quickly as thats a signal of distress.
You should be seeing your buddys light every 10-20 or so seconds.
I do point the primary briefly at the SPG to read it, and for those few seconds the person in front will not be able to see my light, but I do (hopefully
not jerk the light around like crazy which is going to irritate the entire team.
Guess my class was "old skool"
Although it was brought up again in Cave1. Bring the spg over the elbow and to the light and eye.Your light doesn't need to be in the same spot, just pointed in ways that make sense for da team. Generally forward. Pointing it down and back to flip check an SPG is not helpful. Really its one of those 2nd nature things in a few dives, although I'm otherwise still a bit shaky sometimes.
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