New DPV - Dive Xtras

[ben.mcgeever]

Update on the blacktip, after weighting it down, it's very slightly negative. I took the blacktip out today and it wouldn't start. I checked it for flooding and it was good. I was about to call the dive when I realized the switch was messed up. Something is causing the switch to stick so i had to use the detent that allows positive disengagement but it worked perfectly after that. The weighting made its manners much better in the water.

Is there any way to user service/clean out the switch?

The trigger assembly comes apart if you remove the small screw close to the thumb lever area. If there us anything caught in there it should come out easily. If that doesn't fix it give us a call so we can help further.

 

[mperdomo]

The trigger assembly comes apart if you remove the small screw close to the thumb lever area. If there us anything caught in there it should come out easily. If that doesn't fix it give us a call so we can help further.

Thanks for this! Just pulled apart the trigger, a pretty smart design! Turns out the spring came off the nipple inside the red part and it wasn't properly sliding because the spring was all jammed up.

 

[ben.mcgeever]

Thanks for this! Just pulled apart the trigger, a pretty smart design! Turns out the spring came off the nipple inside the red part and it wasn't properly sliding because the spring was all jammed up.

Sorry that happened, and great you managed to fix it easily.

 

[NothingClever]

How do you fly with the blacktip? Will it just fit inside a large checked bag and if so how do you protect the shroud from being damaged by gorillas? Does the shroud and tailpiece get removed for travel?

I don’t have a BlackTip yet (purchasing in April) but have messed about with shipping lots of critical and sensitive equipment over the years.

I’m thinking a large Action Packer with a foam cocoon would be adequate and a Pelican, Hardigg or similar hard case, vertically loaded, would be optimal. Looks like the prop shroud is the same as the Piranha series. The Piranha specs show the shroud including the handle is 18 inches. If true, the dimensions of the BlackTip shipping case would need to be somewhere around 22 L x 22 W x 28 H if you’re using a column case. The extra dimensions would allow for foam.

For those in North America, Lowes has a Craftsman lockable tool box with wheels and an extension handle for U$D89.00. It’s 37W x 23D x 23H so the dimensions may allow one to build and fit inside a plywood stand like Dive Extras uses. For larger liveaboards that may be handy so your scooter isn’t sliding around on the deck or taking up space lashed to something. Anyways, the Craftsman tool box is a pretty good deal in comparison to hundreds of dollars for a Hardigg case.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-37-in-Black-Plastic-Wheeled-Lockable-Tool-Box/1000578337

I think a large checked bag would be pretty risky.

 

[rng]

How do you fly with the blacktip? Will it just fit inside a large checked bag and if so how do you protect the shroud from being damaged by gorillas? Does the shroud and tailpiece get removed for travel?

I used a Nanuk 960 w/ pick and pluck foam - exterior 25.5" x 20" x 14.5" = 60" within the limit for regular checked baggage.
It's 40lbs packed and ready to fly.

Heading to Bonaire for a week of shore diving
First time travelling with a DPV, this should be fun

 

[NothingClever]

Sweet set up, rng. Thanks for posting.

 

[mperdomo]

For people who use Waitley 9ah batteries: The past couple of times I have taken the scooter out, I get down to the last bar, but then i pull out the batteries and have 70% left (Waitley batts have an LCD segment display with 0-100%).

Should we consider the waitley battery gauge correct or the blacktip battery gauge? I feel like the answer is just that the blacktip is wrong and I should plan out battery usage without considering the blacktip's instruments. BTW, today was a great day with the blacktip, I was in strong currents blowing me against a reef, so I held the blacktip 90 degrees to my centerline and was static in the current, it was insanely cool.

 

[ben.mcgeever]

For people who use Waitley 9ah batteries: The past couple of times I have taken the scooter out, I get down to the last bar, but then i pull out the batteries and have 70% left (Waitley batts have an LCD segment display with 0-100%).

Should we consider the waitley battery gauge correct or the blacktip battery gauge? I feel like the answer is just that the blacktip is wrong and I should plan out battery usage without considering the blacktip's instruments. BTW, today was a great day with the blacktip, I was in strong currents blowing me against a reef, so I held the blacktip 90 degrees to my centerline and was static in the current, it was insanely cool.

The Blacktip is setup for normal lithium cells, and i would think it unlikely that the Waitley have anything different. My guess would be that by the time you end the dive and open the scooter the batt voltage has recovered sufficiently that the Waitley guage thinks that the batteries has capacity still.

The real check would be to do a dive that you know should use nearly all of a 9 ah battery and see if you achieve that in reality.

The Waitley guage with its digital display is cool, but in reality it has no way of calculating any better accuracy than the bars on other batteries

 

[mperdomo]

Im familiar at a very basic level with how lithium batteries and capacity measurement works, would it just be that the Waitleys have a higher voltage sag under load due to internal resistance than the DeWalts?

I’ll try to test the batteries to exhaustion at some point, I am pretty sure there’s a lot more capacity than the scooter says when at one bar.

 

[ben.mcgeever]

Im familiar at a very basic level with how lithium batteries and capacity measurement works, would it just be that the Waitleys have a higher voltage sag under load due to internal resistance than the DeWalts?

I’ll try to test the batteries to exhaustion at some point, I am pretty sure there’s a lot more capacity than the scooter says when at one bar.

Could be. I know the sag with aftermarket 5’s is quite high.

You could run at a low speed for a short period and see how many bars you get then to learn more about the sag.