Scottri,
By now, I feel that you may have already been in the water and played around with your DA Aquamaster. You really don't need someone to show you about it. I would recommend, if you have one nearby, that you look for an older edition of The New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving by the Council for National Co-operation in Aquatics. The New, Revised Edition is dated 1968, and contains a lot of information about using double-hose regulators. You should be able to find one in a used book store, or on-line through Amazon.com.
If you've been in the water with one, you probably have already gotten a "feel" for the Aquamaster. It is a great regulator, and it will breath wonderfully for you if properly tuned. Here's a few points to remember:
--When swimming on the surface, this reg will free-flow whenever the mouthpiece is above the regulator, and not in your mouth. You may need to hold it when snorkeling, and swimming on you back is not feasible with the mouthpiece out of your mouth due to the extreme free-flow that will occur.
--Underwater, the hoses are buoyant. If there is a twist in the mouthpiece, it will twist in your mouth. The mouthpiece should be in a neutral position to be comfortable; on land, with the regulator face down on a table, the mouthpiece should point directly back at the regulator box.
--If you take the mouthpiece out of your mouth, it will free-flow when above the regulator. This is the preferred method of clearing the reg of water (single hose regs need a "button" on them, double-hose do not). If you don't want to use the free-flow, turn slightly to the right (left side down) and blow. The water will pass through the mouthpiece's non-return valve, and you can continue breathing. If water remains in the left (exhalation) hose, simple exhale when in a left roll and the water will exit the flutter valve in the box.
Those are the major differences. Doff-and-don drills are a bit different, as you need to place the mouthpiece below the regulator, and fix it there under the valve, before surfacing sans scuba. To bup it back on, you need to approach from the regulator side, put your arms through the harness, and put it on over your head. (Mostly, I guess doff-and-don drills are unknown now, but that's how it was done.)
Other than that, and learning how this reg feels upside down, the only other thing is to simply enjoy not having bubbles in your face.
Enjoy!
SeaRat
Thanks for the info. I'm going to play with it in the pool for a while until I get comfortable with it then I do plan to use it in open water but not often. I think it would be fun as hell to walk up to the dive site with all the retro stuff while the DIR crowd in standing around.
