noise underwater by divers

[rameus]

hi at all...

tried to get over my traumatic experiences i had a few times with shaker-maniacs underwater in a funny way. posted my article here. would be interesting to hear what you do think about use of shakers and tank bangers to get the attention of people underwater.

of course there are people who have to use things like that (instructors or guides guiding in tough conditions or with low visibility) but apart from that there's not much of a sense to me when "normal" divers use such things excessively...

i'm very curious about the replies

Thomas

 

[tstormdiver]

I personally only use a rattle to communicate with my students when conducting OW classes. The rest of the time it is hand, body or light signals. I was on a liveaboard trip a few years ago in which a gent (used loosely) had a little pointer stick. It was fine for that application, until he learned that he could use it to easily tap his tank. For the rest of the trip all's I heard was "tap, tap, tap..... tap, tap, tap....." as he would use it to get his buddy's attention, constantly, to the point it started to grate on my nerves.

 

[herbdb]

I thought the Quacker used by our Dive Master on Roatan worked well and was not annoying.

 

[scubafanatic]

...over active computer alarms constantly beeping are also highly annoying!

 

[Sinbad Scuba]

I have a Christmas bell that works nicely. It is not annoying and does get people's attention.

 

[cloudflint]

Now that ive been diving my twin hose for a while i find the constant noise of my buddies single hose reg's drive me nuts. I find myself wishing they would stop breathing out so much

Never encountered a shaker except in a swimming pool where i could constantly hear it clink clink clinking along the bottom.

 

[DwayneJ]

Get a flashlight - Much more reliable means to get your buddies attention. A high quality twist on and off C Cell e-led flashlight is about $100.

 

[DevonDiver]

Noise pollution on dives is sickening. I like my dives to be tranquil. Noise from rattles, quackers, horns etc carries a long way and tends to be used over-enthusiastically. It's also completely unnecessary.

Instructors using them on courses encourage students to use them through role-modelling. The students then become underwater noise polluters. I wish those instructors would stop.

 

[fdog]

I hate noisemakers of all kinds. It's the ultimate in underwater egocentrism - "Hey! I want you to stop looking at your cool thing, and come look at the cooler thing I found."

And usually it's yet another <insert common sea creature here> that we've seen a zillion times.

All the best, James

 

[tstormdiver]

Instructors using them on courses encourage students to use them through role-modelling. The students then become underwater noise polluters. I wish those instructors would stop.

Although I see your point,... In low vis (sometimes 5- 10 ft) conditions with more than 4 students, it is vital to keep everyone together. Even with the longest briefing & planning there is & an assistant, there are some that still tend to stray. I do not use my rattle except when neccesary & keep the noise to a minimum. Very few of my students have gotten rattles because I was using them. I will agree consatnt noise making IS irritating, but there are also time when it may be neccesary.