solo divers' vicious circle?

[Vtdiver2]

I think the problem is not whether his console is left or right but that he does not have a console, spg, BC, octapus or anything else. We vintage/SeaHunt era divers generally don't use all that stuff, especially consoles, pink consoles just somehow don't look right with a double hose regulator--lol.

"

My point wasn't regarding whether he had a console or not, it was that just because he chooses to use gear different than the "norm" doesn't make it wrong, and I can relate to it based on comments I've gotten regarding my own set up. As long as it's safe, comfortable to the user, and your buddy knows how it works( if you have a dive buddy) then go enjoy your dive.
As for vintage gear, I was using a Dacor Pacer XL from the '70's until this past winter. I couldn't get parts for it due to MARES screwing everyone by only buying DACOR's name and not their tooling. I went out and bought a replacement, but am still in the market to get replacement parts for it. Let me know if you know where I can get them.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[Nemrod]

I was just teasing you Vtdiver about the pink console, don't take me so serious. I don't consider a Pacer vintage but that is just my opinion, others may differ, to me it is equipemnt from mostly the 60s and and 50s and earlier and pretty much only double hose, again, my opinion.

No, having different equipment does not make it wrong but I assure you thst if you climb on a dive boat and pop out a double hose, J valve and attempt to flip over the side with no spg, no BC the dive master is going to have a coronary, trust me, I have seen it first hand. My point was that if you dive vintage gear (pre 75 and usually stuff from the 50s and 60s) then some accomadations will have to be made. I have rigged some of my double hose units to take an octapus, spg and I have a couple of very early BCs from the very early 70s. If your equipment works, you know how to use it and you have their minimum equipemnt for the dive then I figure I should be able to dive and I think you are saying the same thing. Got to go mow the grass. N

 

[Nemrod]

Duckbill, why don't you join the main fleet of vintage divers on vintage scuba and viotagedouble hose. If you need the links let me know and I will get them for you, they have been posted in other threads. Join up to the boards. This is an excellent forum but there is more vintage activity and knowledge on the other boards I mentioned. Hope you don't get to frustrated. I feel your pain, I have been there too. N

 

[duckbill]

My point was that if you dive vintage gear (pre 75 and usually stuff from the 50s and 60s) then some accomadations will have to be made.

Hey guys, thanks for the discussion.
Nemrod, that is what I have been working towards. I have a very nice vintage Calypso-J second stage to attach to my DA and am in the process of getting an octopus adapter from Bryan. I also have HP ports on some of my tank valves for a SPG. Do the dive boat operators ever have problems with a manually inflated horsecollar? What if it had a working CO2 inflator attached (I know many say they are taboo, mainly because of unknowledgable divers using them as a way to make an emergency ascent)?
Vtdiver2, I understand what you are saying and I hope you find your Pacer parts. It's a real bummer when your favorite equipment become "obsolete" because of an unavailability of parts, but hold onto that regulator anyway. Maybe sometime soon, the older single hoses will have entrepeneurs having aftermarket parts made to satisfy the market, like the double hose community has now. BTW, the only other LDSs are about an hour away, and I like the convenience of having our only LDS a couple miles down the road. I will start doing some business with the others, but I wouldn't want to show up at our local LDS for an air fill with tanks sporting the competitors' visual stickers, you know what I mean?

 

[duckbill]

Duckbill, why don't you join the main fleet of vintage divers on vintage scuba and viotagedouble hose. If you need the links let me know and I will get them for you, they have been posted in other threads. Join up to the boards. This is an excellent forum but there is more vintage activity and knowledge on the other boards I mentioned. Hope you don't get to frustrated. I feel your pain, I have been there too. N

Thanks for the suggestion. I joined vintagescuba and vintagedoublehose concurrently. See you there!
My lawns need attention now too. BCNU.

 

[Nemrod]

Hey, got rained out--oh darn---so I can answer your question. It is my belief most dive boats are not going to allow a manual BC or CO2 safety vest as commonly used in the old days. Some may but I would not count on it.
I use my SPG with a banjo connector instead of to the tank valve. Works good but the supply for those is sketchy at best. The mentioned LP adapter works well alos especially if you use an adapter to it to allow both an octapus and inflator hose. Here is a not very good pic showing my Royal AquaMaster with LP adapter for inflator and octapus attached to a modern Hammerhead tech backplate and old style SeaTec wing BC. Works great for open water diving. I have the Calypso single hose on a 40 inch hose with swivel. I route it under my RH arm and it hangs from my neck with the quick release strap in case it needs to be donated. This is the rig I have dived on a number of dive boats with not much problems. Since my Royal actually outperforms many so called modern high performance regs this rig really has no OW limitations. A tech type wing could be substituted for the old SeaTec or sometimes I use a horsecollar and remove the wing from the plate.
Aside from being different another thing that sets skippers and dive masters and potential buddies off is poorely maintained equipment. As you may can see my stuff is like new despite being old. It may be old in years but it is all top notch and ready to go and has proven itself more reliable than many modern plastic equipments. Old does not always equal worn out or shoddy. Hope this helps. N

 

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

Contact Jerry Powell at Scuba Tech scubatech@busynet.com He worked for Dacor for years and has a HUGE stockpile of parts for all Dacor regulators.

My point wasn't regarding whether he had a console or not, it was that just because he chooses to use gear different than the "norm" doesn't make it wrong, and I can relate to it based on comments I've gotten regarding my own set up. As long as it's safe, comfortable to the user, and your buddy knows how it works( if you have a dive buddy) then go enjoy your dive.
As for vintage gear, I was using a Dacor Pacer XL from the '70's until this past winter. I couldn't get parts for it due to MARES screwing everyone by only buying DACOR's name and not their tooling. I went out and bought a replacement, but am still in the market to get replacement parts for it. Let me know if you know where I can get them.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[duckbill]

Greetings Dr. Bill.
Before I joined SB I spent a few months reading through threads here. Many of them were yours.
I dove your island for the first time on July 26th. I booked through Carnival Cruises and was the only diver in the "group"! Anyhow, I had a great and memorable dive with a guide by the name of Chris. If you know him, tell him I said "Hello".
Beautiful spot you have there. I'll be back!
BCNU

And a hearty "Hello" to Bryan of vintagedoublehose, too.

 

[ClevelandDiver]

If you are looking for an easy way to get around the lack of LP and HP ports on most of the double hose regs, I recently rigged up a configuration that should let you get past the equipment requirement nazis and still stay relatively vintage. Use a right hand H-Valve that is DIN/yoke convertible. After placing your double hose on the main valve there should be just enough room to fit a small first stage on the outter valve. A single hose healthways worked for me, but I am sure plenty of others will fit too. Next, replace the second stage with a Sidekick octo/inflator hose (or something like an Air2 setup) and finally run a vintage SPG off the HP port (or newer SPG with adapter). Combine with a horse collar BC that has an inflator option, and you should meet all mandatory equipment rules (safe 2nd/auto inflate BC/SPG) and still have a relatively vintage dive.

FYI - I know having a Air2 type set up as your donor air is not a good idea, but it will hopefully you get you past the gate keepers. Would not want to try it out with an instant buddy.

On a completely unrelated topic.... I borrowed an OLD scuba book that had a wild suggestion for donating air with a double hose. CUT the exhaust hose near the reg and have both divers inhaling off the hose and exhaling out their noses. They said it was safer and easier than buddy breathing. It could be practiced by leaving of the hose clamps on the exhaust hose at the reg and pulling it loose. Has anyone ever tried this in training or a real emergency? If I saw Nemrod coming at me with a big old dive knife/machette in his hand giving the out of air signal, I would think he was signalling that he was gonna slit my throat!

 

[Creed]

On a completely unrelated topic.... I borrowed an OLD scuba book that had a wild suggestion for donating air with a double hose. CUT the exhaust hose near the reg and have both divers inhaling off the hose and exhaling out their noses. They said it was safer and easier than buddy breathing. It could be practiced by leaving of the hose clamps on the exhaust hose at the reg and pulling it loose. Has anyone ever tried this in training or a real emergency? If I saw Nemrod coming at me with a big old dive knife/machette in his hand giving the out of air signal, I would think he was signalling that he was gonna slit my throat!

Thank you for that mental image!! And now I have a new name for my old Dacor knife. It's now a dive machette!
As for cutting the hose, if I thought that my buddy had been largely at fault for the out of air incident and he cut my hose, he would be treating me to a new set of hoses.