Tank Bangers!

[treasurehunter]

If you're only using it for emergency attention-getting, that's fairly reasonable. That's not really what you said in your earlier post, however... nor was the attitude of "screw you, I'm communicating to my buddy" (paraphrasing) particularly appropriate.

My objection was to people who are using them *outside of emergency situations* as general attention getters for their buddy. "Pay attention to me" and "hey, look at this!" aren't generally emergencies. If they're inattentive, swim over to them... don't annoy everyone within a 1/4 mile just because your buddy isn't paying attention, unless there's a genuine emergency, of course. FAR too many people I have come across use them in this manner, which is very inconsiderate of your fellow diver. Or perhaps it's just my bad luck...

yes i realized i kinda could put more effort into my post. I've been diving for five years without any noisemaker but my knife. one thing i realized with respect to getting your buddies attention quickly with a shaker or tank banging is that your buddy don't realize for a while(long enough for any bad situation to get worst) that your shaking or banging(probably due to narcosis and I've been shaked at and it took me a while to realize i was being shaked because the noise is not out of the ordinary underwater.But with a quacker the response is much quicker but still sometimes you don't realize the sound of the honker. I dive often alone with my woman and I'd rather have one if needed.

 

[BKP]

Interesting, when you return to a thread after a while...

I have a honker, and have dove with others that have them... I've yet to see anyone "abuse" it, like the a-holes in restaurants with the 200-decibal cell phone voice someone referred to.

I've seen instructors use them with newbies doing stationary skills to keep, or get, attention, and justifiably so... that quack is unique, and most pay attention.

I've had to use it to get my buddy's attention once... when she was watching a hawksbill doing a slow pirouette, had no reference point in her field of vision, and was losing depth without knowing it... That one time made it worth it.

Now if situations like that can ruin some other elitist diver's day... well... tough.

 

[ONESPEED]

Good buddy skills are a better route than tank bangers, especially if there's more than 2 people in the water.

The last thing most people want to hear is a metallic banging sound while diving, just so one guy can signal his non-attentive buddy (but in the process, announces this to everyone in the water).

Could not have said it better myself.

 

[hammerhead45]

I think they work best around the students head. Be sure and position the ball center of forehead. When they dont pay attention pull back the ball ...................................

 

[ONESPEED]

I think they work best around the students head. Be sure and position the ball center of forehead. When they dont pay attention pull back the ball ...................................

I stand corrected, and all this time I thought there was no useful purpose for tank bangers.

 

[D_B]

I wonder if you use two of them, arranged with one on forehead, one on back, and pull back on front one and let go, will their head transfer the energy to the back one, making it fly up and then slam back .. oscillating back and forth like one of those executive desk toys