Just started on an assisgnment to review a business case for the manufacture of underwater communiation equipment. This product is a tube attached to the Auxilliary Regulator. I am enquiring as to what divers usually use for underwater communication and what is the preferred equipment and why - thanks.
Under water communication
- Thread starter dtownse
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Assuming you're a non diver:
A range of standardised hand signals gets the most important messages across.
Dive slates or waterproof note books can be used to provide more specific information. Cheap and foolproof.
Some professional divers wear full face masks with voice communication built in – expensive but useful in some circumstances. Too expensive for recreational needs.
There are a range of noisemakers available to get a divers attention while submerged –from thingies that bang on the tank to small horns that use compressed air. Most also have the effect of irritating the hell out of any other divers in the vicinity.
The product you describe is intriguing: is it some attempt at voice communication by improving the noise of talking into a reg by adding an airspace? Any more details would be appreciated - people on this board are quite opinionated and would be able to provide you with feedback on the product - letting you know if they would buy it, or any improvements/problems they may see.
Cheers,
Rohan.
A range of standardised hand signals gets the most important messages across.
Dive slates or waterproof note books can be used to provide more specific information. Cheap and foolproof.
Some professional divers wear full face masks with voice communication built in – expensive but useful in some circumstances. Too expensive for recreational needs.
There are a range of noisemakers available to get a divers attention while submerged –from thingies that bang on the tank to small horns that use compressed air. Most also have the effect of irritating the hell out of any other divers in the vicinity.
The product you describe is intriguing: is it some attempt at voice communication by improving the noise of talking into a reg by adding an airspace? Any more details would be appreciated - people on this board are quite opinionated and would be able to provide you with feedback on the product - letting you know if they would buy it, or any improvements/problems they may see.
Cheers,
Rohan.
A few more existing devices used for underwater communications are lights and rope tugs.
The proof of the particular device is in the pudding. Have friends who are divers get in the water and try it out, both as talkers and listeners. If this “tube” increases the air space so the diver’s voice resonates, it sounds like similar attempts in the past that haven’t worked very well.
I think the problems were:
- sound not transferring well from the device into and through the water,
- how to attach it to different regulators, and
- learning to produce clear speech with a regulator mouthpiece in the mouth, especially the B’s, M’s, and P’s.
Perhaps this is a breakthrough, though. If it works well, is strong, reliable, and inexpensive, there’s probably a market.
Caution: many divers will be skeptical of attaching a device to their life support equipment (even back-up equipment) that doesn’t come from a reputable regulator manufacturer. Therefore, the primary market might be established scuba manufacturers.
The proof of the particular device is in the pudding. Have friends who are divers get in the water and try it out, both as talkers and listeners. If this “tube” increases the air space so the diver’s voice resonates, it sounds like similar attempts in the past that haven’t worked very well.
I think the problems were:
- sound not transferring well from the device into and through the water,
- how to attach it to different regulators, and
- learning to produce clear speech with a regulator mouthpiece in the mouth, especially the B’s, M’s, and P’s.
Perhaps this is a breakthrough, though. If it works well, is strong, reliable, and inexpensive, there’s probably a market.
Caution: many divers will be skeptical of attaching a device to their life support equipment (even back-up equipment) that doesn’t come from a reputable regulator manufacturer. Therefore, the primary market might be established scuba manufacturers.
Thanks for your replies. This is an old case and so the product probably did not take off. Based on a simple schematic, part of the auxilliary regulator is inside an 8 inch tube. The is a latex covering on one end and a neoprene mouthpiece on the other. Basically, the air is cleared out of the tube using the mouthpiece leaving an air space where sound can pass from one diver to the other. The tube would have to be placed on the other divers ear. I tend to agree that this process sound a bit risky considering that this is a back up system. I do not dive myself. Any other thoughts would be welcome.
Hi there -
I think the main turn off for divers is the placing the tube on the ear bit - it can be cumbersome to get that close to a diver, deploying your secondary regulator (called an octopus or ‘occy’
and risk tangling your occy with their kit while trying to place the tube on their ear, then moving away without getting each others way, then reclipping your occy back to where it is stowed. Far easier to pull out a slate/notebook or use hand signals. There is also the problem of placing a relatively bulky item on a piece of life support equipment that needs to be deployed rapidly - the tube may present a tangle hazard.
Now - if they could make small device that transmitted sound into the water that could be heard by other divers (maybe using a processor to first modify the distorted regulator speech and then transmit it using a small speaker into a frequency more conducive to water) then you may be talking.
Personally I enjoy the silence when diving - for a blissful hour nobody can talk to me allowing full immersion in the aquatic environment...
Cheers,
Rohan.
I think the main turn off for divers is the placing the tube on the ear bit - it can be cumbersome to get that close to a diver, deploying your secondary regulator (called an octopus or ‘occy’
and risk tangling your occy with their kit while trying to place the tube on their ear, then moving away without getting each others way, then reclipping your occy back to where it is stowed. Far easier to pull out a slate/notebook or use hand signals. There is also the problem of placing a relatively bulky item on a piece of life support equipment that needs to be deployed rapidly - the tube may present a tangle hazard. Now - if they could make small device that transmitted sound into the water that could be heard by other divers (maybe using a processor to first modify the distorted regulator speech and then transmit it using a small speaker into a frequency more conducive to water) then you may be talking.
Personally I enjoy the silence when diving - for a blissful hour nobody can talk to me allowing full immersion in the aquatic environment...
Cheers,
Rohan.
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