I just run a 26” LP hose from the regulator and clip it off to the D-ring on the left side of the waist belt. As I said, the Dive Alert stays there too. If I was diving dry it would be the suit inflator hose.
Using a closed-bottom DSMB/Lift Bag
- Thread starter bradlw
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Splitter for me, never had any issue with it. But, as said, generally oral inflate. I could put a short hose from the splitter if I wanted to. DGX has a similar piece now to the one below, a little chunky but okay (the splitter below comes from back in the 70s or 80s, it may have been Dacor, frankly do not remember):
The air pressure blows the mouth piece out, release and away it goes. I am pretty much clutter free so not much to entangle on.
The air pressure blows the mouth piece out, release and away it goes. I am pretty much clutter free so not much to entangle on.
DiveLikeAMuppet
Contributor
You can use your drysuit inflator hose if it's long enough, you are deploying at depth and you need to make sure you are not tangled in the line. You could also put an extra hose on your deco/bailout cylinder. I've seen people use crack bottles (meh) and single use CO2 charges but I'm not a big fan.
The Halcyon is very slim as far as DSMBs go so it actually doesn't have all that much lift. You want closed bottom so that it the gas stays inside - but it depends on where you use it. I wouldn't use it if you are e.g. doing drifting deco for any period of time.
Honestly orally inflating a DSMB is a cool skill to practice buoyancy and team awareness in a quarry but if you can orally inflate your DSMB, it's probably too small.
The Halcyon is very slim as far as DSMBs go so it actually doesn't have all that much lift. You want closed bottom so that it the gas stays inside - but it depends on where you use it. I wouldn't use it if you are e.g. doing drifting deco for any period of time.
Honestly orally inflating a DSMB is a cool skill to practice buoyancy and team awareness in a quarry but if you can orally inflate your DSMB, it's probably too small.
@bradlw
@Nemrod addressed it pretty well in his first paragraph in post #10.
My observations:
The only people using a "safety sausage" are rookies / junior divers. I don't intend this in a condescending or pejorative manner but these are divers who need varying degrees of supervision. I haven't run into any proficient divers (regardless of their kit configuration) who still rely on a "safety sausage" to communicate to the surface; they've graduated to a DSMB or a purpose-built float.
With or without a guide, Florida's Atlantic coast has current. If you're really looking for and focusing on sealife, you're going to get separated from others and the boat. I usually drift ahead (not behind) so if I want to re-gain contact with the group I simply park somewhere and wait. Sometimes I don't feel like waiting for the group because I'm up front and enjoying all the "first dibs" encounters with the sealife. I can't see if the main body and the guide with the float are closing on me or if I'm opening the gap. At those moments, I start thinking more about the Captain and the dry DM more than the Guide. It's zero work for me to shoot a DSMB to mark my position early and eliminate (or at least mitigate) the accountability problem for the Captain. 50 minutes underwater is a lot of opportunity to get separated from the Captain or dry DM's field of view. Shooting a DSMB dramatically improves the odds in yours and the Captain's favor. Also, I may very well be outside the radius of my vessel's blue flag and marking my position alerts other boaters that there's a diver in their vicinity.
I've never had a Captain or a Dry DM tell me that shooting was overkill. In fact, it's been the opposite and I think this has earned the trust of the charter operators I frequent. Same thing for @scubadada - he carries his own float and consequently the charters place a lot of trust in him and afford him a lot of latitude.
Switching regs...
Slight update to an earlier post I made. I have a wide variety of DMSBs but use an orange 1.8m DSMB to mark my position. For technical dives I've switched to a 1m / 3.3ft yellow DSMB for indicating I need assistance. Because I'm most likely to already have my orange DSMB deployed, I can simply send the yellow DSMB up the existing line via double ender rather than deploy it on a separate spool or reel. In this instance, a smaller yellow DSMB is made visible simply by being next to the orange DSMB but provides an advantage in taking up less pocket space.
@Nemrod addressed it pretty well in his first paragraph in post #10.
My observations:
The only people using a "safety sausage" are rookies / junior divers. I don't intend this in a condescending or pejorative manner but these are divers who need varying degrees of supervision. I haven't run into any proficient divers (regardless of their kit configuration) who still rely on a "safety sausage" to communicate to the surface; they've graduated to a DSMB or a purpose-built float.
With or without a guide, Florida's Atlantic coast has current. If you're really looking for and focusing on sealife, you're going to get separated from others and the boat. I usually drift ahead (not behind) so if I want to re-gain contact with the group I simply park somewhere and wait. Sometimes I don't feel like waiting for the group because I'm up front and enjoying all the "first dibs" encounters with the sealife. I can't see if the main body and the guide with the float are closing on me or if I'm opening the gap. At those moments, I start thinking more about the Captain and the dry DM more than the Guide. It's zero work for me to shoot a DSMB to mark my position early and eliminate (or at least mitigate) the accountability problem for the Captain. 50 minutes underwater is a lot of opportunity to get separated from the Captain or dry DM's field of view. Shooting a DSMB dramatically improves the odds in yours and the Captain's favor. Also, I may very well be outside the radius of my vessel's blue flag and marking my position alerts other boaters that there's a diver in their vicinity.
I've never had a Captain or a Dry DM tell me that shooting was overkill. In fact, it's been the opposite and I think this has earned the trust of the charter operators I frequent. Same thing for @scubadada - he carries his own float and consequently the charters place a lot of trust in him and afford him a lot of latitude.
Switching regs...
Slight update to an earlier post I made. I have a wide variety of DMSBs but use an orange 1.8m DSMB to mark my position. For technical dives I've switched to a 1m / 3.3ft yellow DSMB for indicating I need assistance. Because I'm most likely to already have my orange DSMB deployed, I can simply send the yellow DSMB up the existing line via double ender rather than deploy it on a separate spool or reel. In this instance, a smaller yellow DSMB is made visible simply by being next to the orange DSMB but provides an advantage in taking up less pocket space.
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I take a float and flag in Boynton Beach. In Palm Beach and Jupiter, I use a DSMB, just like everyone else.
Yes, I did quite a few drift dives in the West Palm area back in the day...
like I said, safety sausages weren't even the norm back in those days and a DSMB wasn't ever really necessary in my experience...but I'd certianly have one with me today.
and yeah, I get it @NothingClever. Remember though, I'm referring to a time when they were only just becoming the only thing marketed or available for recreational divers... There might have been proper DSMB's back then but I was certainly not aware of the concept during my time from nugget OW diver all the way up through Divecon. I got the one I have some time later, after having gone through tech training and I started buying from technical diving manufacturers.
But really, what's the problem with them. Nothing wrong with a rookie or even a veteran doing super shallow/easy stuff, having a signaling device for use once they hit the surface!
Back to the point of this thread, I'm really struggling to see how a large DSMB like the one I have can realistically be deployed from a shallow 20ft dive anyway... well it could be deployed but it would be pretty flacid at the surface!
Not all that much, I suppose for doing serious salvage work, but it seems like a lot when I'm trying to fill it up before letting go
like I said, safety sausages weren't even the norm back in those days and a DSMB wasn't ever really necessary in my experience...but I'd certianly have one with me today.
and yeah, I get it @NothingClever. Remember though, I'm referring to a time when they were only just becoming the only thing marketed or available for recreational divers... There might have been proper DSMB's back then but I was certainly not aware of the concept during my time from nugget OW diver all the way up through Divecon. I got the one I have some time later, after having gone through tech training and I started buying from technical diving manufacturers.
But really, what's the problem with them. Nothing wrong with a rookie or even a veteran doing super shallow/easy stuff, having a signaling device for use once they hit the surface!
Back to the point of this thread, I'm really struggling to see how a large DSMB like the one I have can realistically be deployed from a shallow 20ft dive anyway... well it could be deployed but it would be pretty flacid at the surface!
Some of them maybe. The one I have has something >50# lift. It's about 6ft long and has a circumference of about 16-1/2 inches. Their current issue that's the similar or the same as mine is spec'd to have 52# lift
Not all that much, I suppose for doing serious salvage work, but it seems like a lot when I'm trying to fill it up before letting go
I found a splitter like thatSplitter for me, never had any issue with it. But, as said, generally oral inflate. I could put a short hose from the splitter if I wanted to. DGX has a similar piece now to the one below, a little chunky but okay (the splitter below comes from back in the 70s or 80s, it may have been Dacor, frankly do not remember):
The air pressure blows the mouth piece out, release and away it goes. I am pretty much clutter free so not much to entangle on.
DGX QD Y-Block: LP Reg Hose = BC Inflator X 2
This Y-block connects to the fitting found on low-pressure 2nd stage regulator hoses with a standard 9/16-inch male fitting and provides two standard female BC quick disconnect fittings.
www.divegearexpress.com
Scared Silly
Contributor
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