Vintage scubapro reg set and Sea-Vue SPG ID help

[Ed Palma]

I wonder who that was?

C'mon Herman, and let Dale off the hook

 

[redacted]

I'm thinking a first production Mk3 based on the shape of the cap. I thought the well rounded cap on the Mk3 didn't show up until the 2nd production design (1966). I thought early production Mk2s were even less rounded and had more taper to the cap. Easy answer is pull the cap and check the size of the piston head o-ring.

 

[Couv]

.....I agree it is a MK 2, as the early MK 3 had a cap that was much more rounded.

And the ambient holes are off center, i.e. closer to the body than the end of the cap.

..... The serial number V-926 indicates in was originally on a MK V first stage...

I learn something old every day.

 

[DaleC]

At least I remembered someone did it! C'mon, where's the link to those sexy pics?

Ah hah! trying the old hiding on the other forum trick. scubajoe look here to see what that old spg could look like, about half way down the page. Nice work Herman...
Vintage Double Hose • View topic - Vintage Equipment Photo Section

 

[scubajoeT]

Wow, thanks for all the great info guys. Now I just have to decide if I'm up for the restoration task. If not, look for this setup in the new "vintage for sale" area.

-Joe

 

[Akimbo]

This was my first single hose regulator circa 1964. There were worse regulators around, but not many. You can see two of them in the attached photo on a set of delta-pack triples and the catalog page.

 

[Luis H]

This was my first single hose regulator circa 1964. There were worse regulators around, but not many. You can see two of them in the attached photo on a set of delta-pack triples and the catalog page.

Is the first stage in the cheater bar an original Scubapro Mk-1? I am referring about the Mk-1 that was recalled and there are very few around.

Taking a close look at it, I am fairly sure it was the original Mk-1.
Did you dive it much? How did it worked? Did you ever had any problems with it?

Sorry about all the questions, but I just don't know anyone that actually dove one.
They were almost erased from existence.


Thanks

 

[Akimbo]

Is the first stage in the cheater bar an original Scubapro Mk-1? I am referring about the Mk-1 that was recalled and there are very few around.

Taking a close look at it, I am fairly sure it was the original Mk-1.
Did you dive it much? How did it worked? Did you ever had any problems with it?

Sorry about all the questions, but I just don't know anyone that actually dove one.
They were almost erased from existence….

Yes, the 64 catalog shows it as a Mark I, $75. I never heard anything about a recall so I can’t say it was the same or not. I bought it in 64 and dove them for about a year after Navy Second Class Diving School in 1970.

I left my first regulator in the shop (a Voit 66 Navy Double Hose) for them to sell but it was stolen. They gave me a Mark II more or less in trade, which is how a got two of them. They never failed but breathed like a 3' snorkel, sometimes they seemed better than my double hose, sometimes worse. In hindsight I should have gotten a Calypso. There weren’t any breathing machines in those days so who knew?

This was a really long time ago but I remember comparing my “perceived” performance of them to the Conshelf regulators we had at Submarine Development Group. I never used these ScubaPros again. I kept them around for years and finally threw them in the trash so nobody would use them.

I was first assigned to the Bathyscaph Trieste II as an electronics tech and support diver. We were able to use the Conshelf instead of the Royal Aquamaster because the leaking aviation fuel from the Trieste attacked the hoses. After first class school in 71 we only used Conshelfs on the Mark II Deep Dive System. We had a lot of freedom to use what we wanted being an “experimental” group. I don’t even remember seeing a double hose in the diving locker. It was years before the regular Navy was able to use them instead of the double hoses.

 

[Luis H]

Yes, the 64 catalog shows it as a Mark I, $75. I never heard anything about a recall so I can’t say it was the same or not. I bought it in 64 and dove them for about a year after Navy Second Class Diving School in 1970.



I kept them around for years and finally threw them in the trash so nobody would use them.

That is a real shame. That Mk-1 is very rare unit.

The two regulator first stages in the picture are very different.

The one in the single tank is a Mk-2, which is just a basic unbalanced piston regulator. A variation of it is still made to this day and it works fine. The performance issue of the one you had was driven by the second stage (which is normally the case).

The other regulator is a very rare original Mk-1 regulator. It was a balanced flow by (not the modern flow through) piston regulator.

Scubapro recalled all those regulators and there are very few examples available. I would love to have one to check it out.

My understanding is that the piston on the first generation Mk-1 could get stuck in the closed position… not a good thing.
See this link:
MK 1


In this thread there are some pictures of the original Mk-1
Vintage Double Hose • View topic - Scubpro MK I/109 (Model 101) restored

 

[Akimbo]

The only time I recall servicing one of these two regulators was about 1967. I was looking over Bob Hollis’ shoulder when he owned the Anchor Shack in Hayward, California. I imagine that it was the Mark II since Bob was a Scubapro dealer and would have acted on a recall — unless maybe it was too far past warranty.

I went back to check an old dive log and it was definitely the spring of 1964 when I got both regulators. The MK1 link states:

The first attempt in 1965 was a first stage with modified MK2-piston and MK2-Cap. On each side was a 3/8" Port - one for High Pressure, one for Low Pressure…

I am not sure if they got the year wrong or there is some other variation involved. Attached is a catalog page from ScubaPros’ 1964 catalog. It looks like the first generation Mark I first stage to me.

I completely agree with you that the second stage was almost certainly the limiting factor, at least at shallow depths and high cylinder pressures. The test benches weren’t too good in those days and I don’t recall the Navy building the first hyperbaric breathing machine until the early 1970s. I never saw it personally but photos showed it eating up about half of the main lock at the Experimental Diving Unit in DC plus even more space for the chart recorders outside.

I don’t recall noticing any difference in performance between the Mark I or II even a low cylinder pressures… but it was a long time ago and I was pretty young. I understood second stages very well but was still a little fuzzy on first stages until working on them in the Navy.

The regulator in the link you provided, Scubpro MK I/109 (Model 101) restored, is a much newer model than the ones in 64/65. It included a copy of Kirby Morgan’s Dial-a-Breath second stage adjustment, which served an important function on surface-supplied regulators versus being virtually a status symbol on this regulator.

Remind me not to tell you about all the other stuff I threw out.