Which signal tube do you prefer for technical diving? I am looking a signal tube for trimix and I use a signal tube from 200 feet with long line reel.
Which signal tube do you prefer for technical diving?
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I carry a 20 lbs Carter safety sausage- it's 6' tall and pre-rigged on a spool. I also have a 50 lbs sausage that is no longer available from TDL, but it's also 6' tall. I carry either a separate spool or reel, depending on the depth/current/etc.
I should mention that most of my diving is in the Great Lakes where there is little current and most of it is closer to the surface. I recall only one dive where I didn't come up the anchor line and that was because it parted from the wreck.
I should mention that most of my diving is in the Great Lakes where there is little current and most of it is closer to the surface. I recall only one dive where I didn't come up the anchor line and that was because it parted from the wreck.
NorthWoodsDiver
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I use a 6' one from ebay. its looks identical to the DAN one but without the logo. its nice because its got 2 ways of being filled. I own both a yellow one and orange one with a dive rite large finger spool to match.
PooDiver87
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I use the Hollis one no problems best that ive used so far!!
I have a 6' Halcyon closed circuit SMB that lives in a pocket until I am on the surface. If I need to be seen in 4' seas its nice to have. And I can impale my 100 lb open lift bag on it to increase the visible area up high.
The closed circuit design is nice in that it will not deflate at the surface, can be waved, etc. However, launching a closed circuit bag or SMB underwater strikes me as being extremely stupid and the practice launches I have done with one supports that view.
It makes little sense to have to disconnect an inflator hose from drysuit or wing just to launch an SMB. Adding 4" LP inflator hose to a stage or deco bottle works better, but then you have that hose along for the whole dive on every dive and it further adds to an already uneccesarily complex system. Simple is always better. The failure possibilities of the closed circuit SMB are interesting as a slightly corroded and sticky QD fitting could leave you getting drug to the surface by your LP hose - a great way to get seriously bent or dead.
From depth, a semi closed circuit lift bag or SMB makes much more sense. It can be filled from a second stage or from the wing/BC inflator (the inflator, not the inflator hose) through the open bottom with no requirement to attach anything to anything else and the butterfly valve inside ensures it will not dump its contents on the surface. It gives you the best of both worlds with none of the risks of a closed circuit SMB.
Also, once on the surface, unless you keep a couple pounds of negative bouyancy on the line, a tall SMB tends to lay down on the surface, defeating the purpose of having a tall SMB. A lift bag is never as tall, but it is consistent even when there is no download on the line. In the event you feel you need more visibility (drifting deco in 3-4 ft seas), you can run the SMB up on the same line as your bag using a locking carabiner clipped to the line.
So...in short I carry a pair 100 lb semi-closed circuit lift bags on the back plate, one yellow and one orange, and the 6' closed circuit SMB in a pocket for deployment once on the surface if needed and If I leave one at home it is the SMB.
The closed circuit design is nice in that it will not deflate at the surface, can be waved, etc. However, launching a closed circuit bag or SMB underwater strikes me as being extremely stupid and the practice launches I have done with one supports that view.
It makes little sense to have to disconnect an inflator hose from drysuit or wing just to launch an SMB. Adding 4" LP inflator hose to a stage or deco bottle works better, but then you have that hose along for the whole dive on every dive and it further adds to an already uneccesarily complex system. Simple is always better. The failure possibilities of the closed circuit SMB are interesting as a slightly corroded and sticky QD fitting could leave you getting drug to the surface by your LP hose - a great way to get seriously bent or dead.
From depth, a semi closed circuit lift bag or SMB makes much more sense. It can be filled from a second stage or from the wing/BC inflator (the inflator, not the inflator hose) through the open bottom with no requirement to attach anything to anything else and the butterfly valve inside ensures it will not dump its contents on the surface. It gives you the best of both worlds with none of the risks of a closed circuit SMB.
Also, once on the surface, unless you keep a couple pounds of negative bouyancy on the line, a tall SMB tends to lay down on the surface, defeating the purpose of having a tall SMB. A lift bag is never as tall, but it is consistent even when there is no download on the line. In the event you feel you need more visibility (drifting deco in 3-4 ft seas), you can run the SMB up on the same line as your bag using a locking carabiner clipped to the line.
So...in short I carry a pair 100 lb semi-closed circuit lift bags on the back plate, one yellow and one orange, and the 6' closed circuit SMB in a pocket for deployment once on the surface if needed and If I leave one at home it is the SMB.
I don't know what "closed circuit" and "semi-closed" mean in the context of SMBs.
I carry an orange AP Valves DSMB, inflated from a second stage and with a non-return valve and separate over-pressure relief valve. I have it permanently attached to a small ratcheting reel (coincidentally also by AP Valves) with 40 mtr of line, and rarely have I ever wanted a longer line. If I want more I just attach a second reel to the first. I send it up when I leave the bottom or the last solid object I'm on. It's around 8' long and easily 8" in diameter, so provides a good ascent platform as well as a highly visible signal. If I have a problem and need help I send up a second DSMB, this time yellow.
When I'm diving with a CCR I try to use a DSMB that's inflated from a small CO2 cylinder, but here in Belize I can't get the cylinders so sometimes I have no option but to inflate from a tank. Something I don't like doing when I'm not carrying much gas. But again, I don't need to send it up until I'm (usually) within 30 minutes of surfacing, and by then I know if I have a gas quantity problem.
I carry one or two lift bags for use in lifting things, not for ascending or signalling. I find them unsuited to either purpose. I also never use a finger spool or a conventional friction-locking reel for a DSMB, as neither is suitable for the purpose. I've seen too many people have difficulties handling these to have any interest in switching from the ratcheting reel that I've used for the last eight years.
I carry an orange AP Valves DSMB, inflated from a second stage and with a non-return valve and separate over-pressure relief valve. I have it permanently attached to a small ratcheting reel (coincidentally also by AP Valves) with 40 mtr of line, and rarely have I ever wanted a longer line. If I want more I just attach a second reel to the first. I send it up when I leave the bottom or the last solid object I'm on. It's around 8' long and easily 8" in diameter, so provides a good ascent platform as well as a highly visible signal. If I have a problem and need help I send up a second DSMB, this time yellow.
When I'm diving with a CCR I try to use a DSMB that's inflated from a small CO2 cylinder, but here in Belize I can't get the cylinders so sometimes I have no option but to inflate from a tank. Something I don't like doing when I'm not carrying much gas. But again, I don't need to send it up until I'm (usually) within 30 minutes of surfacing, and by then I know if I have a gas quantity problem.
I carry one or two lift bags for use in lifting things, not for ascending or signalling. I find them unsuited to either purpose. I also never use a finger spool or a conventional friction-locking reel for a DSMB, as neither is suitable for the purpose. I've seen too many people have difficulties handling these to have any interest in switching from the ratcheting reel that I've used for the last eight years.
I carry two of these...XS Scuba Surface Marker Buoy
They are not that expensive and work great. I do alot of drift deco and use them almost every dive. One is attached to a spool with 180' of line and the other is just for surface use. They have the baffle so they will not deflate a the surface.
They are not that expensive and work great. I do alot of drift deco and use them almost every dive. One is attached to a spool with 180' of line and the other is just for surface use. They have the baffle so they will not deflate a the surface.
I carry a 4' SS with a 150' spool, pre-rigged, in my pocket. I carry a 100# lift bag on my butt.
Most of the 6'+ sausages I see are only 1/2 inflated anyway at the surface if shot from below. The 4' sticks up easier.
Most of the 6'+ sausages I see are only 1/2 inflated anyway at the surface if shot from below. The 4' sticks up easier.
I use a simple 4ft. tall Akona tube as a surface signaling devise and either a 25lbs or 50lbs lift bag for deploying as a deco line support/marker.
I have an older version of the XS Signal Tube without the oral inflate. I had to modify it a little. I removed the "lifting strap" since it always got in the way, and I also took the huge ball off the OPV. Honestly, though, the thing is way too big to shoot from depth easily. You can't get enough air in it to get it to stand up, and it's so big its a pain. I usually get better results from smaller tubes...easier to shoot, and stand up taller giving better visibility.
I'd like a closed bag with oral inflate, an OPV, and D-Rings at top and bottom. The Halcyon is almost right, but the oral inflate/power inflate is just ridiculously large. I also have a Trident bag that I like, but doesn't have the OPV.
I'd like a closed bag with oral inflate, an OPV, and D-Rings at top and bottom. The Halcyon is almost right, but the oral inflate/power inflate is just ridiculously large. I also have a Trident bag that I like, but doesn't have the OPV.
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