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The first Back plate was manufactured by a defunct company called Sea Craft in Wilmington, Mass. in 1960. It was a 1/8 thick aluminum plate to which the scuba tanks of that era were attatched.
They were idenified as follows;
FA 320 singe tank................$15.95
FA 321 double tank...............$21.95
FA 322 triple tank (44cuft) ....$24.95
I do not know who invented it..The company was sold to New Enland Divers in the mid 1960s.
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F.J. Voit, of Santa Ana, California introduced the first detachable back plate in 1963. The back plate attatched to the bands on the tank via clips.
It was identified as follows;
DS 297 single tank unit....$11.00
DS 261 Double tank unit....$13.00
It was designed by Fred Roberts Jr.
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The "BIU" or "Wings" origin and inventor can a probably will be always be disputed. Scuba Pro and Sea tec inflatable systems both introduced units in 1975.
The Scuba pro unit was idenified as follows;
Bouyancy control pack #570 $165.00.
Scuba Pro had a number of very inovative engineers and may have designed the unit, how ever I suspect that they copied the unit forn Inflatable Systems.
It was produced in Ensenada Baja California Mexico (Yes it was Mexican Made!) by Ruben Pena for Scuba Pro in Compton California, USA
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Sea Tec Inflatable systems of Orange California concurrently introduced a unit identified as Back Inflation Unit (BIU) for only $89.00. It was the revolutionary double bag unit that could and was produced and marketed at 1/2 the price of Scuba pro units and the ones that followed.
It was manufactured in Orange California by its designer and CEO Harry Rescigno (Pro++ "re cin o0")
If require more information it will be necessary to purchase my forthcoming book..
Cheers from California where it all started
SDM
They were idenified as follows;
FA 320 singe tank................$15.95
FA 321 double tank...............$21.95
FA 322 triple tank (44cuft) ....$24.95
I do not know who invented it..The company was sold to New Enland Divers in the mid 1960s.
````````````````
F.J. Voit, of Santa Ana, California introduced the first detachable back plate in 1963. The back plate attatched to the bands on the tank via clips.
It was identified as follows;
DS 297 single tank unit....$11.00
DS 261 Double tank unit....$13.00
It was designed by Fred Roberts Jr.
------------------
------------------------------------------
The "BIU" or "Wings" origin and inventor can a probably will be always be disputed. Scuba Pro and Sea tec inflatable systems both introduced units in 1975.
The Scuba pro unit was idenified as follows;
Bouyancy control pack #570 $165.00.
Scuba Pro had a number of very inovative engineers and may have designed the unit, how ever I suspect that they copied the unit forn Inflatable Systems.
It was produced in Ensenada Baja California Mexico (Yes it was Mexican Made!) by Ruben Pena for Scuba Pro in Compton California, USA
`````'
Sea Tec Inflatable systems of Orange California concurrently introduced a unit identified as Back Inflation Unit (BIU) for only $89.00. It was the revolutionary double bag unit that could and was produced and marketed at 1/2 the price of Scuba pro units and the ones that followed.
It was manufactured in Orange California by its designer and CEO Harry Rescigno (Pro++ "re cin o0")
If require more information it will be necessary to purchase my forthcoming book..
Cheers from California where it all started
SDM