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Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Yo dive thread. Padi AOW at the moment with 20 dives but desperate to do more. Doesn't help living in london, uk and not being able to afford a dry suit. I'm hoping to get to 50 then do my TDI Advanced Nitrox/Helitriox as i really enjoy the physiology of diving and would like to do some technical stuff as soon as im ready. I even have a full triox deco program done in excel which is why i'm filled with rage when i see the price companies charge for their computers. As i'm a medical student in my last few months i'm hoping to do some stuff with that too in order to trade free dive medicals for goodies

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Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Kaddish posted:

My wife and I will start the open water certification next week. We won't be doing the actual open water for a few more weeks. Is a dive computer something we should get for that or can we wait until we do our first dive?

Also, how is this for a "beginner" computer?

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/MRSPWC.html?&&

We have masks, boots, fins, and snorkels. What else is a "must get" before our first dive?

My advice would be to do open water on tables then rent a computer. Computers are much nicer to use and give you credit for your depth profile rather than just your max profile but working with tables gives you a better understanding of how pressure effects you.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Kaal posted:

loving jeeeeeaaaaalouuussssssssssss

Yeah I mean holy poo poo that is cool.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Bob Loblaw posted:

I wanted to ask, has anyone on here besides me gotten bent?

I ask because yeah, I only have 16 dives, and I got bent on my first deep dive, at the Spiegel Grove for those who dive Key Largo, but the thought of diving has me more than a little nervous.

I posted the incident here, but don't have archives, but you can read what happened here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/391976-incident-spiegel.html (post 2)

If you were bent, how did you overcome the fear, assuming you had any, of going back? I fully believe that if I still with reef diving, that I will be perfectly fine, as I was with all of my other dives, but I still remember the incident really well (well, not the parts where I was unconscious), and part of me is worried that as soon as I hit 20 feet, my arm is going to go numb again and this time I won't be as lucky.

Seriously, not trying to be a downer here, diving is an amazing and safe sport. We just got our gear serviced and are talking about going back down again, but I'm getting some serious cold feet as we get closer to making the commitment.

Fun fact - the boat I was on when I had the incident ended up sinking 4 months later, killing a new diver who was trapped on board:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/405206-scuba-shacks-boat-get-wet-sinks-key-largo.html

Oh, and if anyone has any questions about what it's like in a decompression chamber, I had two visits there and can answer your questions, but to sum it up, boring!

It's completely understandable to be nervous especially with a case like yours where there was nothing obvious that caused it. Like slicer dicer says though hydrate like loving mad and take it easy with a few simple shallow reef dives to get your confidence back up. Maybe even a pool session or two would help ease things abit.

Also lol your thread on SB reminds me just how many crazy armchair doctors/engineers with doc in there name there are on that forum.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

Awesome man glad you got to visit hawaiian waters. The visibility on Oahu seemed to be pretty good that day.

In other news I have gone full retard... I now own a MK15 rebreather, it shall commence moar madness'es






How come you went with the mk15 over a boris? Don't know the ins and outs but i thought the boris was a modernized mk15 and that the mk15 commanded a significant premium. Looks drat sexy though, congrats.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

I went with the Mark 15, Well its a fantastic rig.. Mine is 32 years old and still able to be dove and looks mint. Would you be able to say the same about the Boris? I am not sure you would...

Also the boris is not as compact it does not have spheres so its got externalized tanks. If I wanted externalized tanks they would be sidemount :) Among other things, I will let you know what I think further once I dive a unit that has some of the lowest work of breathing of any unit.

Crazy that they still work so well after 32 years! Super jealous.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

Some pictures that I took Yesterday













I hate you so much.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Sotore posted:

As an experienced diver, how often do you worry about the 'bends'? And what would you recommend to any novice divers like myself about avoiding it?

As I beginner diver it should be a non issue so long as you stick to your ndl's, keep hydrated and are in any kind of shape. Most of the stories of divers getting bent I've read are people straying way out of their limits and truk seems particularly bad for this. The PADI dive tables are very conservative as they have to cover everyone from fit 20 year olds to retired people wearing XXXXL wetsuits.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Gromit posted:

I've got 30 dives under SSI, but I'm only up to Advanced Open Water.
It all seems fine, although we did very little on buoyancy and nothing on alternate finning techniques. Mind you, finning stuff might be covered in the specialist wreck penetration training and stuff like that?

I think that sort of stuff is very instructor dependant across agencies. When i did my AOW the instructor was a tec instructor and was great at teaching us about buoyancy, the importance of horizontal trim and got us frog kicking about to see how we liked it.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Found a local club where i've moved so about to start diving in england :getin:

The club apparently has a drysuit for a 6'3" person that noone else fits i can use once they cert me on it but i guess i'll probably want my own undergarms. Anyone have any recommendations?

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

TANZENTURTLE posted:



I been wearing one of these and a matching pair of short pants under the the rental suits over winter in Australia and it's certainly made diving in water 15-17 celsius much more pleasant. Keeps your core basically free of contact with water, but i guess the water temps in England might necessitate a drysuit at all times of year?. Dont know if theyre sold outside AU/NZ under the name Sharkskin, but if your interested in something similar, it's its a lycra nylon blend on the outside with a waterproof layer underneath and fleece thermal layer underneath. Great to use on it's own to snorkel in chilly water too if you take it travelling to more temperate locations, and is light and folds easily. Arm mobility is great, but theyre a bitch to take off.

Interested to here what the diving in England is like, know anything about the places your likely to be going?

Lots and lots of wrecks and i'll be diving in the north sea which is the opposite side of where the gulf stream hits so it's very cold, rough and often lovely vis. From the sounds of it a lot of diving is done in the local quarry. I did my open water in February a few years ago and the water was 8 celcius.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

cefyr posted:

Well I've been diving in Oahu for a couple of years now and originally bought a gopro for all my diving/god-oh-why-did-I-think-this-was-a-good-idea activities and can recommend it very highly for such scenarios however that's about the extent of its usefulness as it's not meant to be a "real" camera but more a point of view only camera. ( you'll notice the lack of screens or eye ports) with that being said
it does a spectacular job of staying dry at depth.

Now if you want a real camera for out of the water shots then I suggest you steer away from the point and shoot cameras and instead give a DSLR a try, they not only allow you to take control of virtually every aspect of the process but their larger imaging sensor produces a much clearer and better quality picture overall and with the advent of mirror less cameras you will find that there are a lot of deals on very good cameras out there in the same price range as the S100.

If you need any help choosing a good starter camera just pm me or ask me here.

I've got a DSLR but the problem is the housing would cost the same as a diving holiday in the red sea.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.


Didn't the good doctor end up getting into a fight with the guy he did this dive with?

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Dry suit lesson tomorrow :dance:

Any tips?

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Crunkjuice posted:

The biggest thing you're gonna have to get used to is diving in a bubble. I like to sort of lock my knees above me and frog kick when diving my drysuit, that way i minimize the air in my legs and help my buoyancy out. You'll spend most of your time figuring out your buoyancy so just play around with it for a while and you'll find what works for you. Also, unless you have a lovely instructor, or he's teaching you tech diving techniques, do NOT use your BCD for buoyancy control underwater. Use your drysuit only, and use your bcd as flotation on the surface. Trying to manage two different buoyancy systems is not necessary for recreational diving. Only in tec when they have shitloads of weight due to stage tanks does it become necessary.

Be really careful with your seals when putting them on/off. They can stretch a bunch but if you tear em, you're screwed. Getting in and out of the suit is stupid akward the first few times, you'll get used to it.

GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU DIVE. I'm assuming you aren't using a p-valve or adult diaper. Having to pee in a drysuit sucks. You can pee in it and wash it out later, but thats just awful.

Drysuits rock man, have fun.

Cheers dude I actually did open water dry but then I was more concerned with learning to dive. Pretty pumped for this as it would mean regular diving in the uk. As it's BSAC it's costing very little and my friend wants to join too which will get me £180 off a dry suit of my own if the club doesnt bave one that fits :getin:

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Dry suit was cool guys. Pool wasn't exactly deep but felt I did well with my boyancy control seeing as I haven't dived since February. Definitely going to take a while to get used to adjusting the autodump valve but its kinda neat rolling forward slightly to let a smidge of air into your legs to make frog kicks more comfortable. The club is very cool and the guy that was teaching me is lending me his old suit so I can dive properly this weekend, can't wait.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Proper dive tomorrow so we will see how it goes. If this means diving regularly i think it's probably time i start investing in some kit. Will probably go undersuit->drysuit->computer (thinking an oceanic geo 2 as i want ZHL-16)

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Diving today was awesome. Only in a lake but vis was great as there weren't many people about so we could see all the neat stuff the owners have sunk. My boyancy was pretty good i think but had two issues. One was at the beginning of the first dive and was just a matter of not making sure to purge the air when ascending slightly, only went from 10m->5m while sorting myself out but still annoying and the other was on the second when the dump valve decided to stop working unless i pressed it which caused real problems including one feet first ascent which i managed to abort. Was using drysuit for buoyancy but now going going to use the BCD as there you have redundant means of getting air out. As an aside didn't equalise my mask properly and now have two rather red patches around my eyes :negative:

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Its started. Saw a deal too good to pass up and I'm now the owner of a set of Poseidon jet streams. My wallet is going to take a hell of a beating.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

pian0majic21 posted:

I've been interested in diving for a while, but I have no clue where to find good equipment that won't drown me. Suggestions?

You don't need anything to start diving but a mask and set of fins is always good to have. Learn to dive first then you can think about what you need to purchase first. These days a computer is probably the first thing to get but you can rent those too. Buy used as often as possible as you can get huge discounts vs new.

HolyDiver posted:

I just skip the BCD altogether. I dive a drysuit with a simple backplate to hold my tank. much more streamline in the water. I will never use a BCD again with a drysuit

I'm definitely going to go straight to a backplate. The club has buddy commandos and I feel abit like Michelin man with a big rear end BCD over a dry suit, that and you can normally get a Wing set up cheaper.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Tried to dig out my log book and think i've lost it :negative: pissed as i enjoyed reading back on the (admittedly few) dives i've done and i know if i want to start thinking about deco training i need a healthy minimum of logged dive. Oh well, does anyone have any recommendations for iphone dive logs?

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

The open water curriculum is really quite basic and I really don't see the point in wasting holiday time in a classroom. When my friend did OW he did the theory online and had thought it was great.


I'm starting BSAC sport diver next Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing how they teach vs PADI and then diving in the north sea in winter :cmon:

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

legsarerequired posted:

Can people rent scuba diving equipment at tourist stops? Is there anything you should be wary of renting, or any equipment that is just better to own instead of renting?

If I decide to get certified, I plan on diving maybe one or two times per year, maybe less or more on some years. I definitely wouldn't mind owning my own mask, wetsuit, and flippers, but I don't know if I want to spend $1000+ on the more complicated equipment if I don't dive more often.

Get a mask and some fins and rent everything else, it'll be fine

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

I really only care that people are safe! *I do not want died I want everybody to go home to their families with great stories* I would prefer somebody to be a dork diver and be safe than be unsafe.

But one could say what I do is unsafe so who am I to judge? The whole DIR stuff drives me batty.. Militant to the eleventh degree and would be impossible to plan my dives by their standards...

Also what I carry violates their rules.. I will lay out my entire kit and take pic of it for you guys so you can see the absurdity of my stuff. Feel free to laugh at me :P

I think the problem with DIR is that they've taken a system designed for cave exploration in florida and extrapolated it to environments where the common denominator is you're underwater. The rabid devotion of some of it's trainees is a shame because fundies sounds like a loving awesome course.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

TLG James posted:

Does anyone have any thoughts on the lower end dive computers? I've been eyeing the Cressi Leonardo.

Do you have an aversion to buying used? Dive gear depreciates alot.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

TLG James posted:

No. I've been looking on ebay, but it's been pretty much poo poo for this.

Forums are probably your best bet. https://www.scubaboard.com is the biggest. I'm in the market for a dive computer and am looking used as i figure for the price of a basic computer like the suunto zoop and i could buy something used that would do gas switching and so last me a lot longer.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

MA-Horus posted:

For low-end dive computers I can advice the Suunto D4I. The Zoop is also a pretty decent piece of kit as well.

Untill December 31 you'll also get a free wireless transmitter with the watch sized models.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

If anyone wants to gently caress around with the Maths behind deco calculations I made an excel spreadsheet that's a zhl-16c trimix calculator.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fqfs9r2wdip13eb/d2.xlsx

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Tomberforce posted:

Just a quick hypothetical question about diving and flights that I was wondering to myself - not even remotely planning to act on it!

Would diving at sea level to altitude diving profiles and TOD's theoretically compensate for a shorter surface interval before flying?

Anything that makes you dive more conservatively and reduces your nitrogen loading will reduce the time till its safe to experience the 8000m I think most airliners are pressurised to. Its a simpe extension of working out your ndl's and I suspect padi's recommendations are very conservative considering how many people's diving takes place on holidays and the cost implication if their recommendations got people bent on planes on a regular basis.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Sir Winston Beehill posted:

This is something I'm actively practising when I find myself in a pool. This may be a noob question but something I've noticed is that when I exhale underwater, I float upwards for a second before sinking. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

That ill be the momentum from when you've inhaled, the trick is to start exhaling before you start rising significantly. Do some finn pivots in the pool and then try and see how small you can get the movement. If you concentrate on finding that point when you're bouyancy is about to flip you should be able to keep pretty much still in the water.

When i was diving in the red sea the boats would hang a tank at 5m and i'd play a game with myself and see just how still i could get on my safety stop using the tank as a reference point. I found it helped alot although i still have a long, long way to go till this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfcEcCoIvKs

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Sir Winston Beehill posted:

Thanks for all the advice on buoyancy. Will have to try them out later this week. When I started diving I would take massive breathes of air since I mentally reasoned that the longer the sound of inhaling, the better off I was. In my first week I would empty a 250 bar tank in about 20 mins. Currently I can make one last up to 40 mins.

Baby steps I guess.

I was the same when I started and had to us 15l tanks for my first few dives but once I got my buoyancy sorted I could go an hour on a normal 12 no problem.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

Tell that to Richard Pyle

http://www.daneurope.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=13501&name=DLFE-121.pdf

Not that I advocate it but you can bet your rear end if I was bent and far enough from medical... I would do IWR over died.. Its also covered in many of my official govt publications.. There is also data and tables out of Australia for it!! Its sound science to some degree but recreationally its not considered good practice or even viable.

It's all about risk vs benefit as with any medical intervention. If you're in the middle of nowhere, missed a huge amount of deco and the nearest chamber is 3 days away then IWR becomes much more attractive. If you just did a dive on the chambers house reef the balance swings somewhat.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

On the subject of DCS i have a feeling it could be managed more effectively in the initial stages. Particularly by the technical diving community. If you have someone on a facemask with high flow oxygen on they will have a maximum Fi02 of 80%. That means the nitrogen gradient isn't going to be as steep as people think it is slowing the offgassing.

One of the most effective things i can do to someone as a doctor to improve their oxygenation is use CPAP. That gives you a true 100% o2 and opens up the alveoli increasing gas exchange. The obvious issue is using pressurised gas in someone who might have barotrauma and need for specialised equipment but we're talking pressures of 10cmH20 (0.142 PSI).

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

Unsure how you compute this? I have 99.7% O2 in my O2 tank.. With a regulator I am breathing in 99.7% O2 there is no "flow" its just pure O2.

If I breathe this underwater I cannot grab nitrogen molecules from the surrounding water. Unless you are talking surface. However if I was having issues I would gladly breathe off regulator at surface to get pure O2.

Yeah sorry i was talking surface. Regulator would give you 100% too but i think there's a common misconception that a standard medical oxygen mask at high flow does aswell.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Crunkjuice posted:

Snow diving eh? Wake up, put on fleece/drysuit before i leave the house, don't take it off until i'm in the shower. Fleece and all. gently caress the cold.

Granted i'm in texas so i've got nothing on you northern folk, but my coldest has been 28 degrees outside and 44 in the water. I'm pretty sure i wore like 8 hand warmers in random pockets.

I dove 44 wet :clint:



Bagged an oceanic geo 2 and hollis m1 ask for Christmas. Can't wait to get them wet

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

MA-Horus posted:

Oceanic Shadow fo lyfe.

I just got a Hollis m1 and it owns considerable bones.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Looks like the first dive of the year on Sunday. Estimated water temp 5 Celsius :snoop:

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

I'm going to sell a mask with those heating wires they have in car windows. I'll launch it alongside my new underwater posting speciality.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

I'm looking for an adapter for a diving cylinder to socket that will accept a medical air plug like this. It's for a project.



Lot's of medical 02 cylinders have them on but i'm wondering if one exits to stick on a diving valve? Failing that anyone know the best way to get a diving cylinder to put out ~50psi


EDIT: sorted, now i just need a cylinder.

Loving Africa Chaps fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jan 24, 2013

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Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

SlicerDicer posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te5D62d3-S8

HERIUM DIVING!! This is not mine its two of my dive buddies.

Oh my god that must have been unbelievably awesome.


Time to save up for a yellow box of death (rebreathers attract cetaceans right?)

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