Anyone own the DAN SMB?

[lerpy]

. It's nice to deploy and clip it to your crotch strap to hang from it if the seas are calm. On the surface, I've used it as a leg rest so I could stretch out and relax waiting for the boat to pick me up.

I would use caution clipping an SMB to you, if it gets hooked, or someone hooks it you want to be able to just let it go.

I use an SMB similar to the DAN one, 6', reflective tape, and it has a pocket on top for at night to slide a small strobe into. The DAN one looks good, I like the 6' footers, as crew on a boat they are much easier to see, as long as you keep them upright in the water. Always keep some tension on your line as you are coming up, this will keep your SMB upright and not flopped over on the surface. This is the most common mistake I see with SMB's, and it makes it very hard to find you.

 

[Zeagle Eagle]

Now that was funny.

 

[Zeagle Eagle]

After reading your post dmaziuk I started doing a little research on the possibility of adding some reflective tape and came up with this from reefduffer written in Jan of 2008. I have not seen any studies that validate radar reflective tape. I know for a fact that a large radar array (as in very powerful) can detect deer on an airport. I don't think that any radar on a boat can do that. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

The people who stick a piece of tape on an SMB or vest and advertise it as
radar reflective are selling snake oil, IMO. Think of it as an un-aimed and
un-aimable signal mirror. What's the chance of it catching the sun and reflecting
in the searcher's eyes?

Either that, or meaningful radar reflectivity is easier to achieve than all these
experts are letting on, and it's the boating and commercial shipping communities,
and the military, wasting money on reflector arrays, and setting standards for
RCS, who are buying the snake oil. Not what I'd bet on.

 

[KevinNM]

I saw some test results for the seeker SMB from Custom Divers in the UK. It looked pretty good. But the guy who is the US agent isn't exactly anxious to sell them.

 

[XS-NRG]

I have one! The only thing that would be better on it is the plastic clips should be metal. Other than that it's a nice SMB. It is big but fully inflated it actually looks a bit smaller in diameter.

 

[TMHeimer]

i have one and every time i have used it.... it work well.....

I have a standard LDS sausage, never used it, but I do take it with me on the odd boat charter I take and when diving in possible inlet currents here on the N. Gulf of Mex. Where are y'all (as they say) diving that requires DAN or other specialized sausages? Cuantos mucho dinero tienes para comprar en equipo para buceo?-- Si suerte, tal vez uno de these anos I'll have the dinero to utalize a sausage in Coz (well no, shell collecting no es permito en Cozumel.....)

 

[dmaziuk]

After reading your post dmaziuk I started doing a little research on the possibility of adding some reflective tape and came up with this from reefduffer written in Jan of 2008. I have not seen any studies that validate radar reflective tape. I know for a fact that a large radar array (as in very powerful) can detect deer on an airport. I don't think that any radar on a boat can do that.

I think it might actually work if you have a coast guard rescue chopper pointing its radar down at the waves and actively looking for you. Even then I'd prefer a 3D foil box (see link below) at the top to a simple foil strip.

The snake oil comments are mostly about radars on commercial ships: they are not set up to detect something that small that low. My comment was rephrasing some boating people I know: basically if you want a shipboard radar see you and trigger a collision alarm, you want to fly a kite like this: RAWIN_construction

 

[BertStevens]

My DAN SMB arrived today. I like the length of it. Easy oral inflate and 2nd stage fill self seals. I went ahead and ordered the full kit. Liked the small Princeton Tek light (2 AAA batteries included) but I'm not sure how much good the whistle would do if needed. I was NOT impressed with the size of the mirror. Seems awfully small. But at least I have one if needed. Just hope to never need it!

Overall quality looks good. Like others have said, I wish the clip and D ring were not plastic. I've read a few articles on SMBs and the bottom line is, boats see taller SMB easier, so my personal choice was a minimum 2 meter/6 foot one.

Drift diving this summer in Playa del Carmen. This will be perfect!

 

[Pinecube]

The people who stick a piece of tape on an SMB or vest and advertise it as
radar reflective are selling snake oil, IMO. Think of it as an un-aimed and
un-aimable signal mirror. What's the chance of it catching the sun and reflecting
in the searcher's eyes?

It's not really a fair comparison. The tape is meant to be retro-reflective, meaning it will shine a light back at its source regardless of the orientation of the tape. This is different than a mirror which requires both the light source to be aimed at the mirror and the mirror to be aimed at the light source. During the day the tape may not be ideal as the light source (the sun) is not near the viewer. Think of driving down a road with a construction worker directing traffic. The worker has their vest on which, as long as it's not the cheapest vest on the market, has the same type of retro-reflective material for the two strips down the front and the X on the back. During the day, you'll probably notice the bright orange/yellow of the vest over the reflective strips. At night however, you can see those strips lit up on by your car's headlights a mile away.

As far as how it works with radar, I couldn't say, but I remember reading a thread sticky somewhere "Best signalling equipment from the searcher's point of view" where they suggested that the reflective tape was actually a great thing to have if a helicopter is searching for you. Of course a full blanket like others have suggested would be better in that case too.

 

[Neilwood]

My DAN SMB arrived today. I like the length of it. Easy oral inflate and 2nd stage fill self seals. I went ahead and ordered the full kit. Liked the small Princeton Tek light (2 AAA batteries included) but I'm not sure how much good the whistle would do if needed. I was NOT impressed with the size of the mirror. Seems awfully small. But at least I have one if needed. Just hope to never need it!

Overall quality looks good. Like others have said, I wish the clip and D ring were not plastic. I've read a few articles on SMBs and the bottom line is, boats see taller SMB easier, so my personal choice was a minimum 3 meter/6 foot one.

Drift diving this summer in Playa del Carmen. This will be perfect!

Mirror size doesn't really matter when using it as a heliograph - the main thing is to move it as it is the flicker that tends to make them most visible.

Not sure which size you mean as 3m= approx 9ft with 6ft being nearer 2m.