divers with homing beacons

[under water]

Good thoughts.
Maybe also inflate the BC and start an ascent.
Yes, it is fraught with potential DCI issues if it malfunctions, but that would need to be part of the engineering. Easy diver override needs to be insured.

Hmmm…

A few things come to mind. Maybe an "emergency marker" device? Kind of like a "safety sausage" but smaller. Attaches to the back or top of your tank. Has a very strong but thin cord. Inside is a high pressure small CO2 canister with some kind of device that senses diver motion (or maybe even breathing?). If motion or breathing stops, it blows. The bag shoots to the surface but is anchored to the diver by the cord. Anyone on the surface can immediately see it and trace it back down to the disabled diver.

For dive operators, maybe something like a "smart" PAL device used by firefighters? Dive boats could keep them on board, everyone diving wears one. Figure out the acoustic range so you have at least a 2 channel system. If the diver stops moving it begins to beep. Diver must reset to avoid activation. If not, it sends an intense low frequency signal that can be “heard” by a transducer on the boat and the "master" unit on the boat activates all devices on divers in the water, again by an acoustic signal, along with the boat "recall" alarm. The "emergency" signal tells everyone a diver is in distress and needs rescue. The activated unit could also emit a low frequency "audible" signal so if another diver was within 50 FT of it he or she could hear it underwater. Might not "pinpoint" the location of a distressed diver, but at least everyone would know about the emergency.

Just thinking...

 

[lamont]

Hmmm…

A few things come to mind. Maybe an "emergency marker" device? Kind of like a "safety sausage" but smaller. Attaches to the back or top of your tank. Has a very strong but thin cord. Inside is a high pressure small CO2 canister with some kind of device that senses diver motion (or maybe even breathing?). If motion or breathing stops, it blows. The bag shoots to the surface but is anchored to the diver by the cord. Anyone on the surface can immediately see it and trace it back down to the disabled diver.

no thanks, i don't want any CO2 cannisters attached to me that might blow accidentally and catastrophically.

the sonar alarm is a better idea. what might be useful would be sonar beacons that everyone on the team wore and which would constantly relay direction and distance to the boat. if a team blew off the line and had to shoot a bag this could be very useful to the boat since it would be able to determine how many divers were under the bag and how many divers were still on the upline -- if all the divers were under the bag the boat could abandon the upline and drift with the divers.

 

[dk2943]

How about putting a gps in a dive computer, so you would know exactly where the boat is when you want to return?

 

[ZzzKing]

How about putting a gps in a dive computer, so you would know exactly where the boat is when you want to return?

GPS doesn't work under water. There could maybe be some sort of gyroscopic device that could track your progress and update movement relative to the boat.

 

[sciguyman]

GPS doesn't work under water. There could maybe be some sort of gyroscopic device that could track your progress and update movement relative to the boat.

Hmm, I think that submarines have a technology similar to this, called internal inertial guidence, which, if it worked in a nuclear sub, could probably work for a diver, but I imagine there would be weight/cost/availibility problems.

 

[Gary D.]

Hmmm…

A few things come to mind. Maybe an "emergency marker" device? Kind of like a "safety sausage" but smaller. Attaches to the back or top of your tank. Has a very strong but thin cord. Inside is a high pressure small CO2 canister with some kind of device that senses diver motion (or maybe even breathing?). If motion or breathing stops, it blows. The bag shoots to the surface but is anchored to the diver by the cord. Anyone on the surface can immediately see it and trace it back down to the disabled diver.

For dive operators, maybe something like a "smart" PAL device used by firefighters? Dive boats could keep them on board, everyone diving wears one. Figure out the acoustic range so you have at least a 2 channel system. If the diver stops moving it begins to beep. Diver must reset to avoid activation. If not, it sends an intense low frequency signal that can be “heard” by a transducer on the boat and the "master" unit on the boat activates all devices on divers in the water, again by an acoustic signal, along with the boat "recall" alarm. The "emergency" signal tells everyone a diver is in distress and needs rescue. The activated unit could also emit a low frequency "audible" signal so if another diver was within 50 FT of it he or she could hear it underwater. Might not "pinpoint" the location of a distressed diver, but at least everyone would know about the emergency.

Just thinking...

So lets add a crutch for poor buddy skills. Just another piece of equipment that people would need to learn how to use when they don't know how to use what they have now.

If that breathing device were on my wife it would go off all the time. I don't think she does anything but hold her breath she uses so little air.

Lets not come up with devices to replace diver skills. Some day we could even eliminate weight belts and have a couple of dozen quick release buckles on each arm.

Gary D.

 

[WesTexDiver]

Hmm, I think that submarines have a technology similar to this, called internal inertial guidence, which, if it worked in a nuclear sub, could probably work for a diver, but I imagine there would be weight/cost/availibility problems.

No....

 

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

Our naval helos have a small beacon in them that is activated via a salt water battery. It sends out audible pings that divers can use to locate a crashed and submerged airframe.

Maybe something could be worked into the SPG so that when pressure in the tank dropped below a certain level (50 bar or so) then water would be allowed into the battery and it would start pinging.

For example,

A simple spring loaded plunger held by air pressure until such time as the pressure drops off. When the pressure dropped, water would be allowed in and the pinger would sound. Wouldn't matter on land as when the regulator is connected/disconnected there would be no water in the system - no pinging. When the pressure was turned back on, the plunger would close and the system would then be ready to go when the diver enters the water.

 

[WesTexDiver]

Our naval helos have a small beacon in them that is activated via a salt water battery. It sends out audible pings that divers can use to locate a crashed and submerged airframe.

Also know as an ELT, also about the size of a stack of half dollars, not gonna fit in a SPG.

Can you see the LDS trying to sell these.
LDS- Congratulations on passing all your certification classes here is your shiney new C-card!
New Diver#1- YAY thank you so much you have been an awsome instructor. We can't wait to go somewhere tropical and try out our new skills!
LDS- Have you seen the new micro ELT? If you husband runs out of air and gets lost at the bottom of the ocean somewhere we may still be able to recover the corpse!
New Diver#1- Was I that bad at open water?
LDS- No you did awsome, but in case the coconuts don't fall on your head we need to plan ahead for your one in a hundred million chance that you are lost at sea.
New Diver#1- how much are these?
LDS- After the standard mark up they are around 400$, but make sure to read the disclaimer carefully. In order for it to work you need to be in reach of a USCG or other comporably equipt Navy with the locating technology. Oh and then there will be the additional fees to replace batteries annualy, but we can just add another 100$ to the price of your annual sevice charge.

The fact still remains that dying and not being found while Scuba diving is a rare occurance. In fact there are hundreds of thousands of people missing above the water and we can't find them.

:icon2: Disclaimer- If you don't find the humor in this post please ignore it.

 

[Drewski]

Hi Guys:

A few responses to posts:

So lets add a crutch for poor buddy skills. Just another piece of equipment that people would need to learn how to use when they don't know how to use what they have now.

I'm reminded of a buddy of mine who skydives (I don't, so don't ask). We had a long talk one day about safety equipment and parachutes. The one I found most fascinating was the device that automatically opened your chute once you passed a certain altitude. Kind of a "fail safe" device. Seems like remembering to pull the cord is a simple skill that you wouldn't need a "crutch" for, but apparently skydivers still think they do.

The fact still remains that dying and not being found while Scuba diving is a rare occurance.

I don't think it's the "not being found" part that's the problem. It's the "dying."

The reason why I posted discussion to this thread is because the OP, who recently suffered a loss, ASKED for it. I don't see a problem with this topic, especially if it gives someone an idea for making a product that could do some of the stuff talked about, was portable and didn't cost too much.

So, instead of busting on what's been said, why not make a suggestion? What's wrong with talking about ways to make stuff safer?

Peace...