JKSteger
D/M Wannabee ! ! !
DA Aquamaster:This is where I end up offending all the hard core Scubapro fans.
Tabata manufactuers Scubapro's designs to Scubapro's specifications. It is a common practice in the scuba industry where a relatively few companies manufacture designs for all the rest of the companies. For the relatively low volume production involved it would not be practical or economical for a company, even a large one like Scubapro, to have their own exclusive manufacturing facilities. By farming production out companies can acces state of the art facilities for a fraction of the cost rquired to build and maintain private facilities. The design work is still done by Scubapro, the patents are held by Scubapro and the contract will require the regs that are produced to meet whatever QC standards Scubapro sets, but the actual manufacter of the regulator is done by Tabata.
Tabata has a US subsidiary, Tabata USA (TUSA for short). Tabata and Scubapro normally enter into a manufacturing agreement where Tabata manufactures the regulator exclusively for Scubapro until the exclusive rights expire. At that point Tabata has the option to produce a mechanically identical but slightly cosmetically altered version that it then markets through TUSA. So...the RS460 is indeed a Mk 16 clone produced on the same tooling in the same factory to the same specifications. In the same manner, the TUSA Duo Air is a very slightly but mechanically identical Scubapro Air 2. The parts fully interchange and other than the shape of the buttons and minor styling changes on the case, they are identical.
Scubapro and Tabata have had this manufacturing arrangement at least as far back as the Scubapro MK 5 in the early 1970's so it is nothing new.
I read people getting all upset about a statement like this but this is normal practice with alot of products. I used to work for a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Manufacturer and guess who "made" the circuit boards for Chrysler, Ford, Chevey, Gateway Computers, Compaq Computers and even INTEL processors? We did. Now we didn't get to sell a "brand" to the end user maket, however, for example INTEL came in, designed a product, worked with our engineers and basically Intel oversaw the production. All products were built per Intel's specifications and just like you said about Tabata, all QC was per Intel specs. This was the same process for everything we manufactured. They "went out the door" as a 100% Chrysler or Compaq or HP or Intel product BUT they were all manufactured in a large plant that was owned by someone else.