I found an Underwater Walkman a three years ago or so. I forget the brand name. Made by a guy in New Jersey as I recall. Contains an old Realistic (Radio Shack's el-cheapo brand) walkman that has been hacked into a little.
I think I paid $400 for that at the time (I had just cashed in on some computer stocks back then)
Has Forward, Reverse, and volume contral.
It is pretty clunky I must admit, but definitely wins me the "SCUBA Gadget" contest on every trip!
Intended audience was mostly commercial divers and other extended range divers doing long deco stops.
Rather than a speaker it uses a small "puck" that vibrates and you "hear" through bone conduction. You place the puck against your skull.
When I first recieved it (with no instructions) I hoped in the pool with my snorkel (Arizona in the Summer - 110 F). I could not figure out what the deal was with the puck and why I had to turn it up to full to hear anything (I claim the heat, and possibly the bear, clouded my intelect that day). I called the guy that made it and qucikly figured out that it used conduction and needed to be placed against the skull. I asked the guy how I was supposed to do that and he replied, "just stick it under your hood.". Ah, you see I have a preference for warm water diving. I eventually found that by using a mask strap cover ("slap strap") I could get the 2 inch diameter (.5 inch thick) puck to fit behind my head under the mask strap. Not as good for sound as on the side of my head, but good enough.
I eventually obtained an MP3 player that is in the form of a cassette tape that I can use in place of actual tape. I get more music and better quality that on tapes.
Drift diving with some nice tunes has been my favorite use.
-Todd Hardin
thardin1@mindspring.com
I think I paid $400 for that at the time (I had just cashed in on some computer stocks back then)
Has Forward, Reverse, and volume contral.
It is pretty clunky I must admit, but definitely wins me the "SCUBA Gadget" contest on every trip!
Intended audience was mostly commercial divers and other extended range divers doing long deco stops.
Rather than a speaker it uses a small "puck" that vibrates and you "hear" through bone conduction. You place the puck against your skull.
When I first recieved it (with no instructions) I hoped in the pool with my snorkel (Arizona in the Summer - 110 F). I could not figure out what the deal was with the puck and why I had to turn it up to full to hear anything (I claim the heat, and possibly the bear, clouded my intelect that day). I called the guy that made it and qucikly figured out that it used conduction and needed to be placed against the skull. I asked the guy how I was supposed to do that and he replied, "just stick it under your hood.". Ah, you see I have a preference for warm water diving. I eventually found that by using a mask strap cover ("slap strap") I could get the 2 inch diameter (.5 inch thick) puck to fit behind my head under the mask strap. Not as good for sound as on the side of my head, but good enough.
I eventually obtained an MP3 player that is in the form of a cassette tape that I can use in place of actual tape. I get more music and better quality that on tapes.
Drift diving with some nice tunes has been my favorite use.
-Todd Hardin
thardin1@mindspring.com
