Question Transmitter on a short hose: good disconnection practice?

[tdp92]

Given the orientation of the ports on that reg, which is very similar to my Aqua Lung regs, just how would someone grab the transmitter as a handle? The transmitter will sit below either one or two LP hoses (depending upon the side you put the transmitter), in front of the tank value and behind your BCD/Wing? How is someone going to grab it as a handle?

I have seen some regs on boats where the transmitter is sticking out on the side or even upward above the hoses. That is the type of orientation that can cause issues with someone grabbing the transmitter.

I would grab it honestly. It's at the same level of the tank knob and above the wing. If I can think of it doing it then someone else can think the same. My kit is the one in the middle, the transmitter would be at the same level of the tank knob, one inch forward.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I would grab it honestly. It's at the same level of the tank knob and above the wing. If I can think of it doing it then someone else can think the same. My kit is the one in the middle, the transmitter would be at the same level of the tank knob, one inch forward.

View attachment 796715

Fair enough. I never dive where someone else is picking up my kit. Plus mine angles down well below the valve. There would really be no reason to grab it. You'd have to actually work to do it.

If it concerns you, by all means put it on a short HP hose. I just don't believe you need to ever remove it, but that's my 2 cents. YMMV.

 

[tursiops]

if someone grabs the transmitter as a handle won't the regulator rotate until the transmitter is vertical and no longer usable as a handle? Won't the rotation take the lateral stress off the transmitter?

Depends on the reg. Often the rotating turret is for the low pressure hoses only.

 

[tursiops]

That's exactly how mine is. It definitely looks like a convenient handle as it sticks above the reg. Especially if you are handing it up out of the water like it is usually done in my diving. I've also knocked it a couple of time when going under things I thought I cleared.
Didn't know a disconnect was available for it though. I would definitely add that. Gonna see if I can find it online, preferably through Amazon...

High Pressure QD Fitting

High Pressure Quick Disconnect Fitting This is a two piece quick disconnect with one end having a high pressure male 7/16 thread and the other end using a female 7/16 The 2 mate with a quick disconnect fitting that also using kurling to help with gripping the slide! Overall length is roughly 1...

www.piranhadivemfg.com

ADDED: same thing on Amazon for more money. XS-Scuba version on Amazon for more than 4x the price.

 

[stuartv]

No hose (except on my CCRs). No SPG. Never disconnect any of my transmitters.

I have used AI transmitters on every dive since I started in 2014. I also used an SPG briefly, when I did my initial tech training and my instructor required it. After class, took the SPG off and left only the SPG.

So, around 800 dives now with AI transmitters.

I've never had one get damaged. Never had anybody grab one and try to use it as a handle.

Adding a HP hose, instead of screwing it directly into the 1st stage adds several failure points that are just plain unnecessary. Extra O-rings, and the hose itself. And, those additional failure points are all ones that, if they do fail, you'll be losing gas. With the transmitter screwed directly into the 1st stage, there is only 1 O-ring. If it fails, you'll be losing gas, but it is a static O-ring. The time I've seen one fail is when the transmitter got a little loose and gradually started to unscrew itself. When it gets loose enough and you turn on the gas, then the O-ring pops and you start losing gas. Fortunately, that failure is generally only going to happen when you turn the tank on. Once on, if it doesn't pop, then it is EXTREMELY unlikely to pop later, after you are in the water.

In short, no HP hose makes you MUCH less likely to have a failure in the water that causes you to start losing gas. On the plus side, when a HP hose or spool O-ring does go, the gas loss is generally pretty slow. You lose gas a LOT more quickly if a LP hose (i.e. one of your reg hoses) blows.

I have:

Single tank reg set with 1 transmitter (on diver's left, and I mount the 1st stage canted a bit, so the transmitter is angled down some to make it stick out less and look less like a handle).

Doubles regs with 1 transmitter (on left post reg, pointed down, where it is protected and where an SPG would go, if my transmitter died and I needed to change quickly).

Sidemount regs witih 1 transmitter on each 1st stage (1st stages mount to takes so the transmitters are pointing down and protected).

rEvo CCR with 2 transmitters, one each for oxygen and diluent. These are on HP hoses. The way the regs are on the CCR make it where there is not room for the transmitters to be screwed directly into the 1st stages.

Optima CM CCR with 1 transmitter, on the oxygen. That one is also on a short HP hose. Same basic reason as the rEvo. No room for it where the O2 reg attaches to the cylinder. And, really, maybe it COULD fit there. But, on that unit that would mean the transmitter would really be sticking out and vulnerable to getting smashed on something during a dive.

That is 7 transmitters, plus I have one spare, ready to go in case one dies.

I don't let boat crew or shop staff handle pretty much any of my gear and definitely not my regs or computers. I have occasionally let them keep my back plate and wing overnight and bring it to the boat for me the next day. When my regs come off my tanks, they go in a pretty normal reg bag. No special padding or precautions to protect my transmitters.

None of them have ever gotten damaged. None have ever died and made me lose any portion of a dive. I have had them die once or twice where it just needed a new battery, but I have always caught that well before time to splash, when changing a battery was no problem. I did have one die when I replaced the battery. That was a known issue and Shearwater replaced it immediately, at no cost to me. I had another transmitter in my bag, so I just swapped that in and then went diving.

I used to use button gauges on my 1st stages where I also had a transmitter. I don't use button gauges for that anymore. One reason for getting rid of the button gauges is that it forces me to dig out my computer and turn it on to verify my tank pressure when I put my rig together before a dive. That means that I don't forget my computer (I have almost left it in the truck once or twice when heading out on a boat), and I confirm that the transmitter and computer are both working. With button gauges, it might happen that I would assemble my rig, turn on the gas, check the button gauge to confirm the tank(s) were full, and then carry on without having my computer or knowing whether it and the transmitter were working.