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View Full Version : Crazy Scuba Devices 101
tombiowami February 1st, 2002, 09:47 AM Any others out there? http://www.jetboots.com/ http://www.divernet.com/equipment/0102divertests.htm#pilot Become your very own submarine! Tommy large_diver February 1st, 2002, 09:55 AM I think the Mares HUB is kind of a crazy device ;-) Green_Manelishi February 1st, 2002, 10:18 AM Fara-fins Lost Yooper February 1st, 2002, 10:30 AM Bungied wings! ;) :D Mike TexasMike February 1st, 2002, 10:59 AM Crazy Cold water wreck divers from the upper peninsula of Michigan! (luv ya anyway, Mike! :1st: ) NetDoc February 1st, 2002, 01:53 PM Give 'em enough hose and they'll hang themselves... Probably about 7 foot. :tease: omar February 1st, 2002, 02:22 PM I think ......... Bungee wings jet boots UBS O2 stick tombiowami February 1st, 2002, 02:33 PM What is the UBS 02 stick? Almost afraid to ask.... Is there a link? Tommy devjr February 1st, 2002, 02:35 PM UBS of England; they make a portable oxygen analyser about the size of a small flashlight. reddog February 1st, 2002, 02:45 PM I am waiting for when they figure out how to transmit the GPS signals underwater. Will probably need a system of repeaters scattered about any dive area, but that would be the first significant improvement in underwater navigation in many years! omar February 1st, 2002, 06:04 PM UBS O2 stick.. Last I heard it has been "discontinued". It was a disposable unit with no flow control. Just hold it up to the tank valve and blast away. The greatest source of error for gas analysis is not having a regulated, consistent and repeatable flow rate. omar tombiowami February 1st, 2002, 06:20 PM Did it come with an optional body bag for the convulsing diver? Hard to beleive. I thought most of the ideas were just dumb but not necessarily out right dangerous. Tommy Newhampster February 2nd, 2002, 11:22 AM Originally posted by reddog I am waiting for when they figure out how to transmit the GPS signals underwater. Will probably need a system of repeaters scattered about any dive area, but that would be the first significant improvement in underwater navigation in many years! Don't hold your breath waiting for this. Chip based 6 axis gyros are dropping in price. It would surprise me if someone didn't come out with a device like the following in the next 2 years: Looks like a computer (indeed it is but it's only a navigational computer, at least at first). It gets "mounted" either to your vest or tank. Small display. Initial models will "turn on" when you hit the water (or go 3-5 feet down). They will record that as your "reference position". The device will keep track of where you are and constantly display a vector (direction to go) pointing back at your "reference position". And indicate distance to the reference position (meters, feet...). This is "rocket science", so to speak. But everything about it's known, it will work, etc. The chips (one with 3 rotational axis gyros and one with 3 directional gyros) are available today. The algorithms for computing location relative to your "reference" position have been around for many decades. The key issues have been price and market size. Price: As the cost of computers, displays and the gyro chips drops to about a hundred bucks, it becomes feasible to build this type of navigational device for scuba for "several hundred" dollars assuming product liability cost doesn't queer the deal and assuming a production run of maybe 5000 units. Market: The other issue, of course, is market. How many people would really pay $795 for an underwater navigational computer? 5 to 10 thousand units may be the minimum volume at which most vendors will break even (after all startup costs, etc.) [This is a real SWAG.] Accuracy is an issue that deserves some discussion. A black box like this will accumulate errors over time, i.e., the longer it runs, the greater the "slop" in the calculation. In theory, a device like this should, with very high accuracy gyros, be able to guide you back out of a complex cave and tell you every turn you should make, etc by memorizing exactly where you were every 10th of a second. I say in theory. In practice, particularly with the initial ones, you might be lucky to get 100 foot error (distance from reference point) on a one hour dive (again, this is a SWAG -- someone would have to do the engineering work to look at accumulated error). Outside of accumulated error (which will vary depending on the price of the gyro chip and the length of the dive), the device concept is surprisingly robust. It doesn't count kicks or anything like that. It measures how far you've moved in 3 D by measuring total G forces (linear and rotational) that it's been exposed to. Enough for now... :doctor: Lost Yooper February 3rd, 2002, 04:23 PM Mike & Pete, For some reason, I just cannot pass up an opportunity to get a poke in! :D You guys crack me up. :) Mike NetDoc February 3rd, 2002, 05:12 PM Both TM and I figure that if you were to ever figure out the how cool and functional them bungeed wings really are, you would have to change your nick to "Found Yooper" :tease: Lost Yooper February 3rd, 2002, 05:53 PM Trust me, I'll always be "lost" in some form or fashion. I've been down the bungie wing road and some how managed to find my way back -- back in the days when I was REALLY, REALLY "lost"! :D Get well soon. Mike neil February 4th, 2002, 11:19 PM My crazy device du jour is the Spare Air Twin! When I first saw a brochure, I thought it was a joke someone had done up in Photo Shop. BTW, I had a UBS O2 stick, and it was always within 2 tenths of my better analyzer. Neil bmazin February 5th, 2002, 01:58 PM Do you really need to mention Jetboots is the same breath as that crazy computer controlled bouyancy device? Bouyancy is something a well trained diver can do without thinking. Travelling a mile in half an hour on one tank is not. Jetboots really do fill a different niche. Think of the them as an scooter without the scooter. They have better performance and half (closer to a third!) the weight of the Apollo scooter. When I bring them out and let technical divers test them (even ones who are skeptical to start) the Jetboots get rave reviews, usually like: "They were unbelievable. It's like an invisible scooter! It can be hard to deploy a lift bag and hold on to a scooter - these things make it easy." Considering their utility and their built in safety advantages (having trouble underwater? Disconnect the battery. Hard to that in a conventional scooter) I think Jetboots are a good, if expensive, alternative propulsion system. Ben Mazin President, MST http://www.jetboots.com/ Divesherpa February 8th, 2002, 01:12 AM I have to say that whoever is impersonating the president of Jetboots just made my day. That is the funniest thing I have ever seen. How much marijuana was consumed in the R & D of that product? It looks like something out of one of the 1965 Popular Science magazines. If you really are the president, get George Irvine to endorse you. You will sell a million of the things. Jetboots are DIR, aren't they? bmazin February 8th, 2002, 03:49 AM No impersonation. Search for Jetboots on this board and you'll see some threads where I have chimed in before. I haven't tried to get George to endorse the product. Seem like there may be a conflict of interest as he sells the Gavins. So can you explain the ridicule apparent in your email? Seriously, unlike some devices that have been mentioned, Jetboots solve real problems and are a huge technological leap forward. Certainly our military customers have said as much. Come to SoCal somtime and I'd be glad to show you. If you have any other issues with the product, let me know and I will explain them. Our FAQ section is also a good place to start. Ben dc4bs February 8th, 2002, 09:49 PM Argh... see the "usefull devices" thread http://www.scubaboard.com/t5855/s.html omar February 8th, 2002, 11:45 PM Introducing a new way to explore the ocean WITHOUT scuba certification... Its BOB! http://www.sfdj.com/bob/bob.htm This just beats out the jet boots, but only barely. omar bmazin February 9th, 2002, 02:35 AM http://www.ussubs.com/ Here is a quote from the website: "In the wake of the recent terrorist activity many people are considering the issue of personal safety. Clearly, in the event of a biological, chemical or nuclear warfare related attack on the U.S., arguably the best alternative you could have would be your own personal luxury submarine." Hard to argue with that logic... Of course, if I had $20 million to blow having my own sub that could spend 20 days at 1000' might be a fun way to do it. Ben Joe R. February 9th, 2002, 07:09 PM Yooper...stay lost. Bungees do work at holding tanks in place...oops. (kidding) dc4bs February 12th, 2002, 09:20 PM Originally posted by bmazin http://www.ussubs.com/ Here is a quote from the website: "In the wake of the recent terrorist activity many people are considering the issue of personal safety. Clearly, in the event of a biological, chemical or nuclear warfare related attack on the U.S., arguably the best alternative you could have would be your own personal luxury submarine." Hard to argue with that logic... Of course, if I had $20 million to blow having my own sub that could spend 20 days at 1000' might be a fun way to do it. Ben Hey, why be a cheapskate? go for the 213 foot, 80 million one... It has a diver escape lock that is usable down to 150 fsw that can be set up as a decompression chamber as well... ;) JustAddWater February 13th, 2002, 12:47 AM How about DAN the Safety Man Mascot? Is he donning a cape or a backplate with wings?
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