How to deploy surface marker?

[fisherdvm]

Well, I've got one, but never deployed it yet. Do you actually take the reg out of your mouth, pull the little black thing back on the intake valve of the SMB, then blow into it, then replace the reg back to your mouth?

Or do you use the air from your octo (how do you do that if it is through a small valve?).

 

[hudson]

I'm still working on it but here's what I found so far: avoiding entanglement in the line so far seems to be easy if you are paying attention (but only if you are paying attention ), so that's not as much of a concern, maintaining buoyancy is however. AFAIK, there are two methods to fill the SMB without changing your buoyancy:

1-Use the air in your lungs
2-Use the air in your BC

The former is simpler, while with the latter you can get more air into the SMB at depth. However when deploying at depth you don't really need to get more air in the SMB anyway. It's also a good idea to go slightly negative before filling your lungs to maintain buoyancy while filling with the first method.

With the second method you don't go negative initially but it could be slightly trickier if the inflator hose is somewhat short. And depending on how much air you put in, you may need to go vertical to avoid sinking when you release, if you are concerned about that.

 

[MarkUK]

Depends what type of DSMB you've got.

You can get ones with an open or tapered bottom, through which you can either inflate by purging your octo into it, holding it so it captures your exhaled breaths above your second stage, or use an air-gun (if you have one fitted).

Or you can get them with one-way valves fitted (sounds more like the one you have), through which you can inflate by either plugging them on to your BCD whip (a real faff) or by taking out your reg and blowing into it.

My mate has one like this, made by Halcyon, and in the Red Sea in December – when it was necessary to launch one DSMB per buddy team prior to doing our 5m stop and surfacing – he perfected his launch. He would take a big breath and then take out his reg and blow into his DSMB, at the same time pulling on his shoulder dump valve on his BCD to vent what little air he had inside. This had the effect that his buoyancy remained much the same, and he would then replace his reg, take about big breath, remove his reg and then blow into his DSMB again before replacing his reg and letting the DSMB head off to the surface on a free-spinning reel. These two breaths, from a depth of about 8-9m, meant the DSMB was 90% full on the surface. Might not work for everyone, but certainly worked for him.

I've got a smaller Scubapro DSMB with a tapered bottom, and I can adequately fill that by holding it near my second stage and letting it capture exhaled breaths. Two big exhales and I can send it up from 6-7m and it is 85-90% full at the surface. Again, works for me.

Main thing, whether you are using a reel or a spool, is practice, practice, practice. Can't count the number of people I have seen rocketing to the surface grimly holding on to their DSMBs, including the Course Director who thought it was a good idea to clip his reel on his to wing while he launched the DSMB. I think some divers forget the amount of lift these things can generate.

Mark

 

[jimdiverman]

Why are you filling a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) at depth? If this is a lift bag, we are taught to go to our backup regulator (if we normally use our long hoses), and fill a Lift Bag at depth by purging our primary regulator into the lift bag connected to a spool line.

If this is an SMB, what are you connecting it to?

If you want a lift bag, that is something else.

 

[fisherdvm]

Why are you filling a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) at depth? .

To mark the spot while drift diving so YOUR OWN boat or other boat traffic does not hit you in case you have to surface earlier than the rest of the group or if you broke off from the group and has to surface separately.

In mexico, there are places where boats are not allowed to moor, and they drift or motor after their dive group. If you happened to surface in front of them, they might not see you, but they might see a smb.

 

[MarkUK]

Think that is why here in the UK at least we tend to refer to SMBs and DSMBs – Surface Marker Buoys and Delayed Surface Marker Buoys – to avoid confusion.

Surface Marker Buoys are the inflatable things you tow around on the surface for the whole dive so people know where you are at all times.

Delayed Surface Marker Buoys, as the name suggests, are carried with you until the end of the dive, when you unroll and deploy them so you don't get hit by boat traffic (as mentioned above by Fisher) and so the dive boat knows where you are.

Mark

 

[Charlie99]

Well, I've got one, but never deployed it yet. Do you actually take the reg out of your mouth, pull the little black thing back on the intake valve of the SMB, then blow into it, then replace the reg back to your mouth?

Or do you use the air from your octo (how do you do that if it is through a small valve?).

None of the above.

You jam the black intake valve onto your Dive Alert and push the button.

------

Actually, it sounds like you have an oral inflator valve -- you just blow it up like a balloon. But the Dive Alert trick does work for most orally inflated sausages.

Some DSMBs, such as Halcyon have an inflator connector that is like that on a wing or BCD inflator, except that it doesn't have the ridge that locks into place. To inflate that, jus unclip your low pressure inflator hose from the BCD and jam the DSMB inflator onto the end of the hose. Obviously, you should try this out topside a few times first.

 

[fisherdvm]

None of the above.

You jam the black intake valve onto your Dive Alert and push the button.

------

Actually, it sounds like you have an oral inflator valve -- you just blow it up like a balloon. But the Dive Alert trick does work for most orally inflated sausages.

Some DSMBs, such as Halcyon have an inflator connector that is like that on a wing or BCD inflator, except that it doesn't have the ridge that locks into place. To inflate that, jus unclip your low pressure inflator hose from the BCD and jam the DSMB inflator onto the end of the hose. Obviously, you should try this out topside a few times first.

Hey, that was EXACTLY the answer I wanted to hear. I never tried it, but definitely will now! It seems like the funnel shape of the dive alert device should provide an adequate seal, and let the pressure do the rest.

 

[SparticleBrane]

 

[Buoyant1]

Think that is why here in the UK at least we tend to refer to SMBs and DSMBs – Surface Marker Buoys and Delayed Surface Marker Buoys – to avoid confusion.

Surface Marker Buoys are the inflatable things you tow around on the surface for the whole dive so people know where you are at all times.

Delayed Surface Marker Buoys, as the name suggests, are carried with you until the end of the dive, when you unroll and deploy them so you don't get hit by boat traffic (as mentioned above by Fisher) and so the dive boat knows where you are.

Mark

Thanks for the definition..I never knew the difference between the two terms...