Cozumel dive trip with OTS Guardian FFM

[MattPSI]

My wife and I bought a pair of OTS FFM with Buddy Phones when they were on sale recently. We did a day 3 tank day of cenote cavern diving with CenoteXperience and 4 days in Cozumel with Aldora. Both operators were great!

We loved the FFM recreational diving experience. The Buddy Phones worked really well with a little practice. We didn't spend much time talking, but it was helpful on a couple occasions to point out marine life or check in with eachother. I would encourage anyone to test out The OTS Guardian system if they are curious. While the FFM option has drawbacks, there are also some potential advantages over half masks. For example, the mask does not fog (no defog required), does not leak water (very difficult to flood even on purpose), and it eliminates the risk of acidentally loosing your second stage (in theory even if one were unconscious). I spent most of my time breathing through my nose. No more jaw fatigue or cotton mouth.

Here are a couple videos for those who might be interested:
Cozumel Reef Diving: https://youtu.be/P8jxVsCLlGM
Cenote Cavern Diving: Cenote Cavern Diving 2015 - YouTube

 

[anelson-OTS]

Great videos MattPSI!

Glad to hear you've been enjoying your Guardian FFMs and communications. I have yet to do Cozumel. If there is anything I can help you out with or have any questions please let me know.

One thing I did notice (aside from the great quality footage) is that you and your wife are using quite a bit of top strap. You can see from a screenshot here :



Using too much top strap could actually cause jaw fatigue on an extended dive, because you are essentially pulling up on your face / jaw, working against that resistant when speaking and/or breathing through your mouth, rather than pulling it back to seat it on your face.

The best way to adjust the masks is to :
-Fully extend all straps outward
-Seat your chin in the chin cup (sometimes a little wiggle can help to positively seat it in there)
-Pull the straps up and over your head, getting the pad as low as possible on your head
-Start with the bottom straps first (pulling straight backwards)
-Next to temple straps
-Then adjust top strap last, if needed, should only need a little bit unless you have a smaller head

You can see from the photo, since the top strap (seemingly) was adjusted first, the buddy phone is almost coming off your ear, up towards the top of the head.

Again -- very happy to see they worked out well for you and your spouse. Awesome videos! Happy diving!

Cheers.

 

[Herb-alaska]

Andy is very correct on the strap issue. I don't even tighten mine down at all. Its all in the temples and then a bit in the chin. Great mask seals well. But darn I would hate to have someone talking my ears off while i am vacation diving. When I am PSD diving i wish I could just tell the tender to leave me alone and let me yet the job done. You will enjoy your mask for so many different reasons
Herb

 

[MattPSI]

Thanks for the great feedback! We will be more aware of the top strap issue in the future. I am hoping to get back in the water asap and keep optimizing my use of the new gear. It is interesting about the top strap, it just shifts the whole harness system higher up on your head, but doesn't necessary make the fit or comfort problematic enough to cause a new user to correct it right away! Now that I see the problem, it is obvious, and I will not repeat it. Live and learn.

---------- Post added April 9th, 2015 at 10:24 PM ----------

I have done some white balance correction and further editing to the videos. For anyone interested, the original videos I posted have been replaced by these shorter and color optimized versions:
Cozumel 2015
Cenote Cavern Diving 2015

 

[ggunn]

FWIW, if someone is diving on a boat with with me who has some sound broadcasting device by which they will be chattering away during a dive, I will most likely be looking for another boat to dive from. No offense intended.

 

[MattPSI]

None taken. It is unlikely that you will be faced with such a dilemma in the near future. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Herb-alaska]

FWIW, if someone is diving on a boat with with me who has some sound broadcasting device by which they will be chattering away during a dive, I will most likely be looking for another boat to dive from. No offense intended.

These are not sound broadcasting defices that everyone in the water hears These are 2 way radios with the ear buds positioned over your ears. No one on the boat outside of a 3 foot radius is going to hear the chatter.

 

[ggunn]

These are not sound broadcasting defices that everyone in the water hears These are 2 way radios with the ear buds positioned over your ears. No one on the boat outside of a 3 foot radius is going to hear the chatter.

That's good to know, but are you sure? Radio waves do not propagate well (if at all) in salt water.

 

[cvchief]

That's good to know, but are you sure? Radio waves do not propagate well (if at all) in salt water.

I think it is sound, translate to high frequency however like on subs. Hydrophone?





I think you can see one over my shoulder. I am the guy with the mustache.....

 

[pisoiu]

I use ocean reef communication devices, not ots, but the basics are the same. Human voice frequency range (up to 4-5 khz) is modulated over an approx. 32 khz carrier, using single sideband modulation, then it is broadcasted in water using a transducer. It is broadcasted as ultrasonic waves, not radio waves. A similar device at the other end captures and demodulates the signal and put it into a speaker so you can hear it.
I can assure you that you will not hear anything in 32 khz range. Also, it is unlikely to hear anything inteligible in audible range even if you stand near the person who talk into such a system. I tried once to say something to a fellow diver in a pool. I was using a FFM and screaming the lungs out of me near his ears. He barely understood what I was saying. And he was not wearing a neoprene hood.