DD Flag Setup

[eweingarden]

I just got a basic DD Flag and can't see how to get the flag or the ball on the pole. It's a 4' pole with a lead weight on the bottom. The pole has 2 thick rubber tubes, about 1" long each, attached at about 8" and 40" from the bottom. The styrofoam ball has a wire running thru the center of it, forming a circle. It seems that the rubber tubes are glued onto the pole because I absolutely cannot get them to slide. Thus, I can't see how to get either the ball or the flag on.

Am I missing something on this seemingly simple piece of equipment? If I'm being dim, be nice.

---------- Post added July 19th, 2014 at 08:31 AM ----------

Problem solved. I thought that the inability to move the rubber tubes was because they were glued to the pole, so I pushed a small screw driver underneath to separate the glue. I was then able to get the tube to move so I put some water soluble lube on the pole and was able to slide it off. Once it was off I was able to see that there wasn't any glue involved. With the internal diameter of the tube is so small, the elastic properties making it extremely tight, and the friction of the rubber, it was impossible to get the thing to slide without the lube.

Hopefully, my discovery will help the next diver who has a similar experience.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I am in a similar position as the OP, trying to figure out how to set up a dive flag of the type with the styrofoam float. Was the OP correct that the goal is to slide the two short lengths of rubber tubing along the pole until the float is sandwiched between them? If so, then I'm inclined to do what the OP did and use some soap to provide lubrication, as the tubing grips the pole very tightly. Why don't they just place the tubing lengths correctly at the factory rather than forcing the user to go through this difficulty?

Also, I read in another thread that the wire loop through the float is intended to provide drag in the water to keep the float from spinning. Is that really its function? Seems like an odd solution to the problem, but okay.

And last but not least, how do I attach the flag? The flag has brass grommets in three corners, and a stiffener wire diagonally across the flag from one grommet to another. There is a single flimsy-looking plastic C-clip around the pole near the top. I have no idea how to attach a flag with that C-clip, or whether that is even its purpose, as C-clips and grommets don't seem to work together as far as I can figure out.

Help?