Antique SCUBA Equipment

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That Aqua Lung horse collar was my first BC!
 
what the... I still have one of those !!! in perfect shape, togeather with my 2nd stage wich i still can buy brand new even though it was bought 2nd hand in i think it was 87

I am talking about the poseidon cyklon

a workhorse !

dive safe
 
The horse collar BC is still a great choice for skin diving and spearfishing.
For diving with SCUBA it is just to darn much work. :D


michael
 
Lot of antique diving suits with the copper helmet are imported from Russia and sold here (Netherlands, Belgium). I've seen one (1950) to be sold for arround f6000 (US$ 2400).
 
I try to collect if I can get my hands on any antique. So far only have a few items.

- Old Capilary Depth gauge.
- Cavalero Regualtor (heard of it)
- Skinny Dipper (considered an antique..?)
 
Those of you who haven't used one, don't knock it! The USD Aqualung II was a first rate BC in its day. A minor modification gave it the same ease of inflation as the today's jacket BCs.

All you had to do was remove and toss the CO2 cart and its fitting. Replace the cart fitting with one that accepts the LP hose and a valve that enables you to have inflation control.

I dove with one for many years, from the late 70s into the 90s. Then I got careless one day while cleaning a badly barnacled boat bottom (love that alliteration) and damaged the bladder. Couldn't find a glue that would stick to the bladder material so I wasn't able to attach a patch. No replacement bladder could be found, so I had to switch to a jacket style BC.

As I recall, the II had a lot of lift, somewhere beween 35 and 50 pounds.

The modern day jacket style BC is OK, I guess. But I miss the ability to ditch everything, tank, weights, etc., and still have my BC.

Warren
 
I remember them all,
the "good ole yellow horsecollar BC ", the capillary depth gauge, the "J-valve regulator" - which was a real trip when mated to a j-valve tank, and the really fun things like talc/soap/etc. to get into the wetsuit-soon replaced by the novelty of a "sharkskin 2 suit". And, of course rubber masks and fins...like the model T-available in any color you want,.....as long as you want black! :D

My God! I AM an antique!!!
Take care,
Mike
 
Why did you wear the BC cleaning a boat bottom?

The hot setup is to leave the tank in the boat or on the dock with a long hose to the second stage.
Wear the wetsuit, mask, gloves and maybe fins.

I really like the old horse collar BCs for skin diving.

I learned to dive in the '70s when your gear could be any color you want as long as you want black.

michael
 

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