Communicating Underwater - Aquatec Sub Alert

[wayne007]

What's your thoughts on using the Aquatec Sub alert as a way to communicate? Is it worth the cost? They also now claim that it works out of the water 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Shut that thing up!!!!!

 

[Damselfish]

I've had one a long time and am not that thrilled with it, I continue to keep it attached but I don't think I would buy one again. I don't know if newer ones have a volume or tone that makes them easier to hear underwater than mine but mine's not that great. I hardly ever use it, but if I do I doubt it even bothers anyone.

If I really needed something on the surface, I'd want something intended for the surface and not something that kinda works.

 

[Diving Lore]

All this jazz about u/w communication devices. They are useful and invaluable for certain branches of the diving community like scientific/research, military, and commercial. But for recreational I'm not so sure it's a going to be a hit. The expense is one thing, though prices do inevietably come down. I think the main factor is that for many divers the almost silent environment of the under water realm is very appealing for divers and theraphutic. Why change that for having somebody chattering away all the time (for example) and talking non-stop. I can see its benefits from a safety point of view but I can't see it taking the world of Scuba by Storm.

 

[mwn]

I dived with a guy that had a sealed pvc pipe with ball bearings in it. It is a very effective tool, but it got irritating to hear him clammering away during a dive. He wanted everybody in the group to see what he was looking at. After a while, my db and I would just ignore him, so it really didn't do much good after that.

If you could carry two small pieces of metal or something, or maybe a tap or two on your tank that didn't disturb the entire neighborhood, it wouldn't be so bad. Just a couple of dings to get their attention, or maybe a predetermined code. I think you would want to communicate with only your db who should not be far off, and not everything within 10 miles or those sailors that were buried at sea. ymmv.

 

[Albion]

What's your thoughts on using the Aquatec Sub alert as a way to communicate? Is it worth the cost? They also now claim that it works out of the water 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Anyone have any experience with them?

Get the ones that work out of the water only, they are much louder than the ones that work underwater as well, where as you can see, you won't be thanked for using it.

Very loud and and good for singnalling, especially if you have come up away from the boat and they are ignoring your SMB

 

[samundra]

All this jazz about u/w communication devices. They are useful and invaluable for certain branches of the diving community like scientific/research, military, and commercial. But for recreational I'm not so sure it's a going to be a hit. The expense is one thing, though prices do inevietably come down. I think the main factor is that for many divers the almost silent environment of the under water realm is very appealing for divers and theraphutic. Why change that for having somebody chattering away all the time (for example) and talking non-stop. I can see its benefits from a safety point of view but I can't see it taking the world of Scuba by Storm.

OK, so there are all these fancy devices out there that allow you to chat at 20m. What I want to know is, has anyone out there talked underwater without the technology? At 95m, on air? I did it, but I don't understand how. And yes, I was way too deep for air; no, I wasn't narked (just a little happy) and my buddy did hear me and responded. Can anyone explain the physics, please?

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I have been told by different buddies that they can hear me talk underwater. When I did my rescue class a few weeks ago, the "victim" said she heard me ask if she was Ok.

 

[Diving Lore]

I have been told by different buddies that they can hear me talk underwater. When I did my rescue class a few weeks ago, the "victim" said she heard me ask if she was Ok.

You can but you have to have your mouth next to your buddies ear and speak loudly, slowly and clearly. Other wise its almost impossible.

 

[samundra]

I was two to three metres away from my buddy. My voice was high and squeaky, like the helium balloon voice, but it was perfectly clear, as was my buddy's response. Does the increased pressure (10.5 bars) slow down the sound waves so they become intelligible? I'd like to understand the science.