Neat Little Tricks Are Good to Know

[scubadada]

More than one.

There was my disco phase too. (not very proud of that one.)

Splitlip,

That's terrible, I had shoes like that in high school, weird time.

 

[tracydr]

I agree with you that a good pre-dive check should prevent the problem, but every year a diver or two drowns because they forgot to turn on their air, can't reach their valve, has an empty BC, were grossly overweighted, and sink.

Sometimes they did turn on their air, but have a too-helpful boat crew member forgot "righty-tighty, lefty-loosie" and turned it off as the diver stood on stern ready to splash... and they do not know how to reach their valve.

Knowing how to reach your valve is a must-learn safety skill. It used to be taught and practiced in basic OW.

Best wishes.

When taking the plunge, always check your air one last time, breathing through erg and watching gauge. Then, jump!
I've had the "helpful" DM on a boat turn mine off, too.
When diving on a boat, I ask the DM not to touch my rig. That way, I know everything is set-up the way I like it and hopefully my tank won't fall off, which I've seen happen after helpful DM swaps the tanks, too.

 

[TimKy]

Hell yes. From 0 to about 40% full in a sideways glance.

Wow, that wasn't what I was wanting to hear. I was hoping I would have time to leisurely swim to the boat - making the appropriate stops, of course - while holding the case at an angle to keep the few drops of water that slipped in off the camera. But then, if it was that easy, I guess there wouldn't be all the "Oh, S***, I flooded my camera/strobe/flashlight" stories on here.

But then, you also had the corner of a tissue on the seal. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as quick with an eyelash. I'm so paranoid after reading all the different tips on caring for your underwater camera that I just close it up and hope for the best. On the one hand, they are saying that the slightest speck will mean certain doom, then they say clean the seal every time with a clean toothbrush. If I can't see the speck, I'm sure not going to be able to see the translucent toothbrush bristle I leave stuck in the silicone grease and I think that would do more damage.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

When taking the plunge, always check your air one last time, breathing through erg and watching gauge. Then, jump!
I've had the "helpful" DM on a boat turn mine off, too.
When diving on a boat, I ask the DM not to touch my rig. That way, I know everything is set-up the way I like it and hopefully my tank won't fall off, which I've seen happen after helpful DM swaps the tanks, too.

Hi Tracydr:

I'm with you 100% on not touching my tanks. Maybe they should work about their own tanks. I kid you not........I had a divemaster on a boat offshore not bungee her tank into the rail, and it dropped valve first right on my foot, with my fin and boots on. Maybe that wasn't fun getting ready to do the dive after just being smashed by a 'divemaster's' tank. Aren't they supposed to be looking for that stuff for the divers who don't have too much boat experience? Well, she was more than apologetic, and we just laughed it off since my fin, boot and foot cushioned the fall of a tank with 3000 lbs of air in it, landing valve first!

Safe diving to you.

 

[Evie G]

I am going to officially b1tch about this tip. I tried this over the weekend, and being the dufus I am, the corner of the tissue crossed the o-ring seal and the camera flooding when I hit about 50 feet (sneakily it didn't flood when I checked it just under the surface because the pressure was insufficient).

Yes I know that it is really my fault, but I wish that I had never read the suggestion all the same.

Same as when u put in desicant pack. I always use both, & check & recheck that the edges are not touching near d cam case groove.

 

[Evie G]

But then, you also had the corner of a tissue on the seal. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as quick with an eyelash. I'm so paranoid after reading all the different tips on caring for your underwater camera that I just close it up and hope for the best. On the one hand, they are saying that the slightest speck will mean certain doom, then they say clean the seal every time with a clean toothbrush. If I can't see the speck, I'm sure not going to be able to see the translucent toothbrush bristle I leave stuck in the silicone grease and I think that would do more damage.

I use make-up sponge tips to clean around the edges & a blower also before i seal my case. Not that Im any pro at this, but thats my routine. So far so good.

 

[Evie G]

Actually, tampons work better in camera housings.

Mine is a small cam w/ not much space in the UW case to put in much absorbents.
So, i fold-up thin tissues & insert into side crevices, making sure edges are tucked-in.
Am worried tiny filaments fr tampons may get somewhere unnoticed & cause damage?

 

[Jax]

Q-tip shows the very find sediment that settles around the area. I run one around, then counter the first way, and back around until they're spotless. A clean one applies the silicon.

Carelessness causes the seal leak more than anything. The desiccant packs are for absorbing the humidity you've closed into the case.

 

[D_B]

I like the makeup sponge idea for cleaning .. I would be wary of regular cotton swabs leaving a strand behind .. or maybe brand name ones like Qtip dont do that?

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Mine is a small cam w/ not much space in the UW case to put in much absorbents.
So, i fold-up thin tissues & insert into side crevices, making sure edges are tucked-in.
Am worried tiny filaments fr tampons may get somewhere unnoticed & cause damage?

Just buy some moisture munchers or save the desicant packs that come in all the stuff you order online. That will work better. And when they get saturated, you can bake them at 350 and they start working all over again.