Diving Resistant to Change?

[arew+4]

At it's core diving is tech enabled, not tech driven. With the vast majority of divers a 10% improvement in anything other than bottom time will be greeted with a shrug. In the twenty some years I have been diving the only two major lasting changes I have noticed have been the wide spread adoption of computers and Nitrox

 

[tbone1004]

@Ioncloud9 this is really going to echo things said above, but here goes.
Yes the Cyklon was released in 1958, no the second stage hasn't changed since then. Yes it is using an old first stage design that hasn't changed in over 20 years.
Scubapro 108 was released in 1963 and most non-adjustable regulators are based on this design. It has not changed since then
The Scubapro 109 was released in 1969 and is the regulator that most all high end regulators are based on.
Scubapro Mk5 was a 5 port swivel turret, balanced piston first stage. Released in 1965, it is the base design that is still being used today.
The Scubapro 156 Balanced Adjustable was released in 1985 and is an improvement on the 109 by making it a balanced second stage.

The 108 has been copied by many companies and with slight changes in machining tolerances and case design, it has stayed largely unchanged.
The 109/156 has gone to new case designs that are more cost effective to produce but also have better air flow through them for improved venturi and overall work of breathing. Poppets have been improved to smooth out the breathing curve, but the base design is unchanged.
The MK5 has gone through minor improvements to get to the MK25, but nothing radical.
Diaphragm regulators are in a similar boat.

This improvement is really no different than the engine in your car going from a carb to direct injection. The base design is still suck-squeeze-bang-blow, but there have been step improvements.

Poseidon has really the only "out of the box" regulator designs in the last 30 years with the Jetstream/Xstream and now the Mk3 first stage, but there is still only so many ways to make a demand valve.

We have met the limit on work of breathing because anything appreciably better will freeflow. Unless you have something radical in valve design that would somehow improve anything, please bring it up, but these types of valves are used in all sorts of industrial applications and these are just adapted variants of those types of valves.


On the computer front. What are you proposing for improvements?

Same with fins, there have been improvements and step changes, the Deep6 Eddy fins are leaps and bounds better than Jet Fins, but still on the same base design. Many companies have tried to come out with innovative fins, but they just don't show any serious improvements so what's the point in investing?

 

[runsongas]

the SP pilot/air1/d series were out of the box, but they didn't really catch on

 

[tbone1004]

the SP pilot/air1/d series were out of the box, but they didn't really catch on

agreed, was going on models currently for sale. Lots of unique designs over the years, but few caught on

 

[DogDiver]

Obviously you haven’t looked at the rebreather market. Space age electronics, sometimes at its best. Sometimes at its worst.

 

[runsongas]

if you mean nasa from the 60s, then the galvanic O2 sensors sure do qualify. most industrial applications are running solid state NDIR sensors these days. poseidon has released one recently but the drawback is the price tag. i am somewhat disappointed it isn't a multigas sensor also, as the newest NDIR sensors can output 3 species at a time. would be really handy to get real time data on O2/CO2/CO simultaneously.

 

[tbone1004]

if you mean nasa from the 60s, then the galvanic O2 sensors sure do qualify. most industrial applications are running solid state NDIR sensors these days. poseidon has released one recently but the drawback is the price tag. i am somewhat disappointed it isn't a multigas sensor also, as the newest NDIR sensors can output 3 species at a time. would be really handy to get real time data on O2/CO2/CO simultaneously.

o2/he/co2 would be far more useful in a rebreather, but the issue with those is getting them to behave with moisture as the NDIR sensors really don't like humidity

 

[runsongas]

i haven't seen any ndir helium sensors in the wild, not sure on availability. i figure being warned you have 30 ppm CO would be more important than whether you have 60 or 61% He in the loop.

 

[tbone1004]

i haven't seen any ndir helium sensors in the wild, not sure on availability. i figure being warned you have 30 ppm CO would be more important than whether you have 60 or 61% He in the loop.

correct, the Divesoft is accoustic, but it should be able to fit in with the NDIR sensors. The He is just nice to have as a backup to the O2 if you are using a He mix, but you shouldn't have a buildup of CO in the loop if you analyzed your gas properly on the surface which is critical because if you find out underwater you're f*cked

 

[Ioncloud9]

@Ioncloud9

On the computer front. What are you proposing for improvements?

Same with fins, there have been improvements and step changes, the Deep6 Eddy fins are leaps and bounds better than Jet Fins, but still on the same base design. Many companies have tried to come out with innovative fins, but they just don't show any serious improvements so what's the point in investing?

There is plenty of room for improvement on the computer front as a whole. I know Shearwaters and a couple of others do some of these things but the VAST majority do not. Integration of short range wireless technology like bluetooth for log uploading, eliminating the ridiculous and extremely overpriced download to PC cables most of them have, upgrading screen technology to active matrix LCDs or OLED displays (these are not new technologies. Active matrix color LCDs have been around over 30 years now. This isn't just for looks, it makes them very flexible with an always on brightness). I'm sure you could also display other information such as breathing rates and air pressure per minute based on air integration. Again, mostly not necessary, just an improvement over the casio watch.

I understand why reg technology as a whole is where it is. Its a very mature technology, just like car engines, with over 50 years of refinement. There isn't much room for it to go anywhere else. You did pick up on my point about Poseidon haha. Other than the novelty of it, I don't understand why its desired enough to warrant production and that was my point. I guess like a classic car.