Can Light Cord Route

[Mo2vation]

Two questions:

Hot strike?? Was dat? Turning it off, then back on?

Also, I like to dump air from my BC with the rear dump. When reaching back, do you move the light to the right hand during the dump, or just reach back for a sec with light in hand?

I'll just hold it by the reflector, so the light doesn't shoot across the bottom or get all frantic. I do the rear dump most of the time (ew) too, and I just grab the reflector, keep the light pointing forward, dump, and switch back.

I didn't even realize I was changing hands until a new buddy asked me about it one day.

When an HID is on, its on. Don't turn it on, then off, then on.... that's a hot strike. If it goes out, leave it out for a few minutes before re-striking. One you strike it, leave it on for a few minutes.

ALSO: Get a paint pen or nail polish (H2Andy will loan you some) and put a dot on the switch cover to signify the "on" side - so when you connect the batt, you can check to be sure the switch is OFF. Otherwise, you may strike the HID when assembling it, and have to leave it on for a bit...

I assemble the lid so the switch is in, the cord is OUT. Not sure which is "correct" (like I read Quest for this stuff...) but that's what I do. Makes sense to me.

Rick: A few more things I just thought of:

* Move slowly. WAG WAG WAG is either OOA or Great White.

* To get your buddy's attention, I've found it best to slowly move my light in an arc in their site path... if that doesn't work, I shine it on their hands. That works 95% of the time. If that doesn't, I go for the corner of the mask. If that doesn't work, I swim to them then kick them hard in the ribs.

* An SK-7 fits almost perfectly into the Reflector, and it stays charged for a long time with just a little ZOT. When I change hands, that's usually when I recharge the SK-7 with another ZOT.

* I never, ever shine the light on my Vytec - I slip my right hand into the corona. When I shine the 18 on my Vytec, the ZOT loses me my night vision, or else reflects off and blinds me during the day. Just slide the gauge into the corona... its plenty to see it.

* I'm not a fan of hanging the light by the handle - points up. I prefer the cord hang. Someone mentioned that they're using a double ender on the D-ring, and just keeping a loop of caveline or zip tie on the handle or cord. Genuis... so you're not shelepping around some dangly from your light - you can hang from either end with one clip, etc. I tried that this weekend. Hated it. I went back to the dangly. YMMV.

Do you dive a weight belt or ACB?

You gotta come back and tell us all about it when you start diving it. I'm so fired up for you.

---
Ken


PS: Soggy - I'm feeling you on the light cord. I never clip it off - well, once I did when I was carrying a camera so I could deal with the cam. It was at that instant my buddy's Trident Swivel of Death blew up.... there was a bit of clustry in deploying the hose. I need to noodle on that one a bit, as I never clip off anymore. Good point, tho.

 

[Rick Inman]

Do you dive a weight belt or ACB?

You gotta come back and tell us all about it when you start diving it. I'm so fired up for you.

It arrives Friday, so it gets dived Saturday. One in the morning, one at night. Report will follow!

Weights are DUI weight & trim.

Excellent tips, Ken!!

 

[ianr33]

I got a can light a few months ago.I was very pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get used to (and you WILL be amazed how you ever dived without one!) During descent I use my right hand on the inflator to save switching the light over. To dump air I will either use my right hand on the deflate button or switch the light to my right hand and use the rear dump with my left hand. Using the rear dump with the light in your left hand does not seem to be a good idea as 1) it can blind your buddy if he is behind you and 2)Could be mistaken for a distress signal

 

[Mo2vation]

It arrives Friday, so it gets dived Saturday. One in the morning, one at night.

Weights are DUI weight & trim.

Doing the weightless weight belt thing? That's how I have the buddy light rigged. I use the Bungeeroo on mine.

How you planning on rigging it? For me, the best part of the light is that its PART of my BC, you know? Its just always there. I don't think I've ever taken the canister off since I've had it.

---
Ken

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Ken,

re the double ender on the right chest D and the loop aft of the ballast on the HID - I tried that in my cave class. Thats when I nearly crunched my bulb on a rock outcropping. It might work for some, but for me its a major failure waiting to happen.

Thats when Larry Green showed me "if you need the light dangling down like that, drape it around your neck. Its even quicker than trying to hit that tiny loop with that stupid double ender, and keeps the bulb much higher off the rocks..."

But Larry also tied on my boltshap in such a way that its neither on the handle nor on the ballast. Instead, he basically ran caveline from one side of the goodman to the other, but ABOVE the lighthead, and then tied the boltsnap off using a bowline on a small bight directly in the center of that line. When snapped off, the lighthead hangs ballast down, but not flashing around like when hung by the handle. Works best of the options I'm aware of.

 

[Rick Inman]

Doing the weightless weight belt thing? That's how I have the buddy light rigged. I use the Bungeeroo on mine.

How you planning on rigging it? For me, the best part of the light is that its PART of my BC, you know? Its just always there. I don't think I've ever taken the canister off since I've had it.

---
Ken

I thought the only way was on the right side waist strap, secured with a buckle. No?

 

[Mo2vation]

Ken,

re the double ender on the right chest D and the loop aft of the ballast on the HID - I tried that in my cave class. Thats when I nearly crunched my bulb on a rock outcropping. It might work for some, but for me its a major failure waiting to happen.

Thats when Larry Green showed me "if you need the light dangling down like that, drape it around your neck. Its even quicker than trying to hit that tiny loop with that stupid double ender, and keeps the bulb much higher off the rocks..."

But Larry also tied on my boltshap in such a way that its neither on the handle nor on the ballast. Instead, he basically ran caveline from one side of the goodman to the other, but ABOVE the lighthead, and then tied the boltsnap off using a bowline on a small bight directly in the center of that line. When snapped off, the lighthead hangs ballast down, but not flashing around like when hung by the handle. Works best of the options I'm aware of.

I get the scraping the bottom thing in a cave class. I'm not usually that close to the bottom with it clipped off, and I have the EKPP that keeps the test tube back a bit.

But I like the sound of that. I'm trying to visualize it. Can you post a pic?

Heehee... trying to hit the loop with the double ender is what hacked me off this weekend. I remember changing back at the end of the second dive... amidst mutterings and cursings.


Rick: I dive the Anathema ACB (the, gasp, ACB12) - so I have no buckle. I use the Bungeroo and its been perfect for years now. Never an issue, always in place, etc. I understand "Dress for Success" offers another way to do something like this. I don't have the book, and this has worked fine for hundreds of dives, through surf and giant-fall entries.

---
Ken

 

[Doc Intrepid]

In most cases, yes. I've seen some shorter statured women, however, for whom the waistbelt is difficult. Hips and curves just don't fit that Helios 9 cannister very well. They've done beautifully, however, with the longer but thinner OMS battery cannister attached along the right side of their backplates, sort of like a longer, skinnier argon bottle. (I'm not a huge fan of OMS gear, but in this case this cannister of theirs works real well for certain folks.) What works, works.

 

[mannydib]

Under can end up with a total CF and potentially a dead buddy, while over just adds one small step to an air share, which should be practiced anyhow.

i have a hard time seeing someone getting killed because their buddy clipped their light with the light cord going over the long hose. i would think there would be enough slack to get the second stage to your buddy.

 

[jonnythan]

i have a hard time seeing someone getting killed because their buddy clipped their light with the light cord going over the long hose. i would think there would be enough slack to get the second stage to your buddy.

Killed is an extreme case, sure, but having your long hose completely trapped by a light head that was mistakenly clipped around the hose is a big, big deal.

That situation is simply not a possibility when diving with the cord over the hose.

There are lots of threads on this..