H20Audio U/W MP3 Player

[MtnDiver]

Went to Oceanic's website to read about the new Atom dive computer and ran across this...

H2OAudio U/W MP3 Player

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?

One of the things I love about diving is "getting away" from noise and communing with nature. This kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Not to mention the safety issues...

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

http://waterproofmp3.com

I actually played with one of these for a project we're doing where I work. It's the size of a USB pendrive. We were looking for a MP3 player to use in a boat, so settled for a readily-available 'splashproof' model.

I don't need music to dive with, but maybe you could record an underwater tour or instructions for someone to use? Listen to music or a 'book on MP3' while doing your deco stops?

 

[mempilot]

Listen to music or a 'book on MP3' while doing your deco stops?

This would help defeat boredom on the hang. I've thought of buying the VR3 computer to play the games, but $1300 is a little steep for an underwater Gameboy.

 

[ShakaZulu]

I like that underwater tour idea, that will be nice.................

 

[Shooter Mike]

I chuckled the first time I saw the U/W mp3 advertised too, although 3dent made a very interesting point about using it for a tour.

 

[StueyinDeep]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

A dutch instructor friend of mine bought one of the masks that has the ear covers to keep the ears dry and we all teased him so much about looking like he was wearing headphones that he sealed up an old walkman and wore some in-the-ear headphones and listened to music for a couple of dives. Then it flooded....

I think the mp3 player has applications but don't we already make enough noise down there and scare off too many fish already???

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Went to Oceanic's website to read about the new Atom dive computer and ran across this...

H2OAudio U/W MP3 Player

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?

One of the things I love about diving is "getting away" from noise and communing with nature. This kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Not to mention the safety issues...

Anyone else have any thoughts?

I got one! Well, actually my wife got one as a gift.

She swims at the gym for exercise, and she says it is about the most boring thing she has ever done. She loves to swim, but the boredom almost drove her out of the pool.

We talked about it and she liked the idea, as she listens to music when she runs. We wanted to get a player that would hold up to the abuse of swimming 3 times a week, and not be affected by the hydraulic pressure of her activity. The splash proof models just did not seem to be durable in the long term.

It has generated lots of interest at the pool, but the price will probably scare away most of the swimmers. My wife does not dive (she tried it and did not like it) but I do. I do not think I will ever take it diving. If I do it will only be as a test to see if it works at depth. I am not so into music that it dominates my life. I enjoy the solitude of the deep. I have gotten to the point with my diving that I really don't notice the noise of my bubbles most of the time.

It seems well made but the enclosure is quite large considering the base size of the player. The additional amplifier, and the sheer size of the buttons make it pretty big. For swimming we got my wife a neoprene weight belt and after some small modifications it is easy for her to take in the pool. For diving I think it would just end up being yet another large dangling thing for most divers.

For SCUBA diving I agree it would almost certainly be a bad idea, even the idea of an underwater tour does not thrill me. A diver could easily get so wrapped up that he or she could easily forget to check their instruments. Even if the tour had prompts every few minutes to check your guages, many divers who have bad air consumption might be tempted to continue the tour beyond what others would consider safe tank pressures. Just too much down side for me.

Mark Vlahos

 

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

i think its pretty neat, and i am quite tempted, but when making safety stops, if you are concentrating on the music, you may not notic that you are accendin(if not on a line). I think if its for you(the music) and you are sure you will still dive with no change in you dive habits, i think its cool, but im young with too much money so its the junk i look at..

 

[mstudley]

Is this really a good idea? Not to be the party pooper or anything but I know that when I listen to certain music while driving it can change my driving habits. I'm not sure what this would do while diving but I'd rather not find out

Plus it's cool to just relaxe and listen to the bubbles (or not if you're diving rebreather).

 

[drbill]

I was aghast when I saw the first of these on the market. What is it about life that we need to experience it with headphones in our ears? I don't even use my Walkman topside, nor will I be "tempted" to use one underwater. I dive for the experience of diving, and I listen to the music either live or in the comfort of my living room.

However, good ideas like recorded dive tours make sense.

Doc