Internet gear question

[Mirjana]

Marek,

Thank you for addresses. This was educational. I believe it was the item number 4 (with 1,2,3 I guess, although i cannot be sure) together with the rest of what is called a corrugated hose.

Since the discussion developed, I should be saying that it was actually my buddy's "hose". I was responsible for buying our OMSs, and his was the only one that turned out to be malfunctioned. As we got into the water in the first test dive, that whole thing left hanging in his hand. There was no break, or anything. It just fell off. Came apart from the rest of the wing.

This website info on services is really useful!! We can use it as the last option ) I guess you know that half of the outside world automatically cancels orders made by the credit cards that originate from SAM. As for the rest, paying for postal services, peculiar custom's "evaluation", and lack of any possibility to insure the dispatch makes it very frustrating process.

I don't know if it's a problem of underdeveloped "market" leading into the complete lack of interest or what....but we sure don't have many options left if we mean serious when we buy our gear or try to configure (I'm not sure there is an understanding of what the term means").

Zdravo, Mirjana!

Please tell us a little bit more about how your inflator hose "fell off."

I've searched for diagrams of inflator hoses, and found one by Oceanic here (scroll down to Page 7)... I know, it's different from your OMS (OMS doesn't look like it has a pull dump), but the basic layout is the same... and so is the parts terminology.

Awap was assuming the Corrugated Hose (Part 8) came off the Upper Housing Body Assembly (Part 4). The zip tie(s) he was talking about was the Tie Wrap (Part 7) holding the hose onto the housing. The soap was to lubricate the hose so it would go on easier.

Was that it? Did something actually break or tear (in which case you may have problems), or just come apart?

OMS replacement parts are available... see here. Problem is, like you say of course, that you're in Serbia.

--Marek

 

[friscuba]

Hot air... coming out of LDS owners mouths... There will always be places to get your tanks filled. Dive shops will either learnt o adapt and compete or they will be gone like the dinosaurs. Anyone can buy a compressor now a days and as the costs come down I'm considering going in on one with a group of dive buddies... wallah... no more need for a LDS... For $2700 we can get a compressor. With 10 of us kciking in... that's only $270 each...

Now the way I have it figured... I use about 6 tanks of air each week (a little more than most divers cause I dive for a living)... but that means I spend $4.50 a fill X 6 = $27 a week on air... which means I spend $1404.00 a year... Now I realize there will be some other small shared costs between me and my 9 buddies to keep the compressor operational... but still, look at my 1 year savings... then consider after the initial $270, I have no more costs. What in the world do I need an overcharging LDS for?

Please report back to us in a year or two about how well this works. This is not meant to be a criticism, but we see a lot of people running the numbers about how a compressor is an "affordable" option, yet I don't see many who actually own their own compressors comment on costs, convenience, etc.

It would be curious to see how happy recreational compressor owners are with their purchases and if they actually agree that they are saving money post-purchase.

 

[Marek K]

I believe it was the item number 4 (with 1,2,3 I guess, although i cannot be sure) together with the rest of what is called a corrugated hose. [...] As we got into the water in the first test dive, that whole thing left hanging in his hand. There was no break, or anything. It just fell off. Came apart from the rest of the wing.

Hi again, Mirjana--

I'm not familiar with OMS equipment; but with every BC I've seen or used, the Upper Housing Body of the inflator assembly is female-threaded... it screws down over a plastic fitting on the BC/bladder, with a silicone gasket. The plastic fitting with the male threading is permanently attached (glued/sealed) to the bladder.

But that's pretty obvious. I assume from what you say that the housing didn't just unscrew off of the fitting, or you would have seen that right away. But you also say that nothing broke, so I'm confused as to what happened. Either it unscrewed, or came off in another way that can be easily fixed (like if it was the corrugated hose, like Awap assumed)... or something broke or tore out, and needs to be replaced.

Do you have a digital camera available, so you can take and attach some photos?

I guess you know that half of the outside world automatically cancels orders made by the credit cards that originate from [Serbia and Montenegro]. As for the rest, paying for postal services, peculiar custom's "evaluation", and lack of any possibility to insure the dispatch makes it very frustrating process.

No, I didn't know that about credit cards from your part of the world. But I'm not surprised. I'm sure you understand that even better than I do.

Hey, I've had luck the other way around... I ordered a music CD from Beograd a couple years ago... by Vlatko Stefanovski, one of my very favorite musicians -- I met him in Skopje in 2001. Actually used my U.S. credit card, and the CD came here to Warsaw with no problem.

(Note to self: this actually isn't a thread hijack. It show the challenges folks in other countries have, who are forced to order things online or otherwise, um, creatively because of horrendous prices or non-availability locally.)

--Marek