Mineral oil filled IPOD

[bigred177]

I was looking around the other day and saw that new IPOD case the have that is rated for pretty good depths. I started thinking about it and remembered reading that people were putting mineral oil in the airspaces for electronics on their rebreathers. Would it be possible to do the same thing to something like an IPOD in a bag in order to have a non-conductive, incompressible fliud? The only thing I could see would be the moving components slowing down in the thicker fluid but then you could just get a less viscous fluid.
Thanks

 

[scubajcf]

I don't know what kind of fluid it is, but there is a guy out of Florida doing the same thing with cameras.




jcf



////

 

[MarKon]

Hi,
Sorry, I have nothing of value to add, I'm a newb, but I'm curious:
"people were putting mineral oil in the airspaces for electronics on their rebreathers. Would it be possible to do the saem thing to something like an IPOD in a bag in order to have a non-conductive, incompressible fliud"
What is the purpose of filling the airspaces with oil?

 

[bigred177]

For the guys in the rebreathers it was to go crazy deep. I remember reading about Sheck Exley going to like 900 something feet. Since the fluid is non-compressible there are no issues of sensitive material getting crushed or water leaking in and shorting the system. In my case, I want to be able to submerge the IPOD without having to have it in some sort of pressure rated device.

 

[MagicChicken]

Mineral oil is also a current insulator and will not promote electronics corrosion or short circuits. It is lighter than water, so make sure the case is sealed properly otherwise water may leak in.

I don't think mineral oil is viscous enough to slow down the moving parts of the hard drive.

I'm more concerned about listening to music while diving... I wouldn't want to miss audio cues that there's something wrong either with my gear, my buddy, etc.

 

[don Francisco]

Bad news- Hard drives have tight clearances and low power motors. If your ipod has a hard drive or any other moving parts and is not hermetically sealed, the viscous drag of even the lightest oil on earth will interfere with its operation.

 

[MagicChicken]

Bad news- Hard drives have tight clearances and low power motors.

Hmmm... Thanks for the info.

I'm still curious how the OP intends to use the iPod underwater :

a) underwater jukebox system?

b) earphones??? wouldn't they keep you from equalizing air pressure in your ear canals?

 

[don Francisco]

Hmmm... Thanks for the info.

I'm still curious how the OP intends to use the iPod underwater :

a) underwater jukebox system?

b) earphones??? wouldn't they keep you from equalizing air pressure in your ear canals?

Theme from Sea Hunt maybe?

I'm sure that if the other technical obstacles could be dealt with, earphones that allowed water to pass so you could equalize would not be a problem.

 

[bigred177]

The earphones from underwater metal detectors just rest on top of your ears and allow water back and forth. The sound probably isn't as good but gets the job done. I was also thinking of using a USB flash drive with an MP3 player instead since those have no moving parts in them. On a hard drive that is hermetically sealed, what kind of pressure could the casing hold?

 

[eddyet]

as far as earphones, something like the h2oaudio idive300 would work (if you have $$$ lying around), but i doubt i'd ever do this due to missing the audio cues for safety/gear failure. Might use something like this during long deco stops...