OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Thanks to everyone for their kind words!
Scuba Force's Sf2 Rebreather... With Training By Tom Mccarthy
- Thread starter The Chairman
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I just swapped out my 32lb wing for a Dive Rite travel wing (25 lbs). It fits between the tanks and central tube nicely, looks like it won't impact the hoses, and is wide open in the middle. Haven't dove with it yet, but I think it'll be perfect.
lv2dive
Formerly known as KatePNAtl
Nice write up!
victorzamora
Contributor
Thanks for the write-up, Pete. I'll be interested in hearing your "Part2" when you convert it to sidemount. It seems like most guys diving the SF2 in sidemount are diving the tail pretty high for WOB purposes, but I'd like to see how yours trims when you're done.
@NetDoc ...It was a blast driving around the Sunshine state and repeatedly telling you that your rebreather was broken.
Can't wait to see what the mad mechanic has in store for the SF2 down the road! For anyone who is interested we're working on putting together a few try dive days in May for the SF2 and the rEvo. If you're interested you can request a day HERE and email us at info@EastCoastWreckDiving.com
-Tom
Can't wait to see what the mad mechanic has in store for the SF2 down the road! For anyone who is interested we're working on putting together a few try dive days in May for the SF2 and the rEvo. If you're interested you can request a day HERE and email us at info@EastCoastWreckDiving.com
-Tom
This isn't really a WOB thing. More likely the forward attachment needs to be snugged up. We use two bolt snaps on the sidemount units (one forward and one behind) in order to keep it in place. Unlike a tank, it raises and lowers as you breath gas in and out of it. Here's mine when it's tightened up...
-Tom McCarthy
EastCoastWreckDiving.com | StoneRust.com
OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Post class follow up...
So it's been just over two weeks since I finished my training. In addition to changing out the wing I added another Petrel II (Fischer cable connection) as well as a few minor mods like a screen in the counter lung dump valve to protect it from any sorb dust. I had missed out on a dive in the Ball Room at Ginnie last week due to my 9V battery futzing out on me just prior to the dive. I was going to putz around the cavern areas a bit but the cave rebreather death this past Sunday made me re-evaluate that idea. Then, one of my nephews died unexpectedly on Tuesday, and I called diving all together and went back to the Keys.
Today, I led a couple of divers on the Speigel Grove @Rainbow Reef Dive Center. You know them as @sphyon and his lovely bride to be. Obviously, I was constrained by their gas and NDLs. That's OK. It was fun to dive this wreck noiselessly and to see these two divers progress. I was able to approach a junior sized Jew Fish (200 lbs or so???) and a large barracuda fairly closely. We went past the PriFli area to the crane arms where @sphyon gave us the turn around. On the way back, I heard all this hissing. About ten divers passed us, swimming the other way, and I was astonished at just how loud they were. No, not just their exhales, but the bubbles as they rose through the water. It's hard to describe the sound... like a thousand tiny silvery cymbals all at once. I had never noticed that before.
Our next dive was at French Reef near Christmas Tree Cave. One of my buddy's ears felt out of sorts, so it was just two of us. On this dive, I encountered one of my favorite critters, the Yellow Head Jaw Fish. I was able to swim to within a foot with this guy just looking at me and I at him. Then Sphyon approached and with the first exhale, the critter ducked beneath the sand. The vis wasn't all that great and there seemed to be very few fish, but I was again astonished. It seems that the bubbles distract me as well. I felt so much more into the dive. It was hard to miss the little things without your mask vibrating with every exhalation. That was really cool. I had a "low battery" alarm on the boat, but everything seemed to work. A few minutes after splashing, the control Petrel gave me a battery critical alarm and soon winked out. I was trying to make a decision to abort the dive or not, when I heard the solenoid fire. KEWL! I knew I could fly it manually as I had done it, as well as other breathers before. But this was kind of new. The unit worked flawlessly without the controller Shearwater PDC on. The Dive Cann worked as advertised! All the cells read perfectly, and it kept my loop right at 0.7 PPO2 throughout the dive. I'm glad I added the second Shearwater. Also, I did notice that my bail out is starting to barely fizz around the neck O-Ring. I'm going to pull it apart tonight and deal with it. Notable quote: "I've got to learn how to find Pete all over again. I can't find him without all those bubbles!" I was less than 20 ft away after @sphyon descended. I watched him turn, twist, cavort and start all over again as he kept missing me. He finally saw me when I was about ten feet away. 2 phreakin' phunni!
All in all, it was an eventful, uneventful day. Lots of fun, friends and a few challenges thrown in as spice. I didn't like how difficult it was kitting up before and after the dives. Far easier out of my van. I think I'll have to adjust my harness to make it easier. However, I felt at home again with my trim and buoyancy. I was able to maneuver easily and have all but stopped trying to inhale in order to rise in the water column. There's a guard rail that's just a bit tight to slip through, but I found it very easy to do. There were a couple of hick ups buoyancy wise, especially at the safety stop. I was within a foot window most of the time and three at the most, so it was good.
So it's been just over two weeks since I finished my training. In addition to changing out the wing I added another Petrel II (Fischer cable connection) as well as a few minor mods like a screen in the counter lung dump valve to protect it from any sorb dust. I had missed out on a dive in the Ball Room at Ginnie last week due to my 9V battery futzing out on me just prior to the dive. I was going to putz around the cavern areas a bit but the cave rebreather death this past Sunday made me re-evaluate that idea. Then, one of my nephews died unexpectedly on Tuesday, and I called diving all together and went back to the Keys.
Today, I led a couple of divers on the Speigel Grove @Rainbow Reef Dive Center. You know them as @sphyon and his lovely bride to be. Obviously, I was constrained by their gas and NDLs. That's OK. It was fun to dive this wreck noiselessly and to see these two divers progress. I was able to approach a junior sized Jew Fish (200 lbs or so???) and a large barracuda fairly closely. We went past the PriFli area to the crane arms where @sphyon gave us the turn around. On the way back, I heard all this hissing. About ten divers passed us, swimming the other way, and I was astonished at just how loud they were. No, not just their exhales, but the bubbles as they rose through the water. It's hard to describe the sound... like a thousand tiny silvery cymbals all at once. I had never noticed that before.
Our next dive was at French Reef near Christmas Tree Cave. One of my buddy's ears felt out of sorts, so it was just two of us. On this dive, I encountered one of my favorite critters, the Yellow Head Jaw Fish. I was able to swim to within a foot with this guy just looking at me and I at him. Then Sphyon approached and with the first exhale, the critter ducked beneath the sand. The vis wasn't all that great and there seemed to be very few fish, but I was again astonished. It seems that the bubbles distract me as well. I felt so much more into the dive. It was hard to miss the little things without your mask vibrating with every exhalation. That was really cool. I had a "low battery" alarm on the boat, but everything seemed to work. A few minutes after splashing, the control Petrel gave me a battery critical alarm and soon winked out. I was trying to make a decision to abort the dive or not, when I heard the solenoid fire. KEWL! I knew I could fly it manually as I had done it, as well as other breathers before. But this was kind of new. The unit worked flawlessly without the controller Shearwater PDC on. The Dive Cann worked as advertised! All the cells read perfectly, and it kept my loop right at 0.7 PPO2 throughout the dive. I'm glad I added the second Shearwater. Also, I did notice that my bail out is starting to barely fizz around the neck O-Ring. I'm going to pull it apart tonight and deal with it. Notable quote: "I've got to learn how to find Pete all over again. I can't find him without all those bubbles!" I was less than 20 ft away after @sphyon descended. I watched him turn, twist, cavort and start all over again as he kept missing me. He finally saw me when I was about ten feet away. 2 phreakin' phunni!
All in all, it was an eventful, uneventful day. Lots of fun, friends and a few challenges thrown in as spice. I didn't like how difficult it was kitting up before and after the dives. Far easier out of my van. I think I'll have to adjust my harness to make it easier. However, I felt at home again with my trim and buoyancy. I was able to maneuver easily and have all but stopped trying to inhale in order to rise in the water column. There's a guard rail that's just a bit tight to slip through, but I found it very easy to do. There were a couple of hick ups buoyancy wise, especially at the safety stop. I was within a foot window most of the time and three at the most, so it was good.
Thanks for having Olive and I out this weekend! USS SG was awesome and yeah.... Even in that the dye shirt you are much more tricky to keep tabs on.
I will say that even as an OC diver it was more fun with netdoc on the SF2. Noise is much reduced vs. having additional OC divers as buddies and Pete was able to spot critters WAY earlier than usual allowing me ample time to approach and ruin the magic for him!
I will say that even as an OC diver it was more fun with netdoc on the SF2. Noise is much reduced vs. having additional OC divers as buddies and Pete was able to spot critters WAY earlier than usual allowing me ample time to approach and ruin the magic for him!
victorzamora
Contributor
This isn't really a WOB thing. More likely the forward attachment needs to be snugged up. We use two bolt snaps on the sidemount units (one forward and one behind) in order to keep it in place. Unlike a tank, it raises and lowers as you breath gas in and out of it. Here's mine when it's tightened up...
-Tom McCarthy
EastCoastWreckDiving.com | StoneRust.com
That looks awesome, Tom. Thanks for the pic! Static Lung Load and Work of Breathing still good in that position? I'd guess so with the counterlung on bottom as it's in relatively the same position it'd be in the way I've seen people diving them (nose down pretty far).
OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
With it on my back, I find that I have to lift my head and chest just a tad for the best work of breathing. If it was on my side and even with my chest, flat would be the way to go.
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