The Mares & Dacor HUB
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bcsean
Guest
texashark:
It's all good, we all go through the growing pains. Live and learn. This is exactly the reason we ask questions here, so we don't waste money on those really bad pieces of equipment. Been there, done that.
glbirch
Contributor
Careful, you wouldn't want to be accused of showing HUBris in this thread...Boogie711:
Looking to purchase my first BC. Been doing some research and came across the Dacor H.U.B. system. The idea seems great, but like all new things there always can be a few bugs to work out. Has anyone used this BC or know anything good or bad that I should be aware of. Thank you
Paul Evans
"Mr Mares"
Please do a search There a re lots of reason for not geeting one and the've all been discused on the board.
Even better than a HUB try this deal from scubatoys
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=MorphosPack
Now this is a good deal!!!!!!!!
Even better than a HUB try this deal from scubatoys
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=MorphosPack
Now this is a good deal!!!!!!!!
dacordiver
Guest
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It's a good system if you are looking for a self contained product. They are a bit wide, and I reccomend putting a 360 degree swivel on the second stage. They are no different to service than a normal set up ( you just combine the actions of servicing a regulator and the BC into one setup).
Moogyboy
Contributor
I will add my meager two pennies worth of commentary to this endless(ly entertaining)thread and then leave it alone forever. I have NO personal experience with the HUB and have no desire for any. Just knowing how it's designed offends my design-school-bred KISS/FFF philosophy as a basic level.
The HUB to me looks like a prime example of everything that's wrong with the "dive industry" and Dacor in particular. One word summary of what's wrong: MARKETING. Style over substance. Gimmickry. Huge effin' price tags. And lack of basic common sense.
The sci-fi fan in me thinks the idea of an all-in-one inner-space suit is niftier than all heck, and on the outside at first glance the HUB looks awfully futuristic to someone who doesn't know better. I remember at a dive club meeting a few years ago one of the main instructor guys at our LDS gave a demonstration of the then-new HUB and I thought, "wow." I wasn't a new diver, exactly...imagine what a newbie flush with enthusiasm and eager to immediately spend wads of cash on "the best" would think confronted with such a slick package. But how to get to that slick exterior? Ay, there's the rub. This mess of built-in hoses, fittings, etc. is a disaster waiting to happen.
I'll use an analogy. Some guitarists use those self-contained digital multieffects units that look so cool and high tech--and don't sound bad either--but if it dies on you in the middle of a set you're done for the night and possibly the next few. Service is gonna be expensive if it's even fixable...you know, the whole "no user serviceable parts inside" gambit. And these things are pricey. Yes they have some advantages over an assortment of basic pedals (everything in one place, one button does it all, memory, several different flavors of distortion/reverb/whathaveyou) but at the price of puting everything into one, almost nonrepairable basket. Other guitarists have a dozen or more pedals in their chain, with all those cords (read "failure points") connecting them together. The HUB is a combination of these two scenarios. I prefer a basic assortment of three or four pedals--each piece all-purpose but good--in my stage setup, and go for something comparable in my dive gear.
I couldn't care less about whether the techies on the boat would laugh me into the water if I showed up wearing one of these monstrosities. It's not about image, or it shouldn't be--it's about function, doing the job reliably with the fewest amount of pieces, and being able to swap out stuff for different apps or when something goes SNAFU. As fashionable as tourists at dive resorts in the Bahamas want to be, this stuff is first and foremost life support equipment. Form and function are not mutually exclusive, but good design requires a thorough knowledge of the problem at hand, and how a product would actually be used. I suspect that the people who designed the HUB knew not the slightest thing about diving and the problems divers face in the real world. Hotshot recent design school grads (the HUB really reminds me of something my school buddies in Product Design would have come up with for their senior thesis project), or marketing types more used to designing new cell phones every six months.
It's hard to put into words the problem with the HUB. It's just...I dunno...WRONG.
All this my humble opinion. I'm not a big Dacor fan anyway, and I've been diving Dacor gear since I started. I WILL personally testify that the Viper Tec reg is not great at all, but my Nautica BC is a nice, comfy, and reasonably reliable item which I want to replace only because it's rapidly wearing out.
cheers
Billy S.
The HUB to me looks like a prime example of everything that's wrong with the "dive industry" and Dacor in particular. One word summary of what's wrong: MARKETING. Style over substance. Gimmickry. Huge effin' price tags. And lack of basic common sense.
The sci-fi fan in me thinks the idea of an all-in-one inner-space suit is niftier than all heck, and on the outside at first glance the HUB looks awfully futuristic to someone who doesn't know better. I remember at a dive club meeting a few years ago one of the main instructor guys at our LDS gave a demonstration of the then-new HUB and I thought, "wow." I wasn't a new diver, exactly...imagine what a newbie flush with enthusiasm and eager to immediately spend wads of cash on "the best" would think confronted with such a slick package. But how to get to that slick exterior? Ay, there's the rub. This mess of built-in hoses, fittings, etc. is a disaster waiting to happen.
I'll use an analogy. Some guitarists use those self-contained digital multieffects units that look so cool and high tech--and don't sound bad either--but if it dies on you in the middle of a set you're done for the night and possibly the next few. Service is gonna be expensive if it's even fixable...you know, the whole "no user serviceable parts inside" gambit. And these things are pricey. Yes they have some advantages over an assortment of basic pedals (everything in one place, one button does it all, memory, several different flavors of distortion/reverb/whathaveyou) but at the price of puting everything into one, almost nonrepairable basket. Other guitarists have a dozen or more pedals in their chain, with all those cords (read "failure points") connecting them together. The HUB is a combination of these two scenarios. I prefer a basic assortment of three or four pedals--each piece all-purpose but good--in my stage setup, and go for something comparable in my dive gear.
I couldn't care less about whether the techies on the boat would laugh me into the water if I showed up wearing one of these monstrosities. It's not about image, or it shouldn't be--it's about function, doing the job reliably with the fewest amount of pieces, and being able to swap out stuff for different apps or when something goes SNAFU. As fashionable as tourists at dive resorts in the Bahamas want to be, this stuff is first and foremost life support equipment. Form and function are not mutually exclusive, but good design requires a thorough knowledge of the problem at hand, and how a product would actually be used. I suspect that the people who designed the HUB knew not the slightest thing about diving and the problems divers face in the real world. Hotshot recent design school grads (the HUB really reminds me of something my school buddies in Product Design would have come up with for their senior thesis project), or marketing types more used to designing new cell phones every six months.
It's hard to put into words the problem with the HUB. It's just...I dunno...WRONG.
All this my humble opinion. I'm not a big Dacor fan anyway, and I've been diving Dacor gear since I started. I WILL personally testify that the Viper Tec reg is not great at all, but my Nautica BC is a nice, comfy, and reasonably reliable item which I want to replace only because it's rapidly wearing out.
cheers
Billy S.
John Fox
Guest
I just saw and ad for one of these HUB things in a catalog. Just reading it made my skin crawl and break out in hives. Sort of reminds me of a "one man band". In my opinion it is something for someone who has the money and dont know any better. I agree, buy a good wing and harness, a good reg setup and use what you have left to go diving. Just too many bells and whistles. JohnLake Minnetonka Guy:
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