Vintage?

[WD8CDH]

If the lever plate screws and the adjustment nut loosened, it would stay shut but if you were quick, you could take it apart and fix it with your knife on a breath hold.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Ron,

I'm not sure where I saw it, but some diver described a complete shutting off of the air supply from a Mistral that he experienced in the 1970s. I've tried to find the quote, and cannot, so maybe he pulled it. That was what I was responding to. I have never had a problem with my Mistral like that, only a few times had a slight leak of air. But I was merely trying to figure out how that could possibly happen. Whether it actually did, I don't know.

John

 

[John C. Ratliff]

The new silicone diaphragm and the streamline cage valves and silicone valves seem to improve a bit on the breathing performance.

N

I'm sure that they do, but they are not technically "vintage." I have silicone non-return valves in my mouthpiece for the Trieste II I have, and they are great. I also have the "superflex" hoses, and because of the increased number of corrigations, I think that they reduce air flow resistance too. I like these improvements, but they still are not quite as good as not having anything in the air flow. I have told people here before, but I'll say it again; when I went through the U.S. Naval School for Underwater Swimmers in 1967, we were not allowed for the first week on scuba to put non-return valves into our mouthpieces. It was only after we were maintaining our own units in the last week there that we surreptitiously slipped non-return valves into the mouthpieces, just in time for our last pool harassment sessions.

John

 

[John C. Ratliff]

It was a different time, young enthusiasm and no real consideration of preserving gear for decades to come in my case in those years. Although a number of articles did survive to the present day and in good repair. I can see your start was yet in another time and place still. I was wondering how snorkeling/skin diving gear was first marketed to the public in the 1950's in England? Some might have viewed it as a dramatic departure from familiar settings, a challenge for marketers of the time I would imagine. What sort of UW conditions and settings did you pursue, around the British Isles or did you travel to the Med? I recall wetsuits and dry suits were available and yet perhaps not that readily secured? Like early divers in California, there was an abundance of cooler water, at least compared to my haunts in SE Florida.

There is a piece of vintage diving gear I have some particular fondness for. It was conceived in the early 1950's, marketed worldwide for a time in the 1960's. It never really took off however. Recently DARPA tried to reinvent the device under Federal contract, not sure if anything has come from it however. Here is an early circular on the Aqueon:

From: Innerspace Corporation.Thrusters,Hydraulic Motors,Screens

We had a couple of these in the early 1970's and enjoyed some of the unusual swimming capabilities conveyed by the device. I contacted the inventor, Cal Gongwer a couple of years back and purchased another Aqueon and wrote a short article about it HERE.

It is an interesting device, Cal is still active and inventing at almost 93 today I imagine. He is always interested in input from those using his device.

A shot from a couple of years ago of the Aqueon in action

I have an Aqueon, which I have owned since the 1970s. I've been using it in my own experiments on underwater swimming efficiency. Thanks for putting these links up.

John

 

[WD8CDH]

Ron,

I'm not sure where I saw it, but some diver described a complete shutting off of the air supply from a Mistral that he experienced in the 1970s. I've tried to find the quote, and cannot, so maybe he pulled it. That was what I was responding to. I have never had a problem with my Mistral like that, only a few times had a slight leak of air. But I was merely trying to figure out how that could possibly happen. Whether it actually did, I don't know.

John

A full shutdown of a Mistral during a dive is not totally impossible but it would be vary very rare. Either a loosening of the lever plate so the force of the diaphragm never gets to the seat or a loose contaminant in the seat chamber jambing the seat from moving are remote possibilities. The soft part of the seat could possibly come loose and greatly restrict flow. These same things could happen in other regulator designs along with other possible failures in more complex regulators, making the Mistral probably the most reliable regulator ever made.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

If the lever plate screws and the adjustment nut loosened, it would stay shut but if you were quick, you could take it apart and fix it with your knife on a breath hold.

Every diver should carry a Leatherman tool while diving just in case...

Full disclosure; the Leatherman tool is manufactured in the Portland, Oregon area, and my son used to swim against the son of the owner, Mr. Leatherman. They competed in breast stroke at the district and state meets, so I got to know Mrs. Leatherman pretty well. I would heartily endorse this tool, but not necessarily in the function described in jest above.

SeaRat

 

[David Wilson]

It was a different time, young enthusiasm and no real consideration of preserving gear for decades to come in my case in those years. Although a number of articles did survive to the present day and in good repair. I can see your start was yet in another time and place still. I was wondering how snorkeling/skin diving gear was first marketed to the public in the 1950's in England? Some might have viewed it as a dramatic departure from familiar settings, a challenge for marketers of the time I would imagine. What sort of UW conditions and settings did you pursue, around the British Isles or did you travel to the Med? I recall wetsuits and dry suits were available and yet perhaps not that readily secured? Like early divers in California, there was an abundance of cooler water, at least compared to my haunts in SE Florida.

Indeed. I'm astounded when I calculate how five decades have elapsed since I began snorkelling. The great thing about those days was how nobody bothered about youngsters snorkelling in a public pool. I learned snorkelling in the relative safety of a swimming pool back then, finning to the bottom at the deep end. Nowadays there are too many health and safety decrees and young people rarely get the chance in UK cities to learn the basics of snorkelling in a public pool. I joined the university branch of the British Sub Aqua Club in Leeds and completed the basic snorkelling training which always preceded scuba then, but hadn't the time, or the inclination, to go further than snorkelling. My first open-water snorkelling was in the Med in the 1970s, on the French and Italian Riviera and near Athens in Greece. I also took the chance to do some lake snokelling on trips to East and West Germany during the same decade.

As for equipment, all-rubber Cressi Rondine full-foot fins, or one of the many clones, were standard both for snorkel and scuba diving here in Europe. To accommodate wetsuit boots, we simply bought another pair of fins, also full-foot, one size up. I used a French-made oval mask and a snorkel made by Typhoon. Typhoon made most of the gear used by British divers and snorkellers back then and the firm carried Italian-made Cressi gear as well. The best place to buy gear was Lillywhites sporting good stores on Piccadilly in London; they issued catalogues each year so people could mail-order items. One floor of the department store was dedicated to sub aqua gear and it was like an Aladin's Cave, one of the "must-do" venues on any sightseeing tour of the metropolis for me. They stocked a full range, including regulators, tanks, wetsuits and drysuits. "Professional" divers might go in London to Collins and Chambers instead, where they had Dunlop and Siebe-Gorman drysuits for sale as well as a full range of other items. The BSAC magazine Triton had copious adverts for gear too, all offering mail order facilities and catalogues.

I'll stop there for the moment. Thanks for the stimulus to reminisce!

 

[RickI]

It is an interesting device. I've added some minor mods to mine to try to improve operation. I've put some nylon washers in over the axle and between the wooden foils and the metal kneel to cut down on rubbing resistance. Have also beefed up the leg padding a bit where you tie into the unit. Thought about modifying the tensioning spring assembly but have yet to come up with something more effective. Have you tried any variations with your Aqueon?

I have an Aqueon, which I have owned since the 1970s. I've been using it in my own experiments on underwater swimming efficiency. Thanks for putting these links up.

John

Here is a video of a young lady using it inside the wreck of the Sapona off Bimini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyBiw0-jgAo

The video is so pixelated, really does look vintage! Have quite a few clips, need to put them together into a video for that day on the wreck.

 

[RickI]

Fascinating history of events. I had heard about some issues with breathhold divers being banned from pools. Wasn't aware of the prohibition on snorkeling gear too. So many of us had our first exposure there. Makes you wonder what folks are supposed to do these days if they live in inland areas? I always had the greatest respect for the British Sub Aqua Club, collected some of their publications years back. Are they still as strong as ever, hope so? Thank you for sharing your recollections. Would have enjoyed seeing the displays at Lillywhites and Collins and Chambers. I can imagine what they might have consisted of. Lots of undersea adventures worldwide were likely launched from there. I worked in a Ft. Lauderdale dive shop for a few summers in the early '70's. It was always impressive to have people come in, buy a bunch of complete diving gear packages, camera gear, scooters, etc. on their way out to great destinations overseas.

Indeed. I'm astounded when I calculate how five decades have elapsed since I began snorkelling. The great thing about those days was how nobody bothered about youngsters snorkelling in a public pool. I learned snorkelling in the relative safety of a swimming pool back then, finning to the bottom at the deep end. Nowadays there are too many health and safety decrees and young people rarely get the chance in UK cities to learn the basics of snorkelling in a public pool. I joined the university branch of the British Sub Aqua Club in Leeds and completed the basic snorkelling training which always preceded scuba then, but hadn't the time, or the inclination, to go further than snorkelling. My first open-water snorkelling was in the Med in the 1970s, on the French and Italian Riviera and near Athens in Greece. I also took the chance to do some lake snokelling on trips to East and West Germany during the same decade.

As for equipment, all-rubber Cressi Rondine full-foot fins, or one of the many clones, were standard both for snorkel and scuba diving here in Europe. To accommodate wetsuit boots, we simply bought another pair of fins, also full-foot, one size up. I used a French-made oval mask and a snorkel made by Typhoon. Typhoon made most of the gear used by British divers and snorkellers back then and the firm carried Italian-made Cressi gear as well. The best place to buy gear was Lillywhites sporting good stores on Piccadilly in London; they issued catalogues each year so people could mail-order items. One floor of the department store was dedicated to sub aqua gear and it was like an Aladin's Cave, one of the "must-do" venues on any sightseeing tour of the metropolis for me. They stocked a full range, including regulators, tanks, wetsuits and drysuits. "Professional" divers might go in London to Collins and Chambers instead, where they had Dunlop and Siebe-Gorman drysuits for sale as well as a full range of other items. The BSAC magazine Triton had copious adverts for gear too, all offering mail order facilities and catalogues.

I'll stop there for the moment. Thanks for the stimulus to reminisce!

 

[Luis H]

The best place to buy gear was Lillywhites sporting good stores on Piccadilly in London; they issued catalogues each year so people could mail-order items. One floor of the department store was dedicated to sub aqua gear and it was like an Aladin's Cave, one of the "must-do" venues on any sightseeing tour of the metropolis for me. They stocked a full range, including regulators, tanks, wetsuits and drysuits. "Professional" divers might go in London to Collins and Chambers instead, where they had Dunlop and Siebe-Gorman drysuits for sale as well as a full range of other items. The BSAC magazine Triton had copious adverts for gear too, all offering mail order facilities and catalogues.

I'll stop there for the moment. Thanks for the stimulus to reminisce!

In the 70’s I bought some Poseidon tank valves and valve replacement parts from Lillywhites. I still have some of the receipts and letters from them.

I got there address from one of our customers at the dive shop were I worked in Puerto Rico.

In the early 70’s bought to sets of doubles that came from a European merchant marine. One was a Poseidon set and the other a Drager. We didn’t have any access to parts from any of our regular sources in the US. Even the Poseidon distributor had no access to the valve parts.

Here is a couple of other threads were I showed the Poseidon tanks. I also showed a copy of the Poseidon catalog page. I think that I got that catalog page from Lillywhites. The stuff in that catalog not only was not available in the US back then, most divers in the US have never even seen a 5/8” threaded tank valve connection (now known as a DIN connection).

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tanks-valves-bands/310337-din-valve-history.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/vi.../307506-poseidon-doubles-din-phoenix-ram.html


What ever happened to Lillywhites?

Thanks