Visual communication device in corner of mask?

[Mattleycrue76]

How is this for an idea: Skip the puny LED and wire the output to a high voltage circuit like you would find on a dog training collar. Then if you buddy strays too far you can each out to touch him in a very special way. Hey: if you are going with technology, might as well go big!

I like it.

 

[ocbeachbum]

I think there are definite applications for this in-mask system for larger groups of divers. Each cattle boat can have a frequency for each individual DM, the DM can signal their cohort, and the problem of Bob's noisy night dives can be largely avoided.

 

[lmorin]

Sound devices don't work very well when you're wearing a hood. I've tried to get Peter's attention with tank banging (a spare double ender plays many roles in a dive) without success.

In clear, strongly lit water, you don't have to be very far apart to have problems communicating. Even 7 to 10 feet is enough, if you aren't facing one another, and aren't checking constantly. I'm not a photographer, so it doesn't ruin my dive to look away from what I'm seeing at very frequent intervals to check on my buddies. But for serious picture-taking folks, it can be a minute or more that they're task-focused, and that may be time enough for whatever cool thing I found to show them to head off into the sunset.

I'm not trying to say that a gadget like this should take the place of good buddy skills. I'm just saying that it may have a role in certain diving conditions, and I for one am not willing to reject it out of hand.

Exactly. Moreover, my wife and I, plus the folks with whom we often dive, like to poke along sticking our heads in holes and looking under overhangs and behind things. Often, when something is found, it is hard to see and, once seen, easy to lose if you take your eyes off it. My wife may be only a few feet away looking hard for something else and I want to signal her to come look at what I have found. That can be hard to do in a timely fashion, even with a tank banger or equivalent. Moreover, the device's combined visual/auditory signal makes it hard for the intended recipient to miss, something that can't be said for tank banger or shaker noise which also affects everyone within range. This device sounds useful for multiple situations and does not contribute to the noise pollution. My current favorite attention-getting noise to hate is the underwater "quacker" sound that, I think, comes from DiveAlert Plus.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I reacted to "quackers" the same way I reacted to harbor seals ...

The first time I encountered one I thought it was cute and funny. After about 10 minutes of continued interaction I just wanted it to go away ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)