I know everyone wants it now. These projects take time and we are diligently working on it. The major delay is the custom backlighting. The vendor had machine problems delaying production. We are one of the first production runs to go on the new machine, but that will be at least one more week. In the meantime we have another beta without the backlighting and power management system to continue the testing and validation. The software for the logbook function is finished so we can begin testing that as soon as the Fischer connectors come in. Test dive results to be posted soon.
Lamar
A couple of weeks ago, one of our Ambassadors was in town for an O2ptima crossover. A filmmaker, he works a lot in freezing cold temperatures and mentioned that his feet are frozen after several hours on the boat looking for the wildlife he is going to film.
We gave him a 905 drysuit that comes standard with neoprene boots and I explained to him the principles behind proper insulation. That is, you have to give room for air to move inside the boot. If you stuff your feet into a boot, the insulating sock will compress and lose its ability to keep your feet warm. A proper fitting boot will allow for air to move in the boot so the loft of the sock can maintain its form and your feet will stay insulated. The same principle works for undergarments on the torso.
It got me thinking, so I wrote an article about drysuits and undergarments. It is published in the download section of our 905 drysuits, Polartec and Primaloft undergarments. Article: Selecting Drysuits and Undergarments
Our Ambassador was impressed with the suit and is now wearing a 905 drysuit and Primaloft socks. Dive Rite Ambassadors
Lamar
On January 1st, 2008, the Transportation Security Administration released new restrictions on traveling with lithium batteries. Dive Rite light batteries do not contain lithium, so our customers need not be concerned when traveling with Dive Rite NiMH (Nickle Metal Hydride) batteries.
However, lithium batteries are used in camera equipment. Photographers should take note of the new rules, which can be found here: Lithium Battery Travel Guidelines
Lamar
Light emitting diodes (LED) is the latest in lighting technology. As with any new technology it is growing at a rapid pace. The last time I saw technology growing like this was with computer processor chips. The fastest computer today is outdated in six months and we are seeing the same in the LED market. It makes sense because of the combination of electronics that are making the advances, including the LED, drivers and heat sinking combinations.
The first high output LED for Dive Rite was the 300 lumen flashlight that we released in the summer of 2007. Now we can power it to get 500 lumens … who knows where it will be later this year. Kind of like the 1 gig processor being replaced by the 1.6 and then the 2 gig processor all in about 12 months. We plan to keep up with the technology and give you the best we can within our design parameters. So now the LED 300 is a LED 500. Sorry if what you buy today is outdated in a few months, however we believe in progress and our customers expect us to deliver the best technology available. Don’t wait to purchase an LED now because the lumens will be higher in the future because I can’t tell when the next increase in output is going to occur. Our engineers send the latest to us as they get it developed.
Lamar
Two additional NiTek X Beta units were received right before the Christmas break; just what I needed, another excuse to go diving! I managed to get several dives in; one in an unnamed sink that runs 145 ft in depth and the others in Rock Bluff, a small sidemount cave off of the Suwannee River. The X performed as planned and the new 75/95 gradient compared very favorably with the NiTek He for total deco time. The finish of the case held up well to the loose rocks that tend to fill the entrance to this spring.
More Beta units should be arriving as the new fiber optic back light becomes available in the next couple of weeks.
Jerry Murphy
Product Manager
I see many variations of the singles mounting plate on the market today. It seems every technical equipment company has something similar for adapting the hardcore doubles backplate to single tank. I’m flattered to see so many copies, but it all started with trying to make a girl happy.
In 1986, my girlfriend started diving twin 80’s for her cave class. She liked the feel of her new technical harness (that’s another story…the origin of the deluxe harness) and she also wanted to dive her tech harness with singles rather than going back to a jacket BC. I thought about how to do it. Some cave divers had cut slots into their backplate and Classic Wing in order to thread a couple of cam straps through the plate. I wanted something more finished and adaptable for the product. I knew the larger market for a SMP was to existing cave divers and not new cave divers. Experienced cave divers already had a backplate and wing and knew how to dive them, so putting a single on a sixty pound wing (not something we recommend for a new diver) would be easy for them to deal with.
Looking for a starting point I took one of our ABS backplates and trimmed it about 1 ½ inches out from the center bends and cut slots in it for cam straps. The ABS was easy to machine so I whipped out a few samples and gave them to friends and my girlfriend. They dived it, liked it and orders started coming in as divers saw the samples.
The design has not changed over the years and we see other dive manufacturers have enjoyed selling this design under their own brand name. Since the first SMP, Dive Rite has added cam strap slots to all of our backplates and wings so the SMP is no longer really needed to dive a single on a backplate. However, it looks good so some divers still prefer to use one just like I designed it in 1986 for my girlfriend. My girlfriend became my wife in 1987 and Lee Ann has made me think about women and diving ever since.
Lamar
On another note the slots in the doubles wing came before we added the slots in the backplate. The Europeans had a few methods for putting a harness/wing on doubles. One method involved a molded doubles tank boot with one doubles tank band and a manifold or independents. We supply them with extra long cam straps to attach the twin cylinders to the harness/wing combination. Today many of the Europeans use the double tank band/bolts method for attaching a harness, backplate/wing combination.
Nitek X beta unit testing is underway. I took one cave diving in Mexico last week and it worked as designed the first three days. After that the screen contrast wouldn’t hold the setting due to a software bug. Additional beta units will be in next week, pending the arrival of custom fiber optic backlighting components.
We will begin doing weekly reports on the testing.
Lamar
We have updated the GF factors for the NiTek X, specifically the CONO GF. See Phil’s comments below:
Lamar
Based on your input, we have re-worked the gradient factors and have a new GF for CONO as follows:
CON0 : GF 75/95
CON1 : GF 40/100
CON2 : GF 30/75
Briefly. CON2 is Eric Baker’s conservative base assumption, “if you want conservative, use this”. CON1 is good low GF but no surface penalty over an above the deep stop time “this gives considerable deep stops but does not extend shallow deco too much”, CON0 base level safety “Some movement of shallow stops deeper to hint at deep stops, for recreational use”.
I labored most over CON0. Use the Workbench to try these profiles. You will notice that 75/95 has the characteristic that for serious or less serious recreational dives the deco is hardly longer, but does move one or two stops deeper in the water and spread the deco over a deeper range. It is more conservative by “deep stop” rules for this reason. Eg. for a 130 ft dive that usually yields a Buhlmann deco starting with one minute at 9M you will see a few minutes at 12M followed by a slightly longer deco, total. This happens because you need to stop earlier because of the LO-GF, but you are not on-gassing still (much) because you are shallow enough. So the deco is actually more graceful by the same “deep stop rules”. It is more complicated than that physiologically, but as far as the model maps to this I think we are in bounds.
Phil
The O2ptima manual needs a few updates. We have been working on a few items to add before making the next revision.
These include:
- The new Delrin HH are easy to use and have some firmware updates added, including a battery indicator.
- The premix rod was to be taken out of the unit, but I found that on rapid descents the premix rod is advantageous. I assumed instructors would address this until we got a new revision of the manual out. We use a new connector to help with alignment and it is easy to remove when servicing the head. The grommet should be at the base above the sensor disk so the EAC pushes against it to seal against CO2 bypass. I do not recommend putting it on top as it will surely get lost during assembly.
- The new quick release elbow for the premix rod has a flow restrictor to maintain a constant flow from solenoid and adjust for variations in the solenoid orifice.
- New accessories include an inline solenoid shutoff.
We are gathering the Micropore test data and will soon post it. I realize there are some questions since the release of the CE comparison test data just before DEMA. We have reviewed it the test data. Dive Rite is not a European company so we didn’t build the O2ptima to CE specifications. We built a CCR around new technology and based our performance on US Navy standards, something a little closer to home. We were able to build a smaller, more efficient unit than our competitors.Now that we have built a CCR on a unique platform we will start modifications to go for CE approval. The problem is that CE standards are written for older technology, but if CE standards are not updated, we will evaluate the necessary changes to meet the CE directives.
If you want to know about the performance of the O2ptima, just ask the divers using it. I am always available for a dive when you visit North Florida. You dive your unit and I will dive the O2ptima.
Lamar
I finally got a chance to go side mount diving after DEMA. Jerry Murphy, our Product Manager, and I did Rock Bluff and had to dig the entrance out just to get in. I felt this would be a good test for the JetStream Regulator. I wanted a regulator that I could breathe from the left side without running it around my neck when side mounting. The JetStream worked very well. It secures to the left shoulder with a bungee strap around the webbing to keep it high and out of silt. I had our new regulator necklace (debuted at DEMA) on the right side regulator. The adjustable regulator necklace let me pull it up tight for side mount…a little tighter than most divers would wear a regulator for back mounted cylinders.
Observations
- Both regulators – I had to dig some small rocks out of the first stage caps - yeah it was very tight.
- The necklace works just as designed, but I am having the manufacturer change the crimps before production is released so it will be another 30 days before we have stock.
- Nomad bottle placement is good with the new chokers on the necks. This was my first chance to use them in a small restriction situation. I had tested them, but had not had the chance to test the tank placement with chokers in a tight body squeeze.
I routed the Jetstream second stage hose downward in order to make the standard 28-inch hose length lie flat. It pulls up easily for use.
Lamar
