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Chris,
My name is Bob Keet I've been working for a large dive retailer in Southern
California for the past fifteen years as a manager/Instructor. I'm certainly
not an authority on rebreathers but I thought you'd like this.  I had dinner
with Mike Chapman of Oceanic (Formerly from US Divers) one night in New
Orleans during DEMA '96. We started with cocktails at the Hotel Montelion and
by the time we made over to Mr. B's for dinner the conversation was flowing
rather loosely. He made it very clear to me that Oceanic was NOT, until
further notice, going to persue the so called "manufacturing" of rebreathers.
Yes, they are having some legal problems but he didn't want to get into
details. He did say something about Oceanic not having that strong of an
interest in producing a rebreather any longer and that he was ammused by the
rapid increase of interest on the parts of sport diving equipment
manufactureres in designing and producing a unit of their own. Like it's some
kind of big race.  He seemed to think Oceanic caused this since they were the
first "SPORT" diving equipment manuf. to show a working model at a trade
show.  And now, ironically enough, they're not that strongly interested in
the project any longer.  A lesson to be learned here is that in all too many
cases manuf's. will introduce a product in a catalog and even go as far as to
show it at a trade show and in way too many cases it will take up to three to
four years for it to hit the shelves and in some cases never see the light of
the show room floor.  Case in point: US Divers took three years to deliver a
hoseless computer after they introduced it. They claimed they found problems
with it and didn't want take any risks by putting it out prematurely. In many
cases you have to question whether or not these sport diving companies are
the real manufactureres. NO!!!!!!!! YOU MEAN OCEANIC DOESN'T MAKE THIER
GAUGES AND SEA QUEST DOESN'T MAKE THEIR REGULATORS AND SONIFORM MAKES THE
B.C.'S FOR A DOZEN OR MORE SO CALLED MANUFACTURERES!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Regards,
Bob      (DeepOshin@ao*.co*)    

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