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On 30 Jun 1994 22:24:30 -1000 (HST) Epic Dive Shop <epic@so*.ha*.ed*>
wrote (Subject: Re: Solo@90*?):-
> 35 years ago (or so) rebreathers hit the market, do the lack of proper
training and unresponsible divers they quickly got "bad press" and even now
are struggling in their return... *that* is a damn shame. ...
I live in England and I have never been in USA. In the late 1960's or some
time in the 1970's I heard, by word of mouth and in scuba diving magazines, of
oxygen-rebreather-only sport scuba diving clubs in USA, and one in Canada.
(1) Are any of these clubs still going? What happened to them? Can USA
divers still buy them?
(2) What makes of sets did they use? Like USA frogmen's sets with the bag on
the back?, or like UK frogmen's sets with the bag on the chest? or what? Once
when I wrote to a USA scuba diving magazine called `Skin Diver' about this, he
said that "the few sport rebreather divers that he had seen, were using
British-made rebreathers".
(3) How well organized are/were these clubs? If I was running one, I would
be tempted to order:-
(a) No private rebreather diving, but only on Club organized dives.
(b) Pure oxygen only: don't try mixture rebreathing (with set design as it
was then). (A USA sport diving manual that I saw advised this.)
(c) If possible, have a standby diver with an aqualung on.
Some sport USA diving manuals that I have seen taught about rebreather
diving as if it was ordinary like aqualung diving; while in UK sport diving
manuals say nothing about rebreathers at all, except "Here be dragons, keep
out!" or the like. UK diving literature routinely mentions "oxygen" as a
diving accessory, and "oxygen training", and automatically assumes that the
reader will understand it as "resuscitator"; and once a UK diving magazine
mentioned "rebreathers" without further explanation, meaning "rebreather-type
resuscitators"!
How far has research got into finding the exact neuro-cybernetic and
neuro-biochemical etc mechanism that causes oxygen convulsions and other
hyperoxia symptoms? Is or will there be a drug to suppress these symptoms and
allow deeper safe diving with pure oxygen?
<Humor time>:-
A large power station has its own scuba diving club among its staff and
employees. Many of its diving weights are about twice as heavy for their size
as lead (handy, they use less space for the same weight), and sound different
when tapped, and are warm to the touch. What sort of power station is it?
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