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>From :Gavin_Bill@la*.nc*.na*.mi*@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu Wed Jun 14 00:06:50 1995 I HAVE LITTLE DOUBT THAT SOME FEATURES OF STONES RIG WERE DEVELOPED BY THE EX-19 PROGRAM. A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION WAS PUBLISHED IN OPEN LITERATURE. MY BET IS HIS METHOD OF KEEPING HIS ABSORBENT BED DRY WAS "STOLEN" FROM US, AND THE SENSORS HE WAS (IS) USING WERE ORIGINALLY TESTED AND DEVELOPED FOR USE IN REBREATHERS BY US. SO IT PISSES ME OFF WHEN HE HIDES BEHIND THE PROPRIETARY CRAP. FOR YOUR INFO HE TRIED TO GET THE U.S. NAVY TO FUND HIS EFFORT. HIS EXPECTATIONS WERE REDICULOUS. HE WANTED THE NAVY TO PAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT WHILE HE RETAINED ALL RIGHTS AND DATA. IT DON'T WORK THAT WAY IN THE REAL WORLD. WE SHOWED HIM THE DOOR. I'LL ALSO BET HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE SENSOR FAILURE WE HAD THAT LEFT ME NAPPING ON THE EXERCISE BIKE. AFTER THAT INCIDENT WE SPENT HUNDREDS OF HOURS TESTING AND FINDING THE PROBLEM, THEN PROVING IT HAD BEEN COMPLETELY ELIMINATED. HAD WE JUST BEEN BUILDING RIGS AND LETTING PEOPLE PLAY WITH THEM SOMEONE WOULD HAVE DIED. AND WITH ALL THE CURRENT FERVOR OVER REBREATHERS, SOMEONE WILL. MAYBE NOT ON HIS, BUT SOONER OR LATER, ON ONE OF THESE HOMEBUILT WONDERS, SOMEONE WILL TAKE THE DEEP SLEEP. THESE RIGS CAN KILL YOU WITH ABSOLUTELY NO FOREWARNING. ALL YOUR SAFETY PLANS AND BAIL-OUT SCHEMES WON'T HELP IF YOU NEVER GET TO USE THEM. THE AMAZING THING TO ME IS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WANT A MAGIC CARPET. I'VE HAD PEOPLE TELL ME (YEARS AGO) THAT FURTHER EXPLORATION IN UPSTREAM SALLY WARD WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT REBREATHERS. LAST MONTH WE WENT TO THE END OF THE LINE, MOVED TWO ROCKS THE SIZE OF A LARGE DUFFEL BAG, WENT THROUGH A RESTRICTION, UP THROUGH A CREVICE AND INTO A NEW ROOM. LINE ADDED - 200 FEET. NEXT DIVE WE RETURNED AND ADDED 490 FEET MORE EMERGING INTO AN 80 FT WIDE TUNNEL WITH AN UPSTREAM DOWNSTREAM JUNCTION. BOTH OF THESE DIVES WERE SINGLE STAGE OPEN CIRCUIT SCUBA DIVES. NORMAL CAVE DIVING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT. LAST SATURDAY WE FINALLY HAD TO DO A DOUBLE STAGE AND ADDED 800 FEET IN TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. NEVER DID I FEEL THE NEED FOR A REBREATHER. BY THE WAY, ALL DIVES WERE DONE WITHIN THE STANDARD RULE OF THIRDS. NO "CHEATING" ON GAS. AT ANY RATE (4 1/2% ?) I KNOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO PLAY WITH THESE THINGS REGARDLESS OF WHAT I THINK OR SAY. JUST BE HONESTLY AWARE OF THE DANGERS. YOU ARE BASICALLY A TEST SUBJECT FOR STONES RESEARCH PROJECT. GOOD LUCK. GAVIN -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send list subscription requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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