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I did 5 wreck dives in the last two days with my AUL-14. Because of this thread I concentrated on the light, something I normally don't fret about. A few of things I noticed: - Once you get in the water even the 14's cannister virtually dissapears. You simply don't notice that it's there hanging on your belt. It does not get in the way, it does not snag. Wearing the light on your belt is simply the best place to put your cannister. When I sit back on the tank rack I don't have to worry if I am smashing it or if the next diver will bash into it. While scootering along the line stretches directly from the cannister to my left hand. When I am blowing sand with the scooter I drape the lighthead over my neck and it shines down perfectly onto the spot I am blowing. Life could not be finer. - As I get on every dive I got the usual comments "oh, you're the guy with the big light, man when you went by I could see everything!". Hmmmm, well then why don't you buy one for yourself then you can see everything when I'm not around?. While crusing over the wreck at an altitude of 5-10' the 50 watt light set at narrow beam, you can scan for goodies with ease. Drop into a hold or crevasse, switch to wide beam to light the hole up. - On the second day I did 3 dives with the light burning constantly while on the bottom. I did not have to worry about charging or getting salt water into the internals between dives. The unit stays sealed until I get home where it can be rinsed before I pull the battery. The 14ah battery is a bit heavy but I will take the trade-off. Sorry, Mr/Mrs spd, but I think Ike needs to go back to the drawing board on his light. jim Sender: Katherine V. Irvine Date: 8/9/98 8:20 AM >Dive Lights? Argon bottles? First of all I see a continuous stream of >ignorance and stupidity emanating from one fake Yahoo account regarding >dive gear. Apparently this "pro" lost its argon bottle. Dumb ass, try >plugging it in. > > In the kind of cave diving we do, we put the argon bottle on the left >side on the tank, and this has been explained ad infinitum on our web >page, WKPP.ORG. Being primarily a wreck diver myself, I also have other >versions of this arrangement. All of the tank mounts use outside velcro >straps for detachment if stuck, or if keyed in a cave. The bottle can be >moved inward towards the body , like I do it, upside down at the lowest >point possible on the tanks to reduce drag when scootering or in a >current. Many dopes think this will interfere with stages - it does not >- I know, I occasionally do a tiny bit of stage diving. > > A smaller bottle can obviously be used for wreck diving. The other >wreck method I use is to slide the smaller ( or even the normal 15 cu ft >2015 Luxfer) bottle onto the waist strap on the left side, over the >buckle and d ring to the back, where a small piece of very light bungee >holds it back against the backplate ( not essential, since your pressure >guage will keep it in place). The bottle is still upside down, and its >hose goes under the waist strap as usual. The bottle is rigged with a >large sewn loop, a larger version of what is on the light so it will >slide over the d ring and buckle, and thus can be both removed and added >without messing up your standard proper harnessm, just like the light on >the opposite side - se Cobb's post. > > LIGHTS ========> > > The wreck version of the light is much smaller. You can certainly use >the full sized light, and the extra 7 pounds of removeable negative >buoyancy is a nice feature, but you can go to the small one made by both >AUL and Barry Miller. Miller also has both size lights made in >unbreakable welded plastic. The small light can accommodate either nicad >batteries or lead acid. I have both. > > Lights need to be such that the bulb can be changed in seconds, as the >most likely time for it to blow is when it first gets turned on against >a fully charged battery. This is especially true of nicads, which accept >an overcharge that is in excess of the ratings of the bulbs. Bright is >achieved by higher color temperature. I use nicad scooters and lights, >my batteries are Japanese Robot batteries, so don't even get started on >me about batteries. I know what I am talking about. Have a bulb and test >tubes at hand if you dive nicad, or dive on a boat in rough water. > > Dive lights must be focusable as they are used for signalling, even in >open water. If you see a stroke with a sealed beam head, or one of those >weenie heads with the reflector as part of the bulb assembly, I think >these pieces of shit are called "MR" bulbs, DO NOT DIVE with that >person. They are telling you that they are so ignorant, so stupid, and >so lacking in any clue as to being a good buddy, that you need to avoid >them. This is called the "Tip of the Stroke" Theory - sometimes you can >only see the tip of the stroke, a small piece of the stroke evidence, >meaning that the horrendous degree of abject stupidity, ignornace, and >personal preference is hidden below the surface, and will sink you like >the Titanic if you dive with them. > > As Cobb points out, only the worst retrograde moron would use a twist >on light head, a sealed head, or a switch at the handle, for very >obvious electrical and logistic reasons, too obvious to even discuss >here - check rec.scuba, where the kind of crap being recommended here by >the big mouthed fake Yahoo account is the standard fare. You can not fix >stupid, but you sure can give ignorance a shot. > > I just can not believe the level of ignorance and stupidity on this >list, and the degree to which the most ignorant and stupid will rush out >and prove it. No wonder there are so many accidents. > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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