Mounting a GoPro Camera to Scuba Gear

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Joe Ross

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Mounting a GoPro to Scuba Gear

recently got my hands on a GoPro Hero video camera. I honestly never gave GoPro much thought since I am in the media business and use a lot of high end video gear all the time. Underwater, I’ve been shooting with a slightly outdated Sony HD camera in a Light & Motion housing and a pair of mounted video lights for a long time. It’s compact for what it is, but I set a goal recently to be able to travel without carrying any of that, including my MacBook, and just shoot and edit with a little camera and an iPad.

Even with the other camera, the GoPro has made quite a mark as a cheap and virtually indestructible POV cam. After purchasing the GoPro, I did a little research and learned that the Hero 2 shoots blurry video underwater because of some kind issue with the dome port on the standard housing.

Fortunately, the solution is a $40 replacement housing from GoPro that has a flat port instead of the dome. So far, I haven’t shot anything underwater with either of them, so the only comparisons I have are from YouTube, but that’s not the point of this post anyway.

I have been struggling for a while over how I could mount the camera without interfering with my mask or other equipment. I want to shoot hands-free, and be able to create time lapse sequences of entire dives. So, here’s what I came up with.

Using the GoPro’s handlebar mount, I’m able to attach the camera directly to the valve of my old school 3500 psi Genesis 100 scuba tank. This is actually a second generation valve. Unlike the original, it is configured to attach an H-valve or isolator bar, and the extension provides the perfect attachment point to mount the GoPro. And, I can reach it, so I can turn it on at the beginning of the dive and not have to shoot a bunch of video of the sky prior to descending. That’s the theory anyway.

Mounting the GoPro camera to a set of doubles

Doubles are a little different setup. Well, actually it’s the same setup, but a different concern. For technical dives, I love the idea of shooting the entire dive from the diver’s perspective. I’m not sure if it’ll be all that cool shooting dives with the back of my head always in the frame, but that’s something I’ll deal with later.

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Mounting the GoPro to my doubles isolator bar works just fine, and I can reach it. However, the thumbscrews could potentially impede my ability to control the isolator valve, which is not something I’m willing to risk on a ceiling dive. I’ll try it in shallow water and see if its a problem. My guess, just by looking at it, is yes.

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Plan B will be to replace the thumbscrews with stainless hex head screws cut to exactly the right size. That will get the GoPro mount completely clear of the isolator knob. I could also use a remote isolator knob, but that means more crap on my chest, and I’m not accustomed to that setup anyway.

The pictures aren’t great but you get the idea. In a week or so, I’ll get underwater finally to see how it all works out. In the mean time, if you have experience with this arrangement or something similar, I’d like to know how it’s working.

Posted in Dive Travel, New Dive Gear, Technical Diving | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PADI Altitude, Drysuit and Enriched Air Specialties

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Joe Ross

Scuba diving specialty certifications every mountain diver should have.

PADI Specialty Course

PADI Specialty Courses

As much as we all love to get into the deep blue, warm water of the tropics, for most of us the majority of our diving takes place near where we live. I feel lucky in that great diving is close by. Lake Tahoe is just 45 minutes up the hill, with Donner Lake and others also nearby.

Ocean diving in places like Monterey Bay can be reached in half a day. What all of these sites have in common is cold water. The rest take place at altitudes typically greater than 4,000 feet. With this in mind, three PADI specialty courses make sense for diver in areas like ours.

PADI Altitude Specialty Course

The thing about diving at altitude is that while air is compressible, water is not. In essence, this means there is a reduction in atmospheric pressure that causes an increase in the pressure gradient between your body tissues and ambient pressure upon surfacing. In short, there’s a greater chance of forming a bubble unless strict guidelines are adheres to.

The PADI Altitude Specialty Course deals with the use of specialized tables and other practices that keep high elevation diving as safe as possible. Other considerations covered are thermal protection and the aquatic environment itself.

PADI Drysuit Specialty Course

Diving at altitude almost always means dealing with colder water than you’ll experience during your tropical vacation. In our case, water temperatures as low as 39 degrees (f) are common all winter, and even during the Summer when the water reaches a balmy 55 degrees, enhanced thermal protection provided by a drysuit is generally the diver’s best choice.

The Drysuit Specialty Course deals with all of the issues involved in diving safely in a drysuit. Like the Altitude Specialty Course, the drysuit specialty also includes making two open water dives. Both courses can take place entirely at the dive site, which generally makes for a fun time.

EANx, or Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty Course

Finally, EANx, or Nitrox as its commonly called is a breathing gas consisting of elevated oxygen levels in combination with reduced amounts of nitrogen. Since your body metabolizes (uses up) the oxygen, the reduced partial pressure of the remaining nitrogen means less of it is available to absorb into your tissues. (That’s not a 100% accurate description of the physics of what’s taking place, but there’s not enough space here to go into detail.)

Basically what this means is that, for a given depth, no-decompression bottom times are dramatically increased. For altitude divers this is very handy because we deal in theoretical depths, which greatly reduces our NDL.

However, diving with enriched air means accepting very strict rules regarding depth and oxygen tolerance, among others. It’s a big deal, but for the disciplined diver, Nitrox can be a godsend. For sea level divers, EANx increases bottom times dramatically as well, making gas consumption the limiting factor on most dives rather than no decompression limits.

So, there it is; the perfect trio of specialty diving courses for the cold water diver at altitude. Not surprisingly, these are also the most popular diving specialties that I teach. If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me be email (joe@joescuba.com) or through Sierra Diving Center, (775) 825-2147. Be safe! Have fun!

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Deep See Pulse Dive Fin Review

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Joe Ross
Deep See Pulse Dive Fins

Deep See Pulse Dive Fins

Dive fins have undergone a revolution in recent years. In addition to countless designs using every material imaginable, split fins, fins with hinges, unique venting options, spring straps and every shape imaginable dot scuba diving self propulsion landscape. Despite the incredible range of options, a few of us divers simply want a fin that will push water and feel comfortable throughout the dive.

The Deep See Pulse by Aqualung is just the ticket for divers that prefer a paddle fins. Personally, I decided on the Deep See Pulse because it is similar in size to my beloved Apollo Prestige but lighter for traveling, and very inexpensive.

So, new fins in hand, er foot, I rushed out to make some dives. The first thing I noticed is the foot pockets seem to handle my large DUI Rock Boots better than the Prestige. I was concerned about this because the appear to be narrowing. Apparently, that’s an illusion because they slipped on with little effort. The shape of the Pulse’s foot pocket keeps the fins snug but not tight. So far, so good.

Once I started kicking, I immediately noticed the difference in stiffness compared to the Apollos. The Deep See Pulse is quite a bit stiffer. I can see how some divers would find that uncomfortable. On the other hand, stiff blades respond to very subtle movements, so I’ve always liked that-especially when taking pictures or shooting underwater video.

So, the bottom line is the Deep See Pulse is a well made, moderately stiff fin that’s light weight and feels good in the water. Split fin lovers will probably not like it much, while traditionalists like me will like it a lot. I’ve made about 40 dives with the Pulse so far and feel that I made a good choice. It’s also a great, no frills, fin for tech.

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SubGear Cayman SCUBA Regulator Review

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Joe Ross
SubGear Cayman SCUBA Regulator

SubGear Cayman SCUBA Regulator

About a month ago, I decided it was time to think about replacing my old Poseidon Cyklon 300 regulator with something a little more up to date. About the same time, I learned that the SubGear Cayman is actually one of Scubapro’s most popular and reliable regulators, but with a different cover. As a side note, much of SubGear’s line is, in fact, rebranded equipment from Scubapro. The XP10 dive computer, for example, is the Scubapro Aladin.

Anyway, I bought a new SubGear Cayman and have been diving with it a lot for about a month. For comparison, I frequently dive with the Cyklon, Apeks XTX50 (Tek3) and Atomic T1 titanium.

Technical details (from SubGear):

  • High performance balanced diaphragm first stage with dry chamber for all temperatures, including cold or murky water
  • Balanced second stage with diver adjustable venturi for easy to operate effortless air flow
  • Cayman is our best, for the discerning diver
  • 4 Low pressure ports
  • 2 High pressure ports

At first glance, the SubGear Cayman is obviously well made, and being a product of Scubapro, that pretty much goes without saying. Mine came in set up for a yoke valve, so before even leaving the store, we’d already converted it to DIN. The point there being that it is easily set up for either DIN or yoke.

The SubGear Cayman has 2 high pressure and four low pressure ports located in fixed positions with no swivels or turrets.  A diver using a drysuit and an octopus will max them out. That’s one for the BCD inflator, two for the second stages, plus the drysuit inflator. If you run your drysuit inflator under your right arm like me, you’ll be stuck crossing one hose from left to right. Not true if you use a safe second like Aqualung’s Airsource 3 (which I do most of the time, but not always).

Next to the mouthpiece, there’s an adjustment for venturi, which provides a vacuum assist to reduce breathing effort. I find that I use it to detune the second stage to avoid a free flow at the surface, but even then, breathing is effortless, so I rarely touch it anyway.

The whole thing is dry sealed for cold water performance, which is a big deal for our high elevation mountain lakes. 39 degree water is pretty typical around here, and I’ve never experienced any issues with the Cayman.

I have a lot more to say about the SubGear Cayman but I am being pressed for time, so I’ll have to save that for a followup post. The bottom line is that this is a really great regulator that I am glad I bought. I’d recommend it to anyone and may buy another one to use as a deco reg.

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New Free SCUBA Classified Ad Website

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Joe Ross
Free Scuba Classifieds

Free Scuba Classifieds

I’m not sure if the world needed another free classifieds website or not, but here’s one more. I mostly created joeuw.com as a test related to another project, but now that it’s finished and live, I really like the site and would like to see people use it–especially after looking around at the few scuba gear classified websites I was able to find out on the web.

My thinking is that most divers are gear hounds like me, and end up with a growing collection of used dive equipment that no longer fits the type of diving they do. So, if you fit that category, someone is looking for that dive gear that’s just sitting in your basement or garage.

At this moment, the site’s brand new, so please post your stuff for sale and help me make my site grow. It’s free.

Posted in SCUBA Classifieds, Vintage Scuba Gear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fourth Element Halo 3D Review

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Joe Ross
Fourth Element Halo 3D

Fourth Element Halo 3D

Over the weekend, I taught two classes, a PADI Drysuit Specialty Course and a PADI Altitude Diving Specialty Course. Being near Lake Tahoe, both are popular courses, so I spend a lot of time in Tahoe’s frigid water. On Saturday’s dives, we were fighting 80+ MPH wind gusts, and the beach looked like a hurricane zone. Between the wind, snow and 41 degree water, it was quite an experience for the student.

Yesterday was much calmer, with even a little sun poking through from time to time. For these dives, I had my first opportunity to take a brand new, Fourth Element Halo 3D drysuit undergarment out for a test drive. The Fourth Element website goes into great technical detail about “body mapped insulation” and “SpaceTek compression resistant panels” but companies make up names for things all the time, and I just wanted to dive the thing and see if I stay warm.

That said, it is precisely those compression resistant panels that I was most interested in. In essence, Fourth Element places corrugated panels on the chest, front upper leg and other strategic areas that are compressed when underwater in a normal diving position. Those panels are rigid enough to keep their loft, but not inflexible, and not in positions where they interfere with movement.

For my test, I wore only a very thin wicking base layer and the suit. I had on a pair of wool socks and dry gloves as well, but nothing to skew my experience with the Halo 3D.

As I mentioned, the water temperature was between 41 and 42 degrees, depending on which computer you believe, so we’re not screwing around. It’s cold! One thing about Fourth Element is that they think everything through. They don’t just bolt on features and list them in sales literature. Their gear is obviously designed by divers with a clue about what divers need.

Among those features are correctly positioned holes for p-valves that your wouldn’t even notice unless you needed them, and they weren’t there. A biggie for me is the stirrups. Every other drysuit undergarment I’ve used has them, but all are thin, stretch out over time, and slip right off my heel when jamming my legs into my drysuit. Fourth Element made them a major component of the leg of the suit and they actually work to keep the leg from bunching up around your calf or knee. Anyone who knows what this is like will appreciate that.

The undergarment itself is extremely well constructed. It’s fleecy on the inside, easy to move in and very comfortable. I like that there’s no extra bulk, but putting it on, I was worried that I might be in for a cold dive because of that.

Suited up, we headed into the water. I should mention that my drysuit is a DUI CF200x, in case you’re wondering. On the surface, I really didn’t even feel the cold-especially with the dry gloves. Heading under, aside from that initial brain-freeze you get with a wet hood, I felt warm and comfortable like I hadn’t ever in water this cold. I never realized how much compression in the chest area leads to loss of insulation, but it was very obvious that these panels made a huge difference.

On a typical dive, I’ll begin to feel the cold in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but can stay relatively comfortable for an hour or more. (In technical diving, cold is definitely the limiting factor for me.) With the Halo 3D, I really wasn’t even aware of the cold, except in my feet and finger tips, for a good 30 minutes. I remember thinking how funny it is that I froze in 77 degree water in Hawaii in December, but here at 41 degrees, I was perfectly warm!

By then my student was getting pretty cold, so we surfaced at the 38 minute mark. I was very excited about the performance of the Halo 3D, and my decision to buy one ASAP was already made. The second dive ran 39 minutes and was pretty much a carbon copy of the first.

That was with nothing but the Halo 3D. Typically, I’d add an extra layer of fleece, and sometimes stick those chemical toe warmers to each sock. In the end, the Fourth Element Halo 3D is by far, the most comfortable and warmest drysuit undergarment I have ever worn. At over $500, it’s not cheap. But, chances are, if you’ve been diving a while, you’ve already spent more than that trying out other undergarments, and compared to all the other gear, what’s another 500 bucks to stay warm?

So, to sum up. Mine is already ordered. What more can I say?

To follow up: I got a call from Jeff at Sierra Diving Center. He had just hung up the phone with someone at Fourth Element who’d read my review and wanted to make it known that Sierra Diving Center is one of only two Fourth Element test centers in North America. That means anyone wishing to test dive Fourth Element undergarments can do so through the shop. The store number is (775) 825-2147.

If you’ve never been diving in a drysuit, they can make arrangements for you to do a drysuit orientation dive, or even take the drysuit certification course at the same time. If you’d like to do those dives with me, just ask. I’ll look forward to getting in the water with you.

Posted in New Dive Gear, SCUBA Gear Reviews, Technical Diving | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Apeks Tek 3 Review

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Joe Ross

Apeks Tek 3 Hose Routing

About six months ago, I made a regulator change on my technical rig from Poseidon to Apeks. My Poseidon regs (Cyklon 300′s) are close to 25 years old, and while they’re still exceptionally good regulators, the hose routing sucks, and getting parts has become a hassle. For sport diving I use an Atomic T1 that is spectacular, but titanium is definitely not appropriate for tech since it can’t be used with oxygen levels over 40%, so I sure wasn’t going to try to match that.

So, since I’d be buying a matched pair anyway, I decided to go with the Apeks Tek 3′s. One thing people say all the time about Poseidon is that they’ll deliver A LOT of air, which is true, but I always felt the relatively high cracking pressure made them feel stiff after breathing my Atomic. Down deep, they perform well regardless. At least there’s no perceptible difference that I could distinguish at any “normal” tech diving depths.

Anyway, back to the Tek 3 set. The obvious thing when you start screwing hoses together is that they all rout straight down. This is very cool for making valves accessible, but some divers have complained that this puts a sharp bend in hoses that must cross left or right. I think they’re right, but it’s not that sharp a bend on my setup, and certainly not enough to cause my hoses to wear any faster. I think it depends on your configuration, wing choice, tank position, etc.

All put together, the Tek 3′s look awesome! To me, they look like they could be chromed engine parts on a hot rod as much scuba gear. I couldn’t help but just stare at my rig when I first put it together. I had gotten so used to the Poseidon tangle of hoses, I kept thinking I left something out. So, for anyone with hose routing issues, Apeks is a good choice.

Not longer after, I got to make my first dive using the Apeks Tek 3 set. It was late Summer so even Lake tahoe is around 60 degrees at the surface. Down around 100 feet, it dropped to maybe 50, so it would be a few months before getting into the 39 – 40 degree range. So, I set everything up and jumped in the water. The first thing I noticed is that even detuned, they breathe better than the Poseidons.

Now, months later, I’ve had them underwater a lot, including temperature extremes. Being nearby, we dive Lake Tahoe all year, with water temperatures as low as 39 degrees. If a regulator is going to freeflow, Tahoe is the perfect place for that to happen. So far, that just hasn’t been a problem. The regulators are well sealed to prevent it, and my practical experience has been that it works.

The Apeks Tek 3 breathing effort is consistant with what I’m used to from my top of the line Atomic. Personally, I don’t tend to fiddle with the tuning underwater, but the adjustment is pretty dramatic for those who do. I just dial it back to prevent freeflow on the surface and generally leave it as is. By mid-Summer, I’ll be making deeper trimix dives in the 300+ range, but based on conversations with other Tek 3 divers, I don’t anticipate much change.

I will say that the Apeks XTX50 second stages that are supplied with the Tek 3 are extraordinarily comfortable. The Poseidon Cyklons have always gotten irritating after about an hour in the water. I don’t know if it’s the shape of the mouthpiece or what, but jaw fatigue, while tolerable, isn’t something any of us need to deal with. With Apeks, it’s not an issue. Partly, it’s because the XTX50 weighs practically nothing in the water. Also, the Apeks mouthpiece design has an odd little tab across the top that run along the roof of the diver’s mouth, just above his or her teeth. I didn’t know how I’d feel about that in the water, but in practice, it’s by far the most comfortable mouthpiece I’ve ever taken on a dive.

The bottom line is the Apeks Tek 3 set is an awesome group of regulators, specifically designed to meet the needs of technical divers. The breathing effort is amazing, the cold water performance is top notch, and they are built to last and last. Obviously, there are other exceptional regulators available, but I personally believe any technical diver considering new regs should take a look.

Posted in New Dive Gear, SCUBA Gear Reviews, Technical Diving | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Scubapro 330M Digital Gauge

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Joe Ross
Scubapro 330m Digital Gauge

Scubapro 330m Digital Gauge

I recently had a conversation with a technical diver who explained that his “backup” depth gauge and timing device was his older sport diving computer in gauge mode, but that the screen would occasionally “go dark” during a dive. A little bit stunned and bewildered, I asked if that didn’t make him at least a little bit nervous? His reply was that he didn’t worry about it too much because it was just his backup.

In technical diving, one thing we emphasize is redundancy. We carry two or more of everything, regulators, lift bags, reels, redundant bladders (yes, I know there are many who argue over this one), you name it. Backup timing devices are among the more critical components we carry at least two of because in the event of a failure, we’re basically left to memory and wild guess what our decompression schedule must be.

To me, the idea of trusting my life to a faulty backup is just stupid. That’s especially true with the availability of the Scubabpro 330M Digital Gauge. The 330M is simple. It tracks your depth and bottom time to 1082 feet, along with surface interval, temperature and ascent rate. It is easy to read, and near bullet proof. The price is around $250.

So, to save a couple hundred bucks, this guy is essentially diving without a backup timer and depth gauge. Hopefully, my gentle coaxing convinced him this might not be such a good idea. Obviously, there are lots of options for dive computers, but the Scubapro 330M Digital Gauge provides simple, affordable, easy-to-read backup (or primary) depth and time for every dive condition.

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PADI Tec40 Course, Lake Tahoe

Posted on January 17, 2012 by admin
PADI Tec40 Course, Lake Tahoe

PADI Tec40 Course, Lake Tahoe

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to push your diving to the next level, PADI Tec40 is the first step beyond recreational diving. The PADI Tec40 course offers an introduction to diving with redundant systems, double SCUBA cylinders, lift bags, deco bottles and gas mixes up to 50% oxygen.

More importantly, PADI Tec40 takes you into technical decompression diving. Decompression involves making stops at prescribed depths prior to surfacing as a means of ridding your body of nitrogen that would otherwise form bubbles in your tissues.

Technical diving isn’t for everyone, but for those willing to accept the risks, technical diving in Lake Tahoe is an experience like no other.

Posted in Diving News, New Dive Gear | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

PADI Deep Adventure Dive, Lake Tahoe

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Joe Ross
PADI Deep Adventure Dive

PADI Deep Adventure Dive

Any time of year, Lake Tahoe is a great place to dive. We brave the cold water to experience Lake Tahoe’s amazing visibility, and fabulous underwater topography. Many of Tahoe’s dive sites, like the Sailboat in Hurricane Bay are located on drop-offs that reach into extremely deep water.

Diving these site safely requires skills beyond what’s necessary for diving the shallows. For example, narcosis due to elevated nitrogen partial pressures can affect decision-making and judgment. Also buoyancy issues due to greater compression of the diver’s exposure suit, must be dealt with appropriately in order to maintain control.

When you plan your PADI Deep Adventure Dive, consider carefully the colder temperatures. If you’ll be making that dive in a drysuit for the first time, you’ll need to plan a drysuit orientation dive in advance of the deep dive. For this to be possible, the drysuit dive will have to be scheduled on a different day prior to the deep dive in order to avoid a reverse repetitive dive profile.

Diving in Lake Tahoe is a blast. Diving deep in Lake Tahoe can be spectacular. But, be sure to get the proper training and consider the conditions before jumping in and heading for the bottom. For more information, contact me: joe@joescuba.com.

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