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Scuba Forum / UK Scuba / March 2005Ad: Ali Single Tank Travel Backplate - interest?
OK, I've found a supplier and got a quote, this post is to gauge level of interest: Single tank travel back plate in 3mm 5052 marine grade aluminium. Cut, folded and finished (no extra work with a file required :-)) Weight about 0.65 kg. Shape basically the same as http://www.huwporter.com/scuba/hplate.html modified slightly based on experience, a few superfluous slots removed. Sold basically at cost, if I do a run of 8-10, including postage from Aus to the UK/Japan, the cost will be in the region of GBP 75-80. Any takers? Cheers, Huw  Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com > Sold basically at cost, if I do a run of 8-10, including postage from > Aus to the UK/Japan, the cost will be in the region of GBP 75-80. > > Any takers? Yes for me and if you can wait a few days I will talk to the people I know here and see if there is any interest in that area. My only comment would be for a couple of slots/ holes at the bottom for a DSMB, However I can drill holes them myself if nobody else is interested in that mod. >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me > My only comment would be for a couple of slots/ holes at the bottom for > a DSMB, However I can drill holes them myself if nobody else is > interested in that mod. I saw a rather interesting bit of kit this afternoon. One of the workers at a local dive shop has sleeves made by Dive Rite attached to the peripheral holes on his plate. He carries a roundish lift bag in one and a longer tubular one in the other. It appears quite a bit easier to access than the Halcyon back pad/pocket I'm currently using. You can find a picture of one here http://www.scubacenter.com/DiveRite2.htm . I've tried attaching things to the bottom of my plate. Since I don't use a crotch strap, the rear D ring I used to use is unavailable. I've not been successful at making things attached to the bottom of my plate easy to access. The sleeve looks like a pretty good option. Lee > I saw a rather interesting bit of kit this afternoon. One of the workers at > a local dive shop has sleeves made by Dive Rite attached to the peripheral [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > things attached to the bottom of my plate easy to access. The sleeve looks > like a pretty good option. I have something rather along the same lines that I made for my buddy SMBCi. The difference is that the one I made opens out flat and has a strip of 200mm velcro that makes into a tube. The reason for the velcro is so it fits the SMBCi with or without the bottle. I do have a bolt snap on the loop tape that I clip to a waist belt D-ring so that what ever happens I don't loose the SMB. It was made to fit the Buddy ABS backplate so has long attachment straps at the moment. It fits in the usual rear bottom position and is easy to access. >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me >> I saw a rather interesting bit of kit this afternoon. One of the workers >> at [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > I have something rather along the same lines that I made for my buddy > SMBCi. > The difference is that the one I made opens out flat and has a strip of > 200mm velcro that makes into a tube. The reason for the velcro is so it > fits the SMBCi with or without the bottle. I do have a bolt snap on the > loop tape that I clip to a waist belt D-ring so that what ever happens I > don't loose the SMB. Makes sense. I like the option to adjust the size. He had a bolt snap on the loop for the same reason. If you guys keep giving me all these great ideas, I may have to get a sewing machine again. Man, do I ever wish I'd kept the one my first wife left me. > It was made to fit the Buddy ABS backplate so has long attachment straps > at the moment. It fits in the usual rear bottom position and is easy to > access. By rear bottom position, may I assume you mean horizontally across the bottom of the plate? If so, that might well be a more convenient option for a single device, which is all I normally carry. That may change. The IANTD recreational trimix course I'm planning on taking early next month requires shooting a bag for deco. They've already expressed reservations about my Halcyon bag/safety sausage. That sausage will serve as a DSMB modest lift bag and, as what I need most on some dives, a surface signaling device. The lift bag they prefer is only a DSMB and lift bag. Speaking of lift bags, I'm going to have to practice shooting a DSMB. It's not a skill I've spent much time with. Those of you that use colored DSMBs as signaling devices may find it interesting to know that, here, orange is the standard and yellow, rather than indicating a problem, is what is used to send fish to the surface. Lee > Makes sense. I like the option to adjust the size. He had a bolt snap on > the loop for the same reason. If you guys keep giving me all these great > ideas, I may have to get a sewing machine again. Man, do I ever wish I'd > kept the one my first wife left me. You don't need / want a sewing machine unless it is a real heavy duty one. The thin polyester or nylon gets cut easly by the material you sew. Hand sewing with a thick nylon thread is good enough. > > It was made to fit the Buddy ABS backplate so has long attachment straps > > at the moment. It fits in the usual rear bottom position and is easy to > > access. > > By rear bottom position, may I assume you mean horizontally across the > bottom of the plate? That is right > If so, that might well be a more convenient option for > a single device, which is all I normally carry. That may change. The IANTD > recreational trimix course I'm planning on taking early next month requires > shooting a bag for deco. I did a normox trimix, I think it is the next one up last new year. > They've already expressed reservations about my > Halcyon bag/safety sausage. That sausage will serve as a DSMB modest lift > bag and, as what I need most on some dives, a surface signaling device. The > lift bag they prefer is only a DSMB and lift bag. That will be the instructor's choice and they should be flexable on that point. I can see little point for the diving I do in using a lift bag as opposed to a safety sausage. Did they say what the reservations were? > Speaking of lift bags, I'm going to have to practice shooting a DSMB. It's > not a skill I've spent much time with. Have you looked at the GUE video? It is a good example though, IMNSHO, there is one mistake in it. > Those of you that use colored DSMBs as signaling devices may find it > interesting to know that, here, orange is the standard and yellow, rather > than indicating a problem, is what is used to send fish to the surface. > > Lee >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me >> They've already expressed reservations about my >> Halcyon bag/safety sausage. That sausage will serve as a DSMB modest [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > point. I can see little point for the diving I do in using a lift bag as > opposed to a safety sausage. Did they say what the reservations were? Yes. While I think they will probably accept it. Their point, which is reasonably well made, is that they consider the lift bag primarily as a device for letting the boat know where you are. The round lift bag, in their opinion, does that better than the sausage because the sausage will fall over unless the line is held tightly. There is, of course, some merit to their thinking, but for now, I'm just trying to get through the course with the minimum of equipment I'm not used to. Armed with new knowledge, I'll be in a better position to determine how far I want to take this and how much new equipment I get to buy. I just love new equipment, but there is a limit. I was in the shop yesterday afternoon and came very close to owning a new twinset. Generally speaking, people here like Luxfer aluminum tanks for twinning. When full, they are slightly negative, when empty, they are slightly positive. I've only got one of them now. All the rest of my tanks are neutral when empty, ie about 2.5 kg negative when full. At any rate, I considered a new tank, twinning bands, isolation manifold and bolt kit, all for somewhere around $500 US. Then I realized that I don't have a wing suitable for twins. The additional couple hundred US made the difference. I imagine I can do better on everything, but as an impulse buyer, I'm not the world's best shopper. I either want it now, or I don't want it enough to buy it . . . usually. >> Speaking of lift bags, I'm going to have to practice shooting a DSMB. >> It's >> not a skill I've spent much time with. > Have you looked at the GUE video? It is a good example though, IMNSHO, > there is one mistake in it. Is this something that GUE allows non GUE people access to . . . for free? I considered a GUE course, but, quite frankly got quite annoyed when I noticed that the standards include prerequisite GUE courses and are way, way more expensive than what I've scheduled for next month. The Fundamentals course is substantially more expensive than the Recreational Trimix course I signed up for and the first level GUE Trimix course is several times as expensive. Even if they could give that much more value, I don't have the time to follow their prescribed training path. At any rate, if you know of a source for the video, I'm interested. I've discussed shooting DSMB's with folks here on more than one occasion. If good advice is of value, I've collected more than my share of value. I do, however, need practice. It's not something I do often. Lee > > Have you looked at the GUE video? It is a good example though, IMNSHO, > > there is one mistake in it. > > At any rate, if you know of a source for the video, I'm interested. > > Lee http://www.fifthd.com/fifthdnew/education/videos.asp?from=education&level=1 >> > Have you looked at the GUE video? It is a good example though, IMNSHO, >> > there is one mistake in it. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://www.fifthd.com/fifthdnew/education/videos.asp?from=education&level=1 Thanks for the link. So far, the video has not worked. I live in hope. Lee > >> > Have you looked at the GUE video? It is a good example though, IMNSHO, > >> > there is one mistake in it. > >> > >> At any rate, if you know of a source for the video, I'm interested. > >> > >> Lee http://www.fifthd.com/fifthdnew/education/videos.asp?from=education&level=1 > Thanks for the link. So far, the video has not worked. I live in hope. > > Lee I see what you mean. Another possibility is http://www.frogkick.nl/ -> technieken -> hefballon oplate -> the mpg at the bottom. Did not work in my QT plugin, but a direct link in RealPlayer did the job. timo > Another possibility is http://www.frogkick.nl/ -> technieken -> hefballon > oplate -> the mpg at the bottom. Did not work in my QT plugin, but a > direct > link in RealPlayer did the job. No joy there either, perhaps because I don't speak the right language. I didn't see an mpg at the bottom and even stumbling around like a stroke, didn't find any working video. Lee > No joy there either, perhaps because I don't speak the right > language. I didn't see an mpg at the bottom and even > stumbling around like a stroke, didn't find any working > video. You need to scroll down to the bottom of the text. It's marked: "Hefballon oplaten (Mpeg 17.2Mb)". The direct link is: http://www.frogkick.nl/movies/boei_oplaten.mpg It's extremely jerky in Media Player on the first run through (might have something to do with it being a 17.2Mb file!) but plays fine if you hit play again. Iain > Yes. While I think they will probably accept it. Their point, which is > reasonably well made, is that they consider the lift bag primarily as a > device for letting the boat know where you are. The round lift bag, in > their opinion, does that better than the sausage because the sausage will > fall over unless the line is held tightly. There are other points of view to that. Mine is that while a sausage may not stand up at all times it does stand up and can therefore be seen at a much greater distance than any lift bag can. Also when at the surface it can be waved and for sure will be more visable. The POV they express strikes me as DIR blind thinking. They should probably read JARROD JABLONSKI's opinion of SMBs >> A surface marker buoy is a non-gas-permeable bag designed to >>float at the surface, serving as a communication device for a [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >>alert markers. The increased height and starkly contrasting >>color offer improved visibility from a distance. > There is, of course, some merit > to their thinking, but for now, I'm just trying to get through the course > with the minimum of equipment I'm not used to. A very good thing to do. > Armed with new knowledge, > I'll be in a better position to determine how far I want to take this and [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Is this something that GUE allows non GUE people access to . . . for free? It seems so <http://www.gue.com/equipment/feature/liftbag/index.shtml> >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me > There are other points of view to that. Mine is that while a sausage may > not stand up at all times it does stand up and can therefore be seen at > a much greater distance than any lift bag can. Also when at the surface > it can be waved and for sure will be more visable. > > The POV they express strikes me as DIR blind thinking. How did you get the idea a sausage isn't DIR? Anyone trying to tell you sausages are not DIR, doesn't know what they are talking about. > They should probably read JARROD JABLONSKI's opinion of SMBs ...Well, exactly! :-) Cheers, Huw Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com -- > > The POV they express strikes me as DIR blind thinking. P.S. blind thinking, certainly, but not DIR blind thinking. Cheers, Huw Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com -- > There are other points of view to that. Mine is that while a sausage may > not stand up at all times it does stand up and can therefore be seen at > a much greater distance than any lift bag can. Also when at the surface > it can be waved and for sure will be more visable. I don't think the two views are mutually exclusive. I have my sausage, which is considerably larger than the small diameter ones used by many US divers, for a specific purpose. You hit it on the head. It projects well above waves and can be seen from a long distance. When I dive the Dry Tortugas, I'm a long way from the nearest land and the boat does multiple drops. I really, really want to be seen when it's time to be picked up. > The POV they express strikes me as DIR blind thinking. > They should probably read JARROD JABLONSKI's opinion of SMBs I don't think DIR thinking applies in this case. My sausage was made by Jarrod's company, Halcyon. >>> A surface marker buoy is a non-gas-permeable bag designed to >>> float at the surface, serving as a communication device for a >>>decompressing dive team and its surface contingent. Not intended >>>for lifting, these markers are usually small and compact, but >>>highly visible on the surface. Interestingly, my sausage is marketed, and rightfully so, as both surface marker and lift bag. I forget its lift capacity, but it's easily robust enough to be an effective backup to my wing. What Jarrod says is certainly true of the more common variety of sausage. Lee > Interestingly, my sausage is marketed, and rightfully so, as both surface > marker and lift bag. I forget its lift capacity, but it's easily robust > enough to be an effective backup to my wing. What Jarrod says is certainly > true of the more common variety of sausage. My guess is that lift bags can dump gas from the top so controlling the boyancy. So my Buddy SMBCi though being very robust is not a lift bag. >replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me >> Interestingly, my sausage is marketed, and rightfully so, as both surface >> marker and lift bag. I forget its lift capacity, but it's easily robust [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > My guess is that lift bags can dump gas from the top so controlling the > boyancy. So my Buddy SMBCi though being very robust is not a lift bag. Interesting guess. I would not have guessed at such a fine distinction, but I've been surprised before. Historically, I've gone by how the device was marketed, whether or not there was some form of pressure release (my traditional sausage does not have a release, my Halcyon one does) and whether I thought the design was sturdy enough to take the load. You've given me something to think about. Lee > Yes. While I think they will probably accept it. Their point, which is > reasonably well made, is that they consider the lift bag primarily as a > device for letting the boat know where you are. The round lift bag, in > their opinion, does that better than the sausage because the sausage will > fall over unless the line is held tightly. There is, of course, some merit > to their thinking, Actually, no. There's no merit in their thinking. Lifting bags are for lifting objects, not marking the position of divers. Boat crews around these parts are likely to go and recover a lift bag by hauling it out of the water with a boathook. This is not something you want to happen if you are a diver decompressing under the bag. Pete Signature____________________________________________________________________ Pete Young pete@antipope.dot.org Remove .dot to reply "Just another crouton, floating on the bouillabaisse of life" > > Sold basically at cost, if I do a run of 8-10, including postage from > > Aus to the UK/Japan, the cost will be in the region of GBP 75-80. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Yes for me and if you can wait a few days I will talk to the people I > know here and see if there is any interest in that area. Cool - let me know. huw (at) huwporter (dot) com - I'm away for the next week or so though. > My only comment would be for a couple of slots/ holes at the bottom for > a DSMB, However I can drill holes them myself if nobody else is > interested in that mod. Ali is a lot easier to work than SS, that's for sure. :-) Cheers, Huw Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com -- One day I'll learn to look at how your name is spelled before I write it. Sorry. Lee Huw, Save your time & effort as I've already designed and make just this product in the UK and can supply these ex-stock, including UK postage for £50. In addition our product is HARD anodised to reduce corrosion. The weight of the BP is just under 700g. It is complete with slots for standard cam-bands (located to accept the halcyon Pioneer wing and similar wings), there are holes drilled to accept the Halcyon storage pouch, two pairs of bolt-holes (standard 11" spacing) for flexibility of bolting through twinning bands and has chamfered contour at the bottom corners of the plate to eliminate digging in on buttocks. I have a PDF of the product. I can also supply a simple single tank adaptor which allows the wing and backplate to be bolted together as a complete unit, with the tank secured by two standard cam-bands. The kit of a Ally BP and Ally STA is £75 inc first class postage in UK. Best regards, Tony Howard > OK, I've found a supplier and got a quote, this post is to gauge level > of interest: [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Cheers, > Huw PS the peripheral holes can also be used for attachment of other items as some of you have already shown an interest fro (been there, done that!) Huw, Save your time & effort as I've already designed and make just this product in the UK and can supply these ex-stock, including UK postage for £50. In addition our product is HARD anodised to reduce corrosion. The weight of the BP is just under 700g. It is complete with slots for standard cam-bands (located to accept the halcyon Pioneer wing and similar wings), there are holes drilled to accept the Halcyon storage pouch, two pairs of bolt-holes (standard 11" spacing) for flexibility of bolting through twinning bands and has chamfered contour at the bottom corners of the plate to eliminate digging in on buttocks. I have a PDF of the product. I can also supply a simple single tank adaptor which allows the wing and backplate to be bolted together as a complete unit, with the tank secured by two standard cam-bands. The kit of a Ally BP and Ally STA is £75 inc first class postage in UK. Best regards, Tony Howard "Huw Porter" <huwporter@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:8f80c64f.0411181922.703ad06c@posting.google.com... > OK, I've found a supplier and got a quote, this post is to gauge level > of interest: > > Single tank travel back plate in 3mm 5052 marine grade aluminium. > Cut, folded and finished (no extra work with a file required :-)) > Weight about 0.65 kg. > > Shape basically the same as > http://www.huwporter.com/scuba/hplate.html > modified slightly based on experience, a few superfluous slots > removed. > > Sold basically at cost, if I do a run of 8-10, including postage from > Aus to the UK/Japan, the cost will be in the region of GBP 75-80. > > Any takers? > > Cheers, > Huw > -- > http://www.huwporter.com > Save your time & effort as I've already designed and make just this product in the UK and can supply these ex-stock, including UK postage for £50. In addition our product is HARD anodised to reduce corrosion. The weight of the BP is just under 700g. > > It is complete with slots for standard cam-bands (located to accept the halcyon Pioneer wing and similar wings), there are holes drilled to accept the Halcyon storage pouch, two pairs of bolt-holes (standard 11" spacing) for flexibility of bolting through twinning bands and has chamfered contour at the bottom corners of the plate to eliminate digging in on buttocks. > > I have a PDF of the product. I can also supply a simple single tank adaptor which allows the wing and backplate to be bolted together as a complete unit, with the tank secured by two standard cam-bands. The kit of a Ally BP and Ally STA is £75 inc first class postage in UK. Pictures? Sounds like a standard Halcyon copy backplate rather than my no-compromise single tank design. <Shrug> I'm not in competition with anyone - I'm going to make at least one for myself, batch size dependent on anyone else wanting one. Cheers, Huw Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com -- > Pictures? Sounds like a standard Halcyon copy backplate rather than my > no-compromise single tank design. <Shrug> I'm not in competition with > anyone - I'm going to make at least one for myself, batch size dependent > on anyone else wanting one. I'm a bit confused as to why you call yours a 'no compromise single tank design' as it looks a lot like a standard backplate which you've made less useful. The only difference I can see is the shape of the central channel which makes the provision of the drilled holes for twinning irrelevant as any bolt or nut would obviously dig into the divers back. Also it's made of steel and therefore weighs only 0.5Kg (about 1Lb) less than that of a normal steel BP, rather than an aluminium plate which weighs 700g, almost 1/4 of the weight of a steel backplate and nearly a third of you 'travel' steel item. Both have slots for standard cam-bands, so there seems no advantage to your plate and a two distinct disadvantages. Although yours looks OK, its nothing unusual or unique, except that you cannot twin-up easily Obviously any weight saving is beneficial, especially for those European short haul carriers which only give a 20Kg allowances, which makes the saving of 1.8KG (4Lb) of an aluminium plate even more preferential. I never said my plate was unique, in fact most backplates have many common design features with all other back-plates as there is a limit to what can be changed whist still fulfilling the basic requirements. All I stated was that my plates were high quality, well designed and good value for money. <snip> Woo honey. Put DOWN the handbag, step AWAY FROM the handbag... ;-) Cheers, Huw Signaturehttp://www.huwporter.com Hi I'm interested. Can you send me the PDF to vgoya@uvigo.es ? Thanks Best Regards |
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