diving in the 70s and 80s

[Johnny Boy]

loved the retro photo of st abbs divers. one thing i noted was that all of them were slim. not a fatty amongst em all. makes you think don't it.....

[A. Berk]

I have a collection of old scuba sh1t, mostly because I collect er, old scuba sh1t. Two twin-hose regs (Seibe and Spiro), 'Hans Hass' gum rubber fins and various old face masks which, having tried one on not long back made me wonder just how the hell we wore them at all - fcukin' painfull

kerBo

[Allan Carr]

If you thought diving with a Skinny Dipper was risky, how about one of these? It's an SOS Decompression Meter which I bought back in 1974. It's a purely mechanical device. The way it works is by gas passing through a slightly porous ceramic disc. It has a plastic bag inside the case which contains the gas (I presume it's just air). This one stopped working years ago. The needle should be pointing at the blue lozenge just before the letter 'S' of SURFACE.

They were used with extreme care - we gave them a good margin and always compared against the tables (RNPL in those days).

[Hickdive]

Originally Posted by Allan Carr

If you thought diving with a Skinny Dipper was risky, how about one of these? It's an SOS Decompression Meter which I bought back in 1974. It's a purely mechanical device. The way it works is by gas passing through a slightly porous ceramic disc. It has a plastic bag inside the case which contains the gas (I presume it's just air). This one stopped working years ago. The needle should be pointing at the blue lozenge just before the letter 'S' of SURFACE.

They were used with extreme care - we gave them a good margin and always compared against the tables (RNPL in those days).

Ah, one of my instructors had one of those for demonstration purposes, he eventually took all the innards out, filled it with lead and put it on his weightbelt for a laugh.

The first thing I ever bid on eBay was one, I wanted to see the looks on people's faces as I casually strapped it on for a dive

[frosty the snowman]

Originally Posted by Allan Carr

If you thought diving with a Skinny Dipper was risky, how about one of these? It's an SOS Decompression Meter which I bought back in 1974. It's a purely mechanical device. The way it works is by gas passing through a slightly porous ceramic disc. It has a plastic bag inside the case which contains the gas (I presume it's just air). This one stopped working years ago. The needle should be pointing at the blue lozenge just before the letter 'S' of SURFACE.

They were used with extreme care - we gave them a good margin and always compared against the tables (RNPL in those days).

I seem to remember they were known as a 'dial-a-bend'. I know of at least one scallop diver who used one on every other dive so it didn't penalise him too much. He cured his bends with scotch.

[jptaylor9]

Originally Posted by frosty the snowman

I seem to remember they were known as a 'dial-a-bend'. I know of at least one scallop diver who used one on every other dive so it didn't penalise him too much. He cured his bends with scotch.

Didn't need them as you could never get bent on a 60 cu. ft. cylinder of air... Happy days

[Hickdive]

Originally Posted by uwila

I've still got my SkinnyDipper and it still works if you want to make me an offer

Yes, can I come round to your house and hit with a hammer until it stops working?

[davebarber]

Originally Posted by jptaylor9

Didn't need them as you could never get bent on a 60 cu. ft. cylinder of air... Happy days

I don't agree. 80ft tanks were common, and twin sets. I once did 65metres on a 57Cu ft ( thats equivalent to a 7L stage!). Remember we were diving on 24hr repeat tables. We must have been rockard in them days. I even snorkeled down and freed a snagged anchor on the Volnay! Ever been towed along on an aquaplane?
0 to 10 metres in 5 seconds!

[Bantam]

I have an inherited full set of 1967 gear;

US Divers Oval mask
Siebe Gorman Ess-Gee Twinhose Regulator with contents gauge (rare as anything)
Glasgow Diving Services Wetsuit with hood and a set of really old gloves. I still have the boxes for them too!
Parkway jetfins

I can get into the wetsuit and I have dived it once and it all works fine!


The only thing I don't have is the old cylinders but I'm always on the lookout on ebay.

So if anyone fancies a vintage try dive let me know!

[ratcliffe]

Are you joining the Historical Diving Society then Bantam ?