Ok, this is way cool! underwater speaker system!

[scubadiverbob]

divesculsnet.domain.com/about/

[SeaRat]

Bob,

In 1973 I had a vision of underwater communications, and spent the summer smoke jumping with the intent of buying underwater comm gear. But, the realities of financing a college education got in the way of that dream. Underwater communications is the last frontier of diving technology, and up to this time has relied on ultra-sound or even radio waves. It needed a unit to send a signal and a receiver, so both divers had to be so equipped. It turned out to be feasible only for professional divers, not a USAF Reserve Pararescueman who was also going through school. So that dream was put on the shelf.

Now, there is a functioning unit that seems rather affordable. My real problem now is that mostly I'm solo diving, so who am I going to talk to?

There is one other problem, and that has to do with noise pollution in the water. It could be that for some, hearing someone's music underwater is not their desire, and hearing other divers talking could disturb the serenity of "The Silent World." More ominously, this noise could interfere with the communications of aquatic mammals such as dolphins, proposes and whales if used in close proximity. A recent article in Scientific American stated:

...Human-created noise underwater. whether from the spin of a ship's blades, the hum of an engine, the clanking of construction or the bangs of seismic exploration, does more than force odontocetes to speak up. Other research shows those whales and dolphins breach, spy-hop and tail slap the surface more often when vessels are nearby, all of which sap more energy. Military sonar also disrupts cetacean hearing and alters their diving behaviors, most likely leading to ilness and stranding...
Scientific American, "Can You Hear Me Now?" "Dolphins 'shout' to be heard over boat noise--and use up energy to do so," Volume 313, Number 2, August 2015, page 22.

I wrote my Capstone Project for my MSPH degree in Industrial Hygiene on the topic of noise, and the other question I have is what the levels of noise are, and are they potentially injurious to the diver's hearing.

A final thought...these guys should consider using double hose regulators to get the bubble noise away from the microphones. It would improve their transmission and reception a lot. I've verified this observation this year by recording video with my helmet-mounted GoPro and switching from my double hose regulator to my single hose octopus, and comparing the noise recorded. It is striking how much noise these bubbles generate.

John

[Deleted]

John
I agree with your assessment of the noise pollution and also the use of the double hose regulator vs. the noisy single, not to mention yakkity divers, and Lord help me, females squealing in delight or fear at some marine creature. But then again maybe that will scare sharks away......hummmm.

I just showed my step daughter this video and she agreed that a double hose would be better...(and she isn't a diver yet...I'll be working on that).......any rate, now that the designer has succeeded in developing this, the size of the unit needs to be reduced......much like Boze reduced the size of speakers.

[sitkadiver]

I think the developer is on to something when he says an instructor or a tour guide could use it under water while the rest of the group just listens. To me, that sounds like one-way communication, which in those circumstances could be very helpful. I doubt we'll see these in wide use between buddy teams simply because it requires an airspace around the divers mouth, which means a FF; most divers I know don't want to invest in an AGA, let alone a KM. Maybe the guardian FFM will see extra use, but I doubt it.

Plus, he alludes to not having anything covering his ears, which I assume is a shot at the OTS comms we use at the fire hall. Bottom line, I've known guys who have bought them for personal use, but the learning curve, extra maintanence and prep time all discourage the use of comms on a regular basis.

I also like his idea of using it on a dive boat for recalling divers. All the systems I have used were a simple pinger and if you heard the beeps, it meant to come up so the crew could begin a search for a missing diver. If a boat had a device like this, they could hail a lost diver and give them a compass heading back to the boat. I did the same thing while working on a DOD project that required search patterns for a missing cable. However, we were using the OTS system and there was a transponder in the water, so we could only move the boat very carefully.