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Post by vance on Jan 29, 2020 16:12:28 GMT -8
Terry, I totally get it. I'm with you on retaining the history when you can. I hate modding a good vintage part. But, if it's an orphan, or even a spare, we can breathe new life into it even when it's only fit for the trash heap.
Sometimes there's a part that's so badly decayed/damaged that the only recourse is the refinish/mod/repair that will give the old thing new life. I've refinished/repaired/modded gunstocks that no-one would ever put up to their cheeks due to the splinteriness and stink, or trusted to fire due to their broken, cracked, and unfit condition. In this case, fixed is better than dumped. One of my favorite shooters has a stock that was thrown away. I've posted pics of it before.
Hotrods have always fulfilled this niche. Take a wreck, rotted, destroyed hulk and make it into a new thing. That's awesome. Just be cognizant of history and what can be saved as it was, rather than going for modernization.
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Post by nikeajax on Jan 29, 2020 16:21:52 GMT -8
PY, that was my point entirely... but perhaps sleeper would have been a much better descriptor though JB
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Post by vance on Jan 29, 2020 17:02:01 GMT -8
But there's another aspect of this. If you take the old and improve it to modern functionality by modding, that's pretty awesome. Sometimes it can be done w/o an irreversable mod, that is, changing the part so it can't be returned to original, but sometimes it can't. Taking care to protect original stuff is important, but it's also important to make old stuff use-able in the modern world, isn't it?
I think that's as an admirable goal as retaining the original, if you can do it w/o destroying the original. It can be a slippery slope, I know.
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Post by duckbill on Jan 29, 2020 18:22:38 GMT -8
In this case, I just meant it would be neat to have a regulator that raises eyebrows from its external appearance, but the insides are as good as new, not necessarily hot-rodded, . Think of 1/8" verdigris deposits on the outside screaming, "If I'm this crusty on the outside, imagine what I must look like inside!" I just like to push the Scuba-Nazis' buttons whenever I can. Like shoving my mask up on my forehead as I walk up the beach after a dive. LOL!
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Post by scubalawyer on Jan 29, 2020 20:03:12 GMT -8
I just like to push the Scuba-Nazis' buttons whenever I can. Like shoving my mask up on my forehead as I walk up the beach after a dive. LOL! I put my mask on my forehead the second I surface and it's the last thing I take off before my wetsuit.
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Post by cnotthoff on Jan 31, 2020 13:50:57 GMT -8
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Post by jackcheasty on Feb 24, 2020 11:47:04 GMT -8
First time poster. I still own three of my original regulators, a DA AM, a RAM, and a first generation Calypso, and would like to put them back into working order. Still diving after 60 years, now with an Atomic B2. Have experience with servicing Atomic and Scubapro. Looking for sources for service parts for the old regulators and maintenance manuals. Any help/advice appreciated … Jack
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Post by herman on Feb 25, 2020 3:05:16 GMT -8
Welcome to the board. Your DA and RAM are easy to restore to better that new. All the rubber parts are available in silicone and repro HP seats are available. There improved versions of other parts as well. The second stage can be replaced with a new design that is much easier to adjust and it flows better. The duckbill can be replaced with a devise that uses mushroom valves in stead of the duckbill (silicone duckbills are available too). There are upgrades to the first stage available as well. You can replace the nozzle of either reg to use a balanced first stage or upgrade it more to have HP and LP ports. Parts for many older Scubapros are also available. You can find these parts on the Vintage Double Hose website. He also has parts diagrams and some service manuals on the website. Also check VDH on youtube, Bryan has put a number of videos there.
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Post by SeaRat on Feb 25, 2020 15:48:52 GMT -8
First time poster. I still own three of my original regulators, a DA AM, a RAM, and a first generation Calypso, and would like to put them back into working order. Still diving after 60 years, now with an Atomic B2. Have experience with servicing Atomic and Scubapro. Looking for sources for service parts for the old regulators and maintenance manuals. Any help/advice appreciated … Jack Jack, I'm still diving after 61 years of diving, having just turned 74 last December. So welcome to the club! Concerning your first generation Calypso, I've got one that I got up and running, along with a U.S. Divers Company Professional Aquamatic, and a AMF Voit Forty Fathom (which still has a HP leak, which I need to attend to sometime). The main problem is the diaphragm with that non-return mushroom valve. The valve itself can be replaced by a new silicone valve from one of the snorkels now available (go to Goodwill and pick up the whole snorkel for about $2). If the diaphragm itself is in need of replacement, I and at least one other here on this board have replaced the diaphragm by removing the metal disk with the wagonwheel cutout, finding a new neoprene or silicone USD (Aqualung) diaphragm, gently removing the disc from that diaphragm and inserting the Calypso disc in its place. It can be glued around the edges, then the material covering the wagonwheel removed with a sharp blade. While VDH has new duckbills, or the duckbill eliminator, and they are good options, I like the extended duckbill available here on Vintage Scuba Supply (VSS) because I can take the duckbill all the way to the center of the main low pressure diaphragm of the second stage. This eliminates the potential for air leaks due to the pressure differential between the center of the diaphragm and the highest duckbill opening when in a verticle position in the water. If the RAM is adjusted so that there is a 1/2 inch water pressure cracking pressure (very do-able with the RAM), and the duckbill's highest opening is 1 inch above the diaphragm, it will leak air in certain positions. John
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