My first regulator - Apeks ATX-40

My regulator finally, after a month of waiting, arrived. It's my first regulator so im very excited about this. I bought a set of two ATX-40 second stages (one black, one yellow), one DS4 first stage and a small SPG. A driver CD was also included... ermm... cross that out, I think I bought too many computer parts recently:) Anyway the whole set is on the picture.



This regulator set conforms to the EN250 standard, which means it is suitable for cold water diving. There are also two solutions that should reduce the possibility of the regulator freezing: the first stage is environmentaly sealed and the second stage has a heat exchanger mounted on its hose. However, in my set the heat exchanger has not been mounted on the octopus' hose, which is bad, as the person who will be breathing from it is likely to breathe rapidly which in turn is likely to freeze the regulator and cause freeflow.

The regulator has one knob you can turn - the Integrated Venturi System (IVS). The IVS uses the Venturi effect to make breathing easier, however it may also cause freeflow.

I ordered that regualtor online and I forgot to check if it has all the hoses. It turned out that it didn't, the inflator hose was not included, but I've sorted it out.

Now I can't wait to try my new regulator out :) :)

New personal DNF record

Today I've set my new record in Dynamic Without Fins (DNF). It's now 50 meters on one breath:) This was a part of my plan for February, now I must do 75 with fins...

PADI online course evaluation

Today I got an email from PADI asking to fill in an online course evaluation questionnaire about my nitrox course. This seems to be a big step forward for their QA - online questionnaire is more likely to get filled then the printed one and because of that they'll more information on who is training according to what standards. So far I received 2 or 3 printed forms and haven't sent back any...

The questionnaire itself was a bit buggy. For example there where many questions about dives conducted during training, but the new standard for PADI Nitrox training doesn't require any dives...

How do you make a dive computer?

Actually it is very easy. You only need a depth gauge, a timer, decompression tables (such as the RDP) and a brain:). You must also figure out how to carry all these instruments - my forearm is too short, especially when I also take a compass and a slate... The picture below shows the equation for a dive computer.

The first thing is my depth gauge. It's a capillary one, it consists of a tube open at one end and a scale. You read the depth by checking where the water that's in the tube ends. This particular gauge is 20+ years old, got it from my uncle (the same who found the SCUBA unit). My watch is Timex Ironman, its 200m water resistant (watches must be at least 100m water resistant), and has a timer. The deco table is, obviously, the PADI RDP. These items sum to a dive computer, in the picture you can see a Suunto Vyper that Magda got for Christmas.

Diving with such a dive computer makes you a more conscious diver, however recalculating your No Decompression Limit underwater is more error prone. It's also impossible to get a detailed dive profile, the water temperature etc. That's why the next piece of diving equipment I'm going to buy is a diving computer, probably the Vyper.

Bargain of the month

Yesterday I've traded an old SCUBA unit for an inflator hose:). I got the SCUBA from my uncle who dug it up somwhere. Our diving instructor, Janusz, collects old diving gear (he has a small museum) so I've asked him if he would accept this unit as a "donation" for his collection, and he was more than happy to.
Then it turned out that the Apeks ATX40 regulator I've ordered recently, though it comes with an octopus and an SPG, doesn't have an inflator hose attached. So I asked Janusz if he could "pay" me with an inflator hose. He again agreed. And that's how the contract of the month was agreed upon:)

Apart from trading yesterday we had another lecture of our Divemaster course. We sat from 18 till 22pm and tried to gain some understanding of the decompression theory. We failed, lost somewhere between M-value and halftime...
But that's OK - we have a month to think about it. Janusz, who is also a technical diver and instructor, is going to Egypt to teach technical diving. He also plans to break his depth record by descending to 180m! We're going to keep our fingers crossed!

Book: The Dive. A Story of Love and Obsession.

The Dive is Pipin Ferreras' autobiography. As in most biographies it describes his life:) This turns out to be a very interesting life as Pipin (that's his nickname, real name is ) is a freediving champion in no limits category, who set many world records. Pipin started freediving when he was a child. Actually he started spearfishing, which then became a way to earn his living when he was older. His record setting started as a way of attracting attention to Cuba in order to boost it's tourism and economy which was in serious trouble after the fall of USSR.

The book is not only a biography but also a tribute to his fourth wife, Audrey Mestre, who died while trying to set a world record in no limits freediving.

This is a sad book. Come to think about, it's a second book that is about an extreme diver who died during diving that I've read recently. The other one is The Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury.

It's a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in freediving. The film Ocean Men directed by Bob Talbot, starring Pipin, Audrey and another freediver, Umberto Pelizzari, is an excelent complement to this book.

James Cameron is planning to film this book, however I haven't found information on when it's going to happen.