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Icejon · 13th November 2007, 07:01

Quote: (Originally Posted by caveseeker7)

Hi Icejon, welcome to Rebreather World.

The woman in the shop was probably more scowling about her dead friend than about rebreathers, but there are a lot of very ignorant people about them, especially in L.A.. Then again, there are a lot of ignorant people in L.A., period.

There are a couple of shops in the general area that support them with gas and sorb, and a few that actually sell them. SSA in Montclair, Hollywood Divers in North Hollywood, Beach City Scuba in Huntington Beach come to mind.

Azimuth instructors shouldn't be hard to find. Doub Ebersole here at Rebreather World (he's in FL, though) trains on the Azimuth. Who did you have in mind?

One thing I find curious: Why did you have to ship the Azimuth to New Jersey?

Divesafe, the US importer is in Las Vegas, Nevada. Met up with Mauricio last time I was there. O2 cleaning, valve service, switching gauge, none of that requires the manufacturer or any special shop, other than someone who's setup and trained to handle O2. SSA in Montclair I can recommend, excellent shop in that respect. Much of the hardware is Mares, so spares shouldn't be a problem in SoCal. Only the OMG bits are hard to come by and very expensive.

When I was doing research on the azimuth I expected more of a price of $700 like divesafe lists online including course material, rental and fills. I contacted 3 instructors but, all three aren't perfect for some reasons.

One instructor would offer me the best (time/investment value) education over a 7 day period but would not be using an Azimuth alongside me. The class would be local with someone who wrote the book of rebreathers which are plusses. The class would involve me being a part of a group CCR class with others in KISS, Inspiration and other students so I would get a really thorough education. I contacted him on the phone and I could learn much from him, but can't afford to take a class that will be 7 days straight just to learn SCR.

Another instructor has a great reputation (a training director) as well and would offer me a private class over 2-4 weekends for less. My concerns are since he is out of the country, I haven't had a chance to talk to him on the phone and work out the details. He is also in San Diego or San Jose which would involve me staying down there. Since I haven't been able to talk to him on the phone, I haven't made my commitment to take his class.

The last instructor I did talk to on the phone and he dives his azimuth regularly. His class is the most economical and he would be using the same unit as I would in my training dives. One downside is that he lives in my hometown of Tallahassee and I would have to fly there and he is not as renown as the above two instructors.

Either way, I had to have full manufacturer service on my 2ndhand Azimuth so I contacted Divesafe. This was because the previous person took it all apart and I didnt know how to put it all back together. Divesafe are no longer in Vegas and have moved operations to Panama and referred me to the "only" certified azimuth repair shop (a place called diverstwo) in the usa. Even they have to ship my dosing block to OMG in Italy.

Between a Dolphin and an Azimuth, I am paying like $500-1000 more to be trained on an azimuth and I am jumping through alot of hoops.

13th November 2007, 07:01	#3 (permalink)
Icejon New Member Current Rebreather/s: Azimuth Other Rebreather/s: Azimuth Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 24	Re: New Azimuth Diver: Coming Soon Quote: (Originally Posted by caveseeker7) Hi Icejon, welcome to Rebreather World. The woman in the shop was probably more scowling about her dead friend than about rebreathers, but there are a lot of very ignorant people about them, especially in L.A.. Then again, there are a lot of ignorant people in L.A., period. There are a couple of shops in the general area that support them with gas and sorb, and a few that actually sell them. SSA in Montclair, Hollywood Divers in North Hollywood, Beach City Scuba in Huntington Beach come to mind. Azimuth instructors shouldn't be hard to find. Doub Ebersole here at Rebreather World (he's in FL, though) trains on the Azimuth. Who did you have in mind? One thing I find curious: Why did you have to ship the Azimuth to New Jersey? Divesafe, the US importer is in Las Vegas, Nevada. Met up with Mauricio last time I was there. O2 cleaning, valve service, switching gauge, none of that requires the manufacturer or any special shop, other than someone who's setup and trained to handle O2. SSA in Montclair I can recommend, excellent shop in that respect. Much of the hardware is Mares, so spares shouldn't be a problem in SoCal. Only the OMG bits are hard to come by and very expensive. When I was doing research on the azimuth I expected more of a price of $700 like divesafe lists online including course material, rental and fills. I contacted 3 instructors but, all three aren't perfect for some reasons. One instructor would offer me the best (time/investment value) education over a 7 day period but would not be using an Azimuth alongside me. The class would be local with someone who wrote the book of rebreathers which are plusses. The class would involve me being a part of a group CCR class with others in KISS, Inspiration and other students so I would get a really thorough education. I contacted him on the phone and I could learn much from him, but can't afford to take a class that will be 7 days straight just to learn SCR. Another instructor has a great reputation (a training director) as well and would offer me a private class over 2-4 weekends for less. My concerns are since he is out of the country, I haven't had a chance to talk to him on the phone and work out the details. He is also in San Diego or San Jose which would involve me staying down there. Since I haven't been able to talk to him on the phone, I haven't made my commitment to take his class. The last instructor I did talk to on the phone and he dives his azimuth regularly. His class is the most economical and he would be using the same unit as I would in my training dives. One downside is that he lives in my hometown of Tallahassee and I would have to fly there and he is not as renown as the above two instructors. Either way, I had to have full manufacturer service on my 2ndhand Azimuth so I contacted Divesafe. This was because the previous person took it all apart and I didnt know how to put it all back together. Divesafe are no longer in Vegas and have moved operations to Panama and referred me to the "only" certified azimuth repair shop (a place called diverstwo) in the usa. Even they have to ship my dosing block to OMG in Italy. Between a Dolphin and an Azimuth, I am paying like $500-1000 more to be trained on an azimuth and I am jumping through alot of hoops. Last edited by Icejon : 13th November 2007 at 07:04.
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