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Parker · 8th March 2008, 05:29

Here are some pics of my newly upgraded COPIS II or COPIS II Explorer (Meg C2X) as I have named mine. You will not find it on the ISC website 'yet' because there are only two in existence at the moment. It is my understanding that there are some differences in the two units but I am not clear on what all of those differences are. The other unit is (or was) on display at a European dive show and is awaiting it's time to get wet- but mine on the other hand is getting plenty of time in the water.

Essentially what you are looking at is a COPIS II upgrade with a redundant APECS handset/controller, battery box and HUD installed by ISC. The one in Europe was the first to be built and Jerry @ ISC graciously allowed me to have the second, by way of a special order upgrade, in order to meet my mCCR needs. Long story short- I like everything about the APECS Meg except the solenoid- not that there is anything wrong with the solenoid- I have just been diving manual rebreathers for the past 10 years and I did not want to go through the trouble of reprogramming my brain (the little one between my ears) for compatability with eCCR. So the Meg C2X gives me the redundancy that I require and the function, simplicity and reliability of the mCCR that I am accustomed to. There is a 'real long' story as to how Jerry and I finally agreed to this configuration, but I will not burden you with that. I will say that persistance pays off and that Jerry bent over backwards (literally) to meet my needs as a ISC customer.

***A bit of info on the redundant (extra) HUD-
The handsets on my Meg are basically APECS secondary controllers, one acting as primary and the other as secondary, with a slightly different software build for the COPIS II. The current software will not allow the physical HUD to be eliminated on either controller without showing an 'error' on the setup menu. This can be changed with a new software build but Steve @ ISC is busy working on APECS III for you guys so the easiest route for him, and me, was to just add an extra HUD. The extra HUD can be parked on the can or various other places or can be added to the DSV next to the other. The configuration that I am currently experimenting with (see pics) is mounting both HUD's on the DSV while disabling the one controlled by the primary handset that is mounted on my left arm. The active HUD (closest to my mask) is controlled by the secondary handset that is nicely stowed away. This gives me quick access to O2 sensor info from both handsets. Should the secondary handset/HUD fail, I can easily enable the redundant HUD controlled by the primary. Notice that the redundant HUD is offset a bit so that it can be easily seen if enabled. I haven't even tried diving the unit with both HUD's enabled as I'm pretty sure it would resemble a Christmas tree with all the blinking lights. Who knows- with both of those things blinking at the same time I could end up in a submerged hypnotic state at just the wrong (or possibly right) time.

Any feed back or suggestions, especially concerning placement of the redundant HUD, would be greatly appreciated. I don't post all that often but I do draw a tremendous amount of useful info from you guys on Rebreather World. Thanks! and...

Take Care!
Parker