Quote: (Originally Posted by caveseeker7)
Trey, OMG hardware tends to be pretty expensive. They build good stuff and are a military contractor. Having followed your various threads and ideas/questions, I wonder if you shouldn't just save some more and get a CCR that will suit your needs, get trained on it and dive it safely.
If you want to convert your Dolphin I recommend to research the subject well, stick with conversions that have been succesful in the past and take up people like Ron Micjan who offer help and have the experience in both converting the unit and diving it safely.
Actually Stefan, Ron was the first person I talked to when I was looking to go Rebreather...he is GREAT, but the local IANTD guy talked me out of it (because there is no real cert for it). See, some of the diving I am wanting to do, I may not be able to get on a dive boat unless I have a real cert for my unit. So, I had planned to get a SK. Unfortunately, none of the pricing that was quoted to me for a new unit has actually come to fruition and everyone wants over $3k still for their used ones...I sold my Miata to buy one for God's sakes!!! I just can't justify buying used for over 70% of new retail...
So after much hunting and missing deals, I finally decided to dust off the SCR Dolphin and TMIshop backplate (since I already had it) and get certified on something already! The whole idea about the standard reg on my Dolphin was to get around buying/using a stock small Draeger tank (my unit has very short hoses) and to make my unit more travel friendly...and an instructor around these parts said he had seen it done before and I should be able to use any reg I wanted. However, after further inspection, we both found out that the reg on the Dolphin IS NOT replacable (at least not very easily) with a standard reg for SCR use. Mostly b/c the IP is around 240PSI.
So, the hunt was on again...and I read some more about the Azi CMF unit and thought, "Jeez...this is so simple...why couldn't I do that with the Dolphin?" It was just another random and radical idea and I was curious if anyone had ever done it...seems like it would make the Dolphin so much more simple.
Sonic orifice...Mach 1 gas...whatever...
At last, I remembered yesterday that I had seen some postings for an Azi for sale on the board here...and also that the Azi was the unit origionally recommended by the local IANTD instructor that I'm taking from. Here's hoping that all this crap is history...because I think I've made a deal for one of them! As long as the pics look good, I'm gonna be the newest Azi diver!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me out by answering questions, giving commentary, saving me from making an aweful Rebreather blunder (ie, hurting myself), and just the general knowledge base that is provided for RB divers here! This site rocks and you guys make it rock! Hopefully I'll see some of you underwater soon, and while not completely bubble free, at least several fewer than what I used to make...
-Trey