DEMA 2007 - Poseideon Discovery (CIS MKVI)

The new Poseidon Discovery was launched at DEMA 2007 in Orlando, Florida. The Discovery is a electronically controlled closed circuit rebreather, the initial version is aimed at the recreational market with a depth rating of 40m.

The electronics that control the rebreather uses two cells a primary and secondary. The cells are auto calibrating and self monitoring, the cells are arranged as a primary and secondary. The unit has multiple solenoids, two of these are used for the cell checking and calibration, a diluent and oxygen. Each of these fires a slug of gas directly across the primary cell this gas passing directly over the cell. This procedure happens at start up and throughout the dive to verify that the cell is giving the correct out put for the gas and depth. The electronics have integrated decompression in a single display along with an LED Head up Display.

The loop is pretty simple neoprean over the shoulder counter lungs , a Dive Surface Valve DSV) which includes the Automatic Diluent Valve (ADV) and Bail Out Valve (BOV). The BOV and ADV are power by a Poseidon Xstream second stage; the first stages are Poseidon Xstreams. The DSV is switched from Open Circuit OC to Closed Circuit but a simple lever, this lever when switched notifies the integrated computer that the unit has been switched from OC to CCC or CC to OC and then changes the decompression calculation as required. The scrubber is axial and uses prepacked cartridges either Micropore Extenair or a sofnolime cartridge from Molecular products, there is also the option of a user packable radial scrubber. The unit has two 3 litre aluminium cylinders, the oxygen is filled to 130bar.

The unit displayed at DEMA was a preproduction model the only part that is to be changed is the hoses which will be a smooth bored hose. The unit looks well designed and thought out, there are a few things which do make you think. The first impression is that the unit is a toy the scrubber assembly looks like it is made by Mattel. From looking at the unit it is hard to see how it would stand up to the rigours of diving, the BOV lever on one of the units broke on the first day of DEMA.

There are no manual overrides for the system there is no Oxygen inject and the only way of getting diluent in to the loop is to use the ADV. The unit is very much if in doubt bailout you don’t have to option to fly the unit manually, so its trust the electronics or go OC.

What I liked:

• Novel design
• Moulding

What I didn’t like:

• Perceived lack of robustness
• Lack of bailout options / manual overrides
• The battery pod
• Fragility of the display
• Lack of scrubber duration information
• Scrubber assembly

The video interviews with Richard Pyle and Bill Stone are now avaliable:


http://www.rebreatherworld.com/video...e_CisLunar.mov
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/video...e_CisLunar.mov

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