FFM on Optima?

rdmmdr

hi guys

the aga mask designed for the biopak 240 has several mods from the open circuit mask. the vents to the lens are blocked and all breathing space is limted to the nasal cup. There are no check valves to the lens area in the nasal cup. and they use the high volume lens with an antifog insert. since this design has been tested to death.for co2 build up. i think that changing it would be a waste of time, with the exception of the low volume lens and the nose block. i personally have not had to nose squeeze in the last 500 dives but that is me, so the nose block will be omited.

rick miler

cajuncaver

All,

Thanks for your replys! It is a great community we have here and I am proud to be part of it. I will do further research and as John so appropriately stated, get some time on the Optima and then make a decision. I'll check out the Divematics (sp?) website and yak with John when I see him on the 8th!

The more I get into this sport, the more I realize that it is where I find the most enjoyment!

John - look forward to having a great deal of fun and learning one heck of a lot of info (poor grammar, but aww, what the heck!)

__________________
To the Undiscovered Country...
Cajun Caver
New Orleans, LA

leptonyx

Hi Matt, I guess the ffm you are referring to is the Panorama Nova.

You can also check out my personal blog (outside this domain) where I have stated my self-declared wisdom on this as well as other types of FFM's:

http://rupert.krapp.org/2006/02/full...phantomas.html

I have been diving this mask both with OC and SCR (Draeger Dolphin) systems and would like to point out that although you get a OC version whic has a well-sealed nose/mouth area, they have a SCR version that comes witha Dolphin system, which has a fixed mouthpiece inside instead!

That of course takes away a lot of the fun of having a FFM, and also makes using the (optional) comm system a bit more troublesome that need to be. Since the mask has a total of three ports, you could even connect a third unit, i.e. your bail-out reg, to that mask as well (if you can fit it under the loop) and have loop/mouthpiece central, comm on one side and bail-out on the other. However, there is yet another drawback:

Draeger has made it very easy to connect and disconnect regs, comm systems and a scr loop to that mask. But ONLY Draeger regs, comm systems and special Dolphin loop mouthpieces...

There are some manufacturers who supply an APEKS reg also with a cylindrical Draeger-like connector (with o-ring and all) so I suppose that is the way to go, as well as get a original Draeger loop and mod it to your needs and to your system (in case you do not use Draeger already).

Attached Images

Draeger_PanoNova.jpg (34.8 KB, 57 views)