Megalodon vs Inspiration

cedricverdier

Hi all,

I just posted a new article:

http://www.rebreatherworld.com/close...spiration.html

Thanks for your comments (please don't blame me for my english!!!)

Cheers

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Cedric Verdier
PADI Course Director, ANDI-IANTD-PSAI-TDI-DSAT-DAN-NAUI-CMAS Instructor Trainer
Trimix (CCR and OC) and Cave Diving Instructor Trainer

www.CedricVerdier.com
DIRrebreather member

Explorer

Well done!! Experience is priceless. Thank you.

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bubnotbub

Hi Cedric,
I completely agree with you.
I have to thank you if now i'm diving on Megalodon and today I am as you a supporter of this exceptional rebreather.
The thing that immediatemente jumps to the eyes is the quality of every details, hoses, controllers etc., the care ofe the details and his flexibility.
A best one in rebreathers market

Thanks a lot

Regards

Aldo

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Aldo Ferrucci
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wedivebc

Thanks for posting that. My wife was the one who insisted I buy a meg over the inspo. She liked your article too

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Cheers,

Dave....

Man is the only animal burdened with the knowledge he will eventually die

jradomski

Hello Cedric,
Although I agree with you on many points, I disagree with others..

My biggest complaint about the Meg is the electronics.. Although I think they are better than something like the prism, I feel they are still very weak.

My biggest complaint is the set point control, I think its aweful... No adaptive control, just fixed injection on/off times that the DIVER must choose what suits him/her best.. Even the Inspiration Classic maintains a much tighter control.. But neither the classic or Meg is depth adaptive,but the Classic is error from SP adaptive..


I also STRONGLY DISLIKE the fact that the handsets go to sleep on you if you don;t touch any buttons even while you are submerged.. The displays should be on at all times when being used.. If you hit the menu buttonto wake it up, it now immediately takes you into change setpoint, You have to remeber to hit the confirm button to wake up the handsets to see whats going on.

The build quality of the meg is very robust, now they need some electronics to match the rig from the factory instead of having to resort to a third party supplier..

Overall I like the rig, but in my mind with the stock electronics its a toss up between a Classis and a stock meg.. Each has its stong points.

I got to build some Megs from the ground up so I appreciate all the work and testing that goes into them..

For others that may not be familiar the meg has had some changes to make the units able to pass ce..

the dsv is no longer reversable..
the right side t piece is a clockwise thread, while the left side t piece is a counter clockwise thread, so the loop cant be put together backwards..

also the connectors on the lid are unique as well, the center is clockwise while the outer one is counter clockwise..

The battery boxes have also been recently upgraded, as few units had a failure where the electronics could not be shut off..

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Joe Radomski
CCR Trimix Instructor Trainer
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All posts are personal opinions and DO NOT reflect any affiliated agency unless specifically stated.

caveseeker7

Nice article, Cedric.

You could have gone a bit into the different pre- and post dive protocols and maintainance points, from what I gather the Megs CLs for example are detachable for ease of cleaning.

Joe, you may not like PRISM or MK electronics, but they do have their strong points.
Nothing shutting off UW by itself and the diver having to fiddle with it being one of them.

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Cheers
Stefan



"Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority,
and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media,
which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.!"

Ken

Which electronics are these? APECS II? My Shearwater only goes to sleep on the surface.


BTW - Cedric.. Nice writeup! Ken

RebreatherDave

I was sort of looking for what is better about the Meg and why, and what specifically is inferior about the Inspiration and why. As an example, water can travel down the inside of the Insp Classic controller rubber hoses and corrode the microswitch, etc. I didn't find much of that type of write-up. What I did see was alot of generalities and "I like my Meg" sort of opinions.

As to flexibility, if guys want different sized cylinders, they get a lightweight DT box. The light ones don't really add weight, and the heavy ones, you just remove lead, so it is probably a zero sum game.

As to transportation, if one uses a DT box, one can pack up the Insp similarly small. If one really wants an ideal ECCR for travel, the Evo and Mini-Meg come to mind as superior alternatives to the Meg and Insp.

As to different scrubbers, considering many are getting 5-7 hours on a Vision scrubber with a temp stick, I am not sure what the advantage would be in getting a smaller scrubber.

As to robustness, I didn't see a list of what breaks on the Insp. I bet I could crack the plastic shell if I dropped it, and I have heard of the plastic clips that hold the shell together breaking, but you could break half the clips on each side or remove the outer shell all together, so it is a moot point. Additionally, the new Insp shells are shipping with the Evo rubber T clamps I hear.

As to streamlining, I completely disagree with the assessment. Talking about rebreathers being streamlined is like talking about public transportation buses being aerodynamic. I have dove the Evo and it is much easier to move about than the larger Insp. The Mini-Meg ought to be easier as well as the sport Kiss by virtue of the smaller volume, but I doubt there is much of a difference between the Meg and the Insp unless you are doing underwater timed races. Comparing the Boris as not being compact considering such was not a design criteria of the Boris is useless. The Boris is a large, extremely well thought out rebreather with a commensurate price tag. I could think of alot of design issues superior on the Boris, but of course, one pays for that.

As to flooding, talking about how one can get a superior all-but extinct Cis scrubber is like talking about using the currently being developed Expedition ECCR by AP and using the Expedition scrubber that is recoverable on the Insp. It is more or less vaporware discussion. Talking about radial cannisters being more efficient, ok, so what does my temp stik equipped Insp Vision cannister not do that I need it to do that a radial scrubber would do? WOB is excellent, packing is a piece of cake, I have never had channeling, and removing the Vision head gives my hands a fantastic workout! lol.

As to the battery compartment, ok, if it is sealed AND never corrodes, that should save one a hundred bucks every 3 years as the Insp battery terminals can get get funky. Fair enough.

As to electronics, the Vision electronics are really tricked out. As to the solenoid being close to the sensors, I never get 02 spikes, so what advantage does the Meg have?

In my opinion the axial thermistor array (temp stik) and software designed to interpret it as well as the graphical display is remarkably superior to any individual water and loop temperature readout. With the temp stik I know when the lime is activated, how much is activated and I know where the heat front is, etc.

The Vision integrated dive computer and 02 controller is quite superior to anything else out on the market with the exception of the Hammerhead that also has integrated dive/deco info and maybe the Cis. I liked the Cis being able to divert the power from the cells directly to a p02 graphical readout with otherwise total electronics failure. BUT, that had to be costly.

Metering the 02 valve handle seems to be quite easy, although in 4 years I haven't had to ever do this other than in drills.

I personally think the Meg is a really good unit, and I have heard an awful lot of good things from the limited number out there. AP has sold more rebreathers than all other manufactuers COMBINED. That in itself of course doesn't mean anything other then you would expect to hear more total volume of problems rather than adjusted for numerical superiority.

If one is going to write a comparison between the two, one needs to state which particular component is better, and why it is better, and what is poorer with the other, and why, rather than writing in generalities.

Since we are all terminal gearheads who spend more time mindlessly debating excuciatingly imperceptable differences in our beloved toys, what has failed with a particular unit is more useful then writing "mine is better than yours".

Anyway, I did enjoy reading your experiences with your unit. But constructive criticism of a units perceived comparative deficiencies would be more useful, especially from someone who has dove both units giving you a unique perspective. I am sure many would like to hear about that!

Otherwise, good job.

schford

*grins* mine too

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schford

lol you do get passionate defending inspirations Dave

and just as an aside the Meg and the Evo are the same size - the Inspy is wayyyy bigger than a standard Meg...



Here was a rough write up I did when I tried them both....

http://www.rebreatherworld.com/inspi...evolution.html

Ps I have to say though I am really really glad I have shearwater leccies in my baby....

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Bailout and Kit Management account for Murphy's Law

The only bad question is one you did not ask and later wish you had.

Use of Rebreather World is subject to the Rebreather World Terms & Conditions of Use