The Universal Rebreather Monitor (Part 1)
It all started back at DEMA in 2006 in Florida when I was chatting to Kevin about his new URM. It is a slick bit of kit which comes in 2 versions:
The first is a single cell version, with a HUD and high pressure monitoring for the gas, this products main focus is to allow owners of classic inspirations to upgrade to a HUD and built in deco with out having to upgrade to a Vision of change their Head out for a Hammerhead.
The second version handles all 3 cells and is designed to be used with Manual CCRs like the Kiss which has it as an official option, or the COPIS Meg.
Well a few months ago, an emailed turned up from Kev asking if I wanted to get my hands on it and test one out - silly question really Kev!
The next day the post man arrived with something for me.....
3 Cell Version of Universal Rebreather Monitor
My First Impression of it was what a solid piece of kit it was. The secondary is a thing of machined beauty and really looks like it could stand having a twin set thrown at it without breaking.
I was also looking forward to trying a VR3, as when I had been shopping for a new computer I wanted something to generate deep stops as per the newer bubble model way of looking at decompression and at the time VPM was not an option.
As you can see from the photo above you get what I call the brain which links it all together, an optional secondary display and a HUD and mount (which OK you cant see on that photo but you will soon!). The entire kit then works with your VR3 running the latest software form Delta P.
It was all good until my next thought hit me - I run an eCCR Meg with some rather nice Shearwater Electronics on it! Hmmm what to do?
Well after a few phone calls and a little bit of thinking I came up with the simple answer - disconnect the existing Meg Electronics completely, wire in the new ones direct to the cells and fly it manually.
Now I absolutely
DO NOT recommend this but it was a pragmatic solution to enable me to test this out and I had Sarah keeping a very close eye on me I also have several hundred hours on my Meg and I only every fly it manually and use the electronics as a safety net and for deco. This time instead of my Electronics as a backup I would rely on Sarah watching my HUD.
URM Connected up to MegIn the shot above you can see both the VR3 and the Secondary display connected into the Meg along with the brain box in the bottom left hand corner. The Red LED on the secondary tells you it is about to turn off.
Now I had decided how it was all going to work I had to go get wet with it. I wanted to go some where warm and with good Vis so we could get some pictures of it in action for this article.
I didn't want to go too far and it had to be Rebreather Friendly. So back to Dive Tek in Cyprus it was then!
The Newly Enlarged Dive Tek Store
I had been out to
Dive Tek previously to dive with Rob and Johnny and this was a perfect solution, they are very Rebreather friendly, have all the gas and sofnolime you need and a large well equipped workshop and class room. Not to mention they run diving out to the Zenobia on a large stable ex Thames Fire Brigade boat.
Well out we went and I was keen to jump in the water but the first thing to sort is calibration. I am not going to step through the Meg calibration kit which I use, just how you calibrate the VR3 / URM.
All connected ready for CalibrationThe shot above shows us ready to begin calibration - I have O2 flowing through the Meg head and connected to an external analyser to double check the readings. To start Calibration step out of the screen saver screen with a quick click of any button, make sure you have O2 displayed for the right button then hold it down.....
The Calibration ScreenThe screen above shows you the start of the calibration screen - you hold both buttons to start calibrating and this gets you to.....
Flush StageOn the Meg you just skip this stage as you already have O2 flowing through your head. So a right click gets you to...
Vent StageAgain on the Meg just right click through this stage to get to the main calibration screen.
The Calibration Screen!This is the screen you calibrate on - make sure that you have 99% O2 going through your analyser (or what ever you expect to) then hold both buttons down to calibrate....
Calibration Complete.And there we have it, the photo above shows the calibrated VR3. Next Up you have to calibrate your secondary display......
Turn the CapsAll you need to do to Calibrate the Secondary is to turn the Black Caps shown in the photos with a pound coin or something similar - you should not remove the CAP as it is a pressure proof design.
Now just pop your head back onto the Meg clip in the HUD and away we go. The HUD mount that comes with the kit is a perfect fit for the Meg, I did not have to alter it in any way and it places the HUD right in front of the eye.
HUD DisplayIn the photo above you can see that there are 2 LEDs, one red and one green. The system gives you a solid green if you are within your target set point zone and flashes at you if you move outside of this zone - prompting you to check your handsets and to fix the problem.
The red LED give you your decompression information. It flashes a slow red when you move into decompression to let you know that stops are needed before ascending to the surface. When you ascend you get a solid red light when you are at your stop depth. If you exceed your stop depth you get a fast red flashing light.
It took some getting used to for me as I am used to the smithers code and always knowing my PPO2 via the HUD but with 10 hours or so on the system I began to really like it - I also really liked having deco information on the HUD.
Well back to diving - now it was all set up it was time to dive so lets load the truck up and go dive!
Ready to hit the Zen.We did most of our diving with Pete from Dive Tek (shown in the photo) and his girlfriend - they are a great laugh and could not be more helpful in terms of getting things sorted for you.
I mentioned earlier that the guys at Dive Tek used the old Thames Fire Boat and it is a fantastic dive platform - loads of room for kitting up and not much of a drop into the sea!
sploshIf you have not dived the wreck of the Zenobia you are in for a treat when you do! It sank on its maiden voyage, is only about 10 minutes on the boat out from the Harbour, is in great condition with plenty of swim throughs, opportunities for penetration and is only in about 40m of water.
The Zen!
More Zen!
Sarah swimming over some rubble
Great Swim throughs
Eggs on the Sea Floor
Stuart drops down to lifeboatAs you can see it is a great wreck for playing on but what was the URM like to dive with?
Diving with URMI really thought it was superb, I love the way that Delta P have implemented the screen saver so most of the time you have your average PPO2 in large numerals with smaller individual PPO2 readings and a few other pieces of information like depth, run time etc.
For more information you touch one of the buttons and this brings you to the standard VR3 screen, with detailed decompression information etc etc.
The thing that really blew me away was the colour screen coupled with this multi screen system, it is so bright clear and concise. It gets across the information you need when you need it. Delta P have stolen a march on the competition with this one, as it is light years ahead of anything else on the market. Though I do know we should be seeing a few more colour screens soon!
Screen Saver ModeThe other half of your handsets are the secondary display which are usually clipped off somewhere safe. This comes on when you hit a button and stays on for about 10 seconds or so. Very easy to read and I love the fact that if the VR3 dies you could continue using your backup display if you did not want to bail out. The secondary really feels bullet proof - something you are happy to trust your life with and you know will not get broken when some moron drops a cylinder on it.
The SecondaryNow that I am back from my trip and have about 20 hours or so on it what do I think of it? Well lets look at the strengths and weaknesses of the system.
Strengths
It is a really robust, feature rich piece of kit. It is versatile and can come in either 1 or 3 cell variations so that you can use it with pretty much most Rebreathers to add in a HUD and integrated decompression.
It is based on proven electronics used in both the VR3 and Ourbouros and although there have been minor issues with both of these you know you are not being a crash test dummy.
I love the Colour Display and the screen saver implementation - these are the real star features for me.
I also like the fact that you can now get VPM on the system.
Weaknesses
Well the big one is cost, this is not a cheap piece of kit - it is a quality product though, and as Kevin pointed out to me is cheaper than upgrading to a Vision.
Moving away from the KISS principle - if you bought an mccr for the KISS principle then adding these electronics are probably moving you away from why you went Mccr - that one does not bother me but I am sure it will bother some people.
Connectors - Some people are concerned about Fischer connectors and that you can disconnect them underwater. Kevin informs me they are potted on the KISS kidney and they have tested them extensively and had no issues.
Batteries - With the Colour screen, HUD and backlight always on this bad boy is hungry on the 3.6v Lithium Batteries.
Summary
I was very impressed with the kit and think that potentially this could be the ultimate upgrade for mCCRs. It also gives all the classic inspiration users out there an alternate upgrade path along with the Hammerhead and the Vision.
Perhaps the most telling thing about my thoughts is that I now have a COPIS head sitting on my desk waiting to have the URM connected up to it - read about that in Part 2!
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