I love that I'm not the only one! They sent me the setup to try out and after three dives I had very limited success hearing. I was really hoping to be able to record my voice for my treasure hunting videos.
I have used professional ultrasonic comms pretty extensively (OTS SSB-2010 and the later OTS Powercom 3000D/S units). The reason that the surface transducer cable is so long is because haloclines and thermoclines will reflect and refract the ultrasonic signal, interfering with reception. The transducer ideally needs to be lowered by the surface crew to the same approximate depth as the transmitting diver(s) to minimize that problem. They are also prone to multipath interference and sensitive to transducer position. Obviously surface units are constrained to open water use. You can do diver-to-diver in overheads, but then there are other considerations which contraindicate comms in most cases. For diver transmission, you can't have anything in the mouth because that will impair intelligibility, and you can't use them deep because helium voice over ultrasonic comms is almost always unintelligible without an expensive descrambler. To use ultrasonic comms you should properly have a FFM with a vocalization space, which implies both proper training on the FFM, and a legitimate need for it which is a threshold that recreational diving rarely meets. Commercial comms are usually hardwire which allows full duplex communication. There are specific scenarios, like SAR, where ultrasonic makes sense, and ultrasonic will always be half-duplex (push-to-talk), but it is difficult to implement that well. There is a reason that the pro units cost thousands of dollars.
this comment should be pinned. excellent dive into the details. the multipath interference was probably also a major contributor to the scrambled voice in the swimming pool - smooth flat surfaces all around, perfect for reflecting sound.
It was brutal but honesty is best. Can’t improve if you don’t know where to improve. Glad you gave honest feedback and I hope they take it and run with it.
I love your reviews because it’s the only place I know that I’m going to get an honest opinion of the product. I have the Teric dive watch with the blue bezel. I wear it almost daily and I love it. I was considering the new Garmin because of all the non diving features I would use. You guys saved me a ton of money because of your review. I would have used that watch once and only once. The sound that the transponder makes would drive me insane. Every time I g on a dive, I look to see if anyone is using that watch so I can stay as far away from them as possible. Thank you for your honest reviews. I know how much money some of these companies will pay a channel like yours for a guaranteed “positive“ review. To bring in a little extra money, you guys may wanna consider doing sponsored videos for products you like as long as they allow you to make it clear it’s sponsored. Can’t wait for the end of July.
Thank you. It really is refreshing to have conversations with companies who understand we do impartial and unbiased reviews and they are still willing to send us their products. Love that.
As a diver, it would be nice to be able to speak to your buddy sometimes. I get your opinion of wanting it to be quiet and peaceful, but not everyone feels that way. Same thing as riding a motorcycle, it’s cool to be able to talk to your buddies when in a group ride with in helmet comms.
People will become complacent with this technology. Hand signals might be better because it requires the divers to remain close to their buddy to be able to visually see hand signals and communicate.
I haven't finished the video yet, but two of my concerns would be work of breathing at depth, and the additional volume that needs to be cleared if the reg falls out of your mouth underwater
The cheapest actual recreational comms setup would be an OTS spectrum with a buddy phone. Which runs $1,339, additionally you will need a second set to speak to another diver OR a comm box topside to speak with your tender. OTS has more powerful wireless comms but they go up in price significantly.
I understand the desire/need for diver-diver comms. Everything we currently do is dependent upon direct line of sight between each other. When stuff goes wrong, we typically lose line of sight relatively early (lost torch, darkness, distraction, focus elsewhere, obstacles, distance, etc). If there was an alternative to provide as even a crappy-sounding, simplex technology - it would be a great backup plan. But not this. Can you imagine the captain of a dive boat once you start hooking all this up? And it HAS to be understandable and receivable for more than a few meters (not to mention crossing a thermocline).
Did the designers have any experience diving? My jaws ache already just thinking about trying to maintain a hold on that big bulky thing. Also the incomplete water seal would be prone to cause less experienced divers to freak out.
10:40 If they want these to sell, they should at least offer them in black. 11:12 At first glance, "coil cord" (like a landline telephone) seems like an obvious solution, but constant tension would pull the divers together. This might be undesirable for cave diving, etc. Instead, the manufacturer could quadruple the length of the straight cord and then loop the wire several times. Then secure the loops in place with a "cable-management clip" or open-face strip that bites the cord loops (imagine a row of parallel, non-collinear hotdog buns). If this clip is made of a soft/compliant material, it could be tuned for a good balance between security and ease-of-release. This clip should allow the cord to reliably unwind when the cord is lightly tugged, and it would be reusable, for relooping after the emergency was resolved.
My buddy and I communicate on rebreather by yelling “hooooiiiiiyaaaa” and we echo locate each other 😂😂😂😂then just have conversations really gotta push the words into the dsv lol start it off with a “can I get a hooooiyaaaaa” and repeat
there was something that looked a lot like that 25 years ago. the 2 plastic tabs broke allot , was very uncomfortable and sounded like crap. also ended up with a lot of water in your mouth.
I use full face mask with comms for work and it is great because you are not biting down to keep your reg in your mouth and it makes it easier to talk, but when I'm on my own time diving with friend we are out there to enjoy the dive! You can to topside!
Needs a lot of refinement but it seems like a cool idea. Maybe they should try and put a mic into something closer to a standard regulator, and try to filter the audio so its easier to understand.
Well, I love honest reviews, even though I don't dive...😎 Gus, your transformation is incredible, I can't believe how good you look, with the weight loss and everything....keep it up buddy, be well, good health.....😎
First off - Can't fail to notice your "That thing ate that thing" shirt, Gus. Assume Woody has one in pink! Only viewers who watched that particular episode would 'get it' but Woody's comment was hilarious! Blimey, who invented this thing? Surely not a diver (not that I'm one) but the pitfalls/drawbacks are many.... It's complex, not user friendly, cumbersome and doesn't even work. An exxy gimmick!
@@jsomebody2289 Checked out the Dive Talk shop but it's not there so it's just a Gus 'n' Woody production. They'd need to guarantee a LOT of orders to warrant producing such. Such a laugh though!
the obvouis Answer: Why American Sign language? why not french, german, UK or another? Sing language is different for every country. And you need good Visibility. Even basic Signs like "how much air" are often not easy to see in a Lake with limited visibility. So it is very important to have signs that cant "missread".
Least they could have done with the top side receiver is put all that wire on a reel making it easy to pay out and pull back in. :) Definitely a product that needs a lot of work and far from worth $900. A for effort though, I'm glad someone is sinking in the time and money to make a product.
I'm a bit new to diving, but because I'm recently trained, there's an issue that I'm more recently familiar with that you didn't seem to address- the 'dead air' space that this adds. I know it's a big deal in full-face masks like the snorkeling ones that have been implicated in some deaths. I understand that a normal snorkel introduces more. That thing looks like it couldn't help but add more, and raise the risk of CO2 issues.
"Look Ma! My hand!" I've always been told I should be a hand model 🤣 Man, you can tell that was the end of the week - my voice is almost gone. The best part of that was trying to get you guys to understand what I was saying. Pretty sure Gus and Jonathan both looked at me like I had cotton in my mouth.
I can just imagine someone taking the reg and pulling your mask off, or at least flooding it about a second later. But why have just one emergency when you can have two? It looks unbalanced, it's going to tire your jaw, it wastes gas and it looks like sonic ducting or mulipath are going to be an issue. Clearly not ready for release for sale. And why not start with a full-face mask?
Something to add about the way you put the thing in your mouth. Those plastic twig things, not only does it look incredibly uncomfortable to be chomping down on little plastic sticks, it looks as if there is not that much material there, so that can ware down over time. What are you going to do when the tiny things give and snap off when your going for a breath. Just looks sketchy as hell.
It is a good idea, the challenge is making it work as good as it is advertised. Thank you for your honesty in reviewing this product. I am not impressed by it constantly venting air. -- pass
You can pass the octopus and keep that one in your mouth. It's ridiculous because we never see it. The big cable, just use the amount you need, the rest keep on the boat. The price, yes, not affordable. The PTT, not a big deal. But, if you can't understand what people say in a pool, then it's expensive garbage.
But that's the problem (with passing the octopus), most out of air emergencies end up with the "victim" ripping the regulator of the mouth of the closest diver they find. You don't get a chance to choose which regulator to pass.
To elaborate a bit on the advantages of primary donate: 1) This preempts the likely scenario of having your primary pulled from your mouth anyway by an out-of-gas diver in the incipient stage of panic, who may experience tunnel vision and focus on the immediately apparent source of air: the reg in your mouth. 2) This enables you to preemptively switch to your backup and offer this regulator to another diver at the slightest hint of an impending problem, and then if it turns out to be nothing, to revert to breathing it without having to restow or repackage anything. Similarly, this facilitates conducting gas sharing drills with minimal inconvenience. 3) Donating the regulator that you are breathing ensures that the out of gas diver obtains a working regulator. As the non-distressed diver who is in control and switching to your own backup, you are in a much better frame of mind to deal with a possible fouled, flooded, or otherwise malfunctioning second stage, or a gas delivery interruption as a result of an inadvertently closed valve, than is a distressed diver in need of gas. 4) Donating the primary regulator being breathed ensures that you are donating an appropriate gas for the current depth. While only of concern to technical divers, the possibility of breathing a hypoxic or dangerously hyperoxic gas is a severe risk which may be mitigated by the primary donate ethos. 5) Another technical diving concern, following the primary donate ethos means that donation procedure remains exactly the same regardless of whether one is breathing back gas, or from off-board bottom stage or decompression gases. Having a consistent procedure means that one can train for this to become a conditioned action which does not require much thought to implement, making it safer in an emergency. 6) Donating your primary second stage, when equipped with a long lose, provides some requisite distance between you and a distressed diver whose actions may be unpredictable and potentially dangerous if that distress evolves into full blown panic. 7) A backup or octopus regulator will generally intentionally be a detuned or unbalanced second stage (or optionally, a high performance second stage with cracking pressure and venturi adjustments set to high resistance settings), in order to prevent inadvertent gas loss due either to current or flow (such as when using a DPV) creating a natural venturi across the open mouthpiece, or due to inadvertent contact with the purge button / face. Donating the primary being breathed thus ensures that the distressed diver obtains the easiest breathing regulator, avoiding the possibility of compounding their distress with undue inhalation effort.
I love that I'm not the only one! They sent me the setup to try out and after three dives I had very limited success hearing. I was really hoping to be able to record my voice for my treasure hunting videos.
@@Noticing-Enjoyer random but ok!
Not it’s really terrible
@@DIVETALKPLUS Love your content btw, if you ever need to talk with someone about freediving hit me up!
I have used professional ultrasonic comms pretty extensively (OTS SSB-2010 and the later OTS Powercom 3000D/S units). The reason that the surface transducer cable is so long is because haloclines and thermoclines will reflect and refract the ultrasonic signal, interfering with reception. The transducer ideally needs to be lowered by the surface crew to the same approximate depth as the transmitting diver(s) to minimize that problem. They are also prone to multipath interference and sensitive to transducer position. Obviously surface units are constrained to open water use. You can do diver-to-diver in overheads, but then there are other considerations which contraindicate comms in most cases. For diver transmission, you can't have anything in the mouth because that will impair intelligibility, and you can't use them deep because helium voice over ultrasonic comms is almost always unintelligible without an expensive descrambler. To use ultrasonic comms you should properly have a FFM with a vocalization space, which implies both proper training on the FFM, and a legitimate need for it which is a threshold that recreational diving rarely meets. Commercial comms are usually hardwire which allows full duplex communication. There are specific scenarios, like SAR, where ultrasonic makes sense, and ultrasonic will always be half-duplex (push-to-talk), but it is difficult to implement that well. There is a reason that the pro units cost thousands of dollars.
this comment should be pinned. excellent dive into the details.
the multipath interference was probably also a major contributor to the scrambled voice in the swimming pool - smooth flat surfaces all around, perfect for reflecting sound.
It was brutal but honesty is best. Can’t improve if you don’t know where to improve. Glad you gave honest feedback and I hope they take it and run with it.
I love your reviews because it’s the only place I know that I’m going to get an honest opinion of the product. I have the Teric dive watch with the blue bezel. I wear it almost daily and I love it. I was considering the new Garmin because of all the non diving features I would use. You guys saved me a ton of money because of your review. I would have used that watch once and only once. The sound that the transponder makes would drive me insane. Every time I g on a dive, I look to see if anyone is using that watch so I can stay as far away from them as possible. Thank you for your honest reviews. I know how much money some of these companies will pay a channel like yours for a guaranteed “positive“ review. To bring in a little extra money, you guys may wanna consider doing sponsored videos for products you like as long as they allow you to make it clear it’s sponsored. Can’t wait for the end of July.
Thank you. It really is refreshing to have conversations with companies who understand we do impartial and unbiased reviews and they are still willing to send us their products. Love that.
In addition to the standard hand signals, a dive slate and a pencil, in a BCD pocket, has always served me well.
As a diver, it would be nice to be able to speak to your buddy sometimes. I get your opinion of wanting it to be quiet and peaceful, but not everyone feels that way. Same thing as riding a motorcycle, it’s cool to be able to talk to your buddies when in a group ride with in helmet comms.
I get it, I love my Cardo too, but at least I can understand what people are saying without issues
People will become complacent with this technology. Hand signals might be better because it requires the divers to remain close to their buddy to be able to visually see hand signals and communicate.
Boy I bet those sponsors were pissed
😂😂
I haven't finished the video yet, but two of my concerns would be work of breathing at depth, and the additional volume that needs to be cleared if the reg falls out of your mouth underwater
This product is absolutely ridiculous and I laughed when you said „I wouldnt even pay 9 dollars.“ 😂😂
This feels like a product not ready for market.
The cheapest actual recreational comms setup would be an OTS spectrum with a buddy phone. Which runs $1,339, additionally you will need a second set to speak to another diver OR a comm box topside to speak with your tender. OTS has more powerful wireless comms but they go up in price significantly.
Great review by the way, eventually the technology will get there.
I understand the desire/need for diver-diver comms. Everything we currently do is dependent upon direct line of sight between each other. When stuff goes wrong, we typically lose line of sight relatively early (lost torch, darkness, distraction, focus elsewhere, obstacles, distance, etc).
If there was an alternative to provide as even a crappy-sounding, simplex technology - it would be a great backup plan.
But not this.
Can you imagine the captain of a dive boat once you start hooking all this up?
And it HAS to be understandable and receivable for more than a few meters (not to mention crossing a thermocline).
I wonder how many people consider that one of the main attractions of diving is that "no one is talking!".
Did the designers have any experience diving?
My jaws ache already just thinking about trying to maintain a hold on that big bulky thing. Also the incomplete water seal would be prone to cause less experienced divers to freak out.
10:40 If they want these to sell, they should at least offer them in black.
11:12 At first glance, "coil cord" (like a landline telephone) seems like an obvious solution, but constant tension would pull the divers together. This might be undesirable for cave diving, etc.
Instead, the manufacturer could quadruple the length of the straight cord and then loop the wire several times. Then secure the loops in place with a "cable-management clip" or open-face strip that bites the cord loops (imagine a row of parallel, non-collinear hotdog buns). If this clip is made of a soft/compliant material, it could be tuned for a good balance between security and ease-of-release.
This clip should allow the cord to reliably unwind when the cord is lightly tugged, and it would be reusable, for relooping after the emergency was resolved.
My buddy and I communicate on rebreather by yelling “hooooiiiiiyaaaa” and we echo locate each other 😂😂😂😂then just have conversations really gotta push the words into the dsv lol start it off with a “can I get a hooooiyaaaaa” and repeat
Love the this thing ate that thing shirt 😊 are they for sale I so want one ❤
I remember that episode lol
there was something that looked a lot like that 25 years ago. the 2 plastic tabs broke allot , was very uncomfortable and sounded like crap. also ended up with a lot of water in your mouth.
I use full face mask with comms for work and it is great because you are not biting down to keep your reg in your mouth and it makes it easier to talk, but when I'm on my own time diving with friend we are out there to enjoy the dive! You can to topside!
Needs a lot of refinement but it seems like a cool idea. Maybe they should try and put a mic into something closer to a standard regulator, and try to filter the audio so its easier to understand.
Well, I love honest reviews, even though I don't dive...😎 Gus, your transformation is incredible, I can't believe how good you look, with the weight loss and everything....keep it up buddy, be well, good health.....😎
First off - Can't fail to notice your "That thing ate that thing" shirt, Gus. Assume Woody has one in pink! Only viewers who watched that particular episode would 'get it' but Woody's comment was hilarious! Blimey, who invented this thing? Surely not a diver (not that I'm one) but the pitfalls/drawbacks are many.... It's complex, not user friendly, cumbersome and doesn't even work. An exxy gimmick!
I'm so glad you pointed this out because I watch on mobile and I wouldn't have noticed the words
@@jsomebody2289 Checked out the Dive Talk shop but it's not there so it's just a Gus 'n' Woody production. They'd need to guarantee a LOT of orders to warrant producing such. Such a laugh though!
Used a similar mouth cup with early Divelink comms (late 90s) not very comfortable a prone to causing free flows , seems to be a remake of it
I always ask, why not learn American sign language? Its useful in so many ways. Like talking across large rooms!
Thanks for the new channel.
Requires visual. If someone is around a corner or lost or the water is dark or murky…
requires visuals is true but you do make a great point, american sign language is underrated for a lot of things even beyond diving.
I've heard about dive couples doing this, it would be pretty sweet
the obvouis Answer: Why American Sign language? why not french, german, UK or another? Sing language is different for every country. And you need good Visibility. Even basic Signs like "how much air" are often not easy to see in a Lake with limited visibility. So it is very important to have signs that cant "missread".
@@Scubamaddin Presumably, you'd only use sign language for the things divers don't already have simple signs for
Least they could have done with the top side receiver is put all that wire on a reel making it easy to pay out and pull back in. :) Definitely a product that needs a lot of work and far from worth $900. A for effort though, I'm glad someone is sinking in the time and money to make a product.
Imagine how scared the sharks would be though
Make a review please about your thoughts regarding Apple Watch Ultra as dive computer
I wouldn’t use Apple Watch. Get a garmin, shearwater or mares
I’ll stick to messaging pre set prompts on my garmin mk3i for now
I'm a bit new to diving, but because I'm recently trained, there's an issue that I'm more recently familiar with that you didn't seem to address- the 'dead air' space that this adds. I know it's a big deal in full-face masks like the snorkeling ones that have been implicated in some deaths. I understand that a normal snorkel introduces more. That thing looks like it couldn't help but add more, and raise the risk of CO2 issues.
Awesome vid!
"Look Ma! My hand!" I've always been told I should be a hand model 🤣 Man, you can tell that was the end of the week - my voice is almost gone. The best part of that was trying to get you guys to understand what I was saying. Pretty sure Gus and Jonathan both looked at me like I had cotton in my mouth.
Holy crap!!! You’d need to carry a “Spare Air” if you needed to clear that bad boy more than two or three times!!! 😂
That’s gotta be some Ai company that’s trying to figure life out 😂
That was actually pretty brave from the company to send this thing to be destroyed by Gus! 😂
Well, they sent it because they knew they would get an honest review in return. That's not always the case with TH-cam channels and content creators.
That would basically work great for deco habichats
Looks like underwater coms from wish
Nice Shirt :)
And he is a ventriloquist :O
"The worst they can say is it looks like shit" - probably some dude at divintok
Dive talk go deep dive next ?
I can just imagine someone taking the reg and pulling your mask off, or at least flooding it about a second later. But why have just one emergency when you can have two? It looks unbalanced, it's going to tire your jaw, it wastes gas and it looks like sonic ducting or mulipath are going to be an issue. Clearly not ready for release for sale. And why not start with a full-face mask?
Something to add about the way you put the thing in your mouth. Those plastic twig things, not only does it look incredibly uncomfortable to be chomping down on little plastic sticks, it looks as if there is not that much material there, so that can ware down over time. What are you going to do when the tiny things give and snap off when your going for a breath. Just looks sketchy as hell.
I don’t think it would take much to break them, and I’m not sure what happens then, buy a whole set again?
1. SHARING IS AN ISSUE. 2. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU THROW UP IN IT.
Why would they give it to you if they know it does not work?
A kirby Morgan coms set is about 130 us dollars. Just saying.
Way I feel about it if u want comms then go full facemask
I'll take "what is a full face mask" for 300 please!
Bananas!
It is a good idea, the challenge is making it work as good as it is advertised.
Thank you for your honesty in reviewing this product.
I am not impressed by it constantly venting air.
-- pass
Terrible news dude, dive gear already looks goofy to non-divers.
its almost cheaper to get a full face mask and coms ..... they don't cost much more and work lol
Ooooor just buy a rebreather 👀😂
You can pass the octopus and keep that one in your mouth. It's ridiculous because we never see it. The big cable, just use the amount you need, the rest keep on the boat. The price, yes, not affordable. The PTT, not a big deal. But, if you can't understand what people say in a pool, then it's expensive garbage.
But that's the problem (with passing the octopus), most out of air emergencies end up with the "victim" ripping the regulator of the mouth of the closest diver they find. You don't get a chance to choose which regulator to pass.
To elaborate a bit on the advantages of primary donate:
1) This preempts the likely scenario of having your primary pulled from your mouth anyway by an out-of-gas diver in the incipient stage of panic, who may experience tunnel vision and focus on the immediately apparent source of air: the reg in your mouth.
2) This enables you to preemptively switch to your backup and offer this regulator to another diver at the slightest hint of an impending problem, and then if it turns out to be nothing, to revert to breathing it without having to restow or repackage anything. Similarly, this facilitates conducting gas sharing drills with minimal inconvenience.
3) Donating the regulator that you are breathing ensures that the out of gas diver obtains a working regulator. As the non-distressed diver who is in control and switching to your own backup, you are in a much better frame of mind to deal with a possible fouled, flooded, or otherwise malfunctioning second stage, or a gas delivery interruption as a result of an inadvertently closed valve, than is a distressed diver in need of gas.
4) Donating the primary regulator being breathed ensures that you are donating an appropriate gas for the current depth. While only of concern to technical divers, the possibility of breathing a hypoxic or dangerously hyperoxic gas is a severe risk which may be mitigated by the primary donate ethos.
5) Another technical diving concern, following the primary donate ethos means that donation procedure remains exactly the same regardless of whether one is breathing back gas, or from off-board bottom stage or decompression gases. Having a consistent procedure means that one can train for this to become a conditioned action which does not require much thought to implement, making it safer in an emergency.
6) Donating your primary second stage, when equipped with a long lose, provides some requisite distance between you and a distressed diver whose actions may be unpredictable and potentially dangerous if that distress evolves into full blown panic.
7) A backup or octopus regulator will generally intentionally be a detuned or unbalanced second stage (or optionally, a high performance second stage with cracking pressure and venturi adjustments set to high resistance settings), in order to prevent inadvertent gas loss due either to current or flow (such as when using a DPV) creating a natural venturi across the open mouthpiece, or due to inadvertent contact with the purge button / face. Donating the primary being breathed thus ensures that the distressed diver obtains the easiest breathing regulator, avoiding the possibility of compounding their distress with undue inhalation effort.
This is silly. Not listening to people’s BS is a feature and not a flaw. Technology will ruin your fun if you let it.
Just use a face mask with comms. This looks stupid
Can you use a facemask with a re-breather? always wondered that. They do in the movie Sanctum, but wasnt sure if you can IRL ha
Is this real or a one of april joke. Funny indeed and only for $1000 🙂