Sidemount regulators will also be covered. You will usually have one regulator for a long hose and one for a shorter hose with a necklace. Sidemount regs are marked, so that you can identify which tank you are using. This included a swivel joint to allow me to regulate my short hose. You will also receive 2 SPGs, one for each stage.
You should not use sidemount in your cave diver training. Our CDS Basics Orientation class is what you need.
Academics - Technical courses have similar academic requirements to other classes. Students will conduct some self-study and present their findings to their instructor. A technical course requires that you plan your dives in advance. This is a crucial step to ensure a safe and successful dive. The gas management discussion in overhead and deep diving is more complex than what most divers are used too. A computer program can be used to calculate gas volumes and reserves.
Different depths require the use of different gas mixes. The maximum partial pressure of oxygen a diver wants to dive at is 1.4 which is reached on air at 56m. Due to the water pressure the pressure of each individual gas increases and therefore we need to use appropriate mixes if we choose to go deeper. In general, the more oxygen a gas mix has the less deep we can go. A tech diver will use low oxygen mixes at depth and high oxygen mixes coming up shallower to off-gas Nitrogen faster and decrease the mandatory decompression time overall.
New gear means new techniques. If you are able to dive sidemount, it is easy to acquire new skills.
You will need the same equipment as the course to learn how to operate and set up the equipment you'll use for your tech diving training. This includes:
You can share the adventure or give the gift that never ends! PADI eLearning(r), which you can purchase and send to any recipient of your choosing, is now available! It doesn't matter if you want to give the course as a gift, or if you need to assign it to your family members.
Skills (general) – The introductory tech diver will practice their trim and buoyancy with the new equipment configuration. This builds the foundation of efficient diving. Once the foundation is there the student can practice locomotion and move on to more advanced skill practice.
Sidemount Diver Specialty may count towards your Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Ask your instructor for details.
Because single orifice duals and backmounted independencies are less common today, backmounted doubles became popular. Independents have two cylinders strapped to the back of one another with independent regulators. If the 1st stage failed, the diver would only need one cylinder. Single orifice twos were two cylinders that were connected with a regulator and a valve. A failure on the first stage would result in gas loss. Both problems are solved by the isolation manifold doubles that are used today. Each cylinder may be used independently. But, divers can also use the same regulator to breathe gas from both. These doubles are often held together by metal bands. If necessary, the valves can be connected to an isolation manifold. Backmounted doubles diving has a similar profile to regular single-cylinder dives. However, the profile is vertically identical.
Rebreathers can increase your diving skills by using smaller cylinders. This can significantly increase the dive duration, especially when used for deeper dives. Rebreathers can be mounted sideways or back. It all depends on how they are configured.
Academics – The academic portions of a technical course are very similar to any other scuba class. Students will do some self study and bring the new knowledge to a discussion with their instructor. The dive planning aspects for a technical course are significantly extended from what most individuals are used to but a vital part of executing a successful dive. In overhead and decompression diving, the gas management portions of the planning discussion will take longer than most divers are used to. They even utilize a computer program to calculate their gas volumes and reserves required for the dive.
PADI Training is available for both Android(tm), and Apple(r), iOS devices. Devices should not be older than three years old and have the latest OS (operating systems).
I'm not sure when or why I chose to take my Sidemount course. It was, as with many of my diving decisions. I think it was a case where I thought, "Oh, that looks cool. Could be useful. I'm going for it!" I knew Sidemount would be useful and something I could continue to use and improve on. Sidemount certification would be useful for me if I ever wanted to cave dive.
5-6 days
Rebreather training classes are typically 5-6 days long, but can be longer depending on a variety of factors such as the training agency, your local conditions, your instructor, and your ability to meet the class standards.
- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).