Underwater Navigation ... HELP

[Flyswamom]

Hi everyone. I am new to Spearfishing and absolutely LOVE it. But I get so caught up in spearfishing, that when its time to find my way back to the boat I can't, unless we are oon a certain type reef. The girl I dive with over swims by pretty far too. Not always but last several dives. It is causing friendship and marital "problems". I have never had a great sense of direction on dry land, so down below I am a mess. I check my compass to the anchor line when I go down. But those good fish don't always swim in one direction. Plus viz has sucked lately. Any suggestions ? I love this sport too much to quit.
Sandy
Odessa, FL

[Diablo Loco]

Originally Posted by Flyswamom

Hi everyone. I am new to Spearfishing and absolutely LOVE it. But I get so caught up in spearfishing, that when its time to find my way back to the boat I can't, unless we are oon a certain type reef. The girl I dive with over swims by pretty far too. Not always but last several dives. It is causing friendship and marital "problems". I have never had a great sense of direction on dry land, so down below I am a mess. I check my compass to the anchor line when I go down. But those good fish don't always swim in one direction. Plus viz has sucked lately. Any suggestions ? I love this sport too much to quit.
Sandy
Odessa, FL

If you can afford it, this might be an option that I would highly recommend. I have owned one for close to 8-9 years. Everyone makes dumb comments about peoples navigation skills, but once those same people see these in action, they change their tune and ask me where the hell they can get one. Everyone who has dove with me while using this unit is very impressed. takes me right back to the boat and I never have to surface to find the boat when I lose my bearings while hunting.

http://www.desertstar.com/Products_c...ctCategoryID=7

[kvzeyde]

Look into getting a cave reel.




.

[Flyswamom]

I have acutally looked at the DiveTracker for a while now online, but have never been able to hear from anyone who has used this device. I just emailed them to see if they would let me do some sort of payment plane. Cheaper than divorce attorney anyway, ha.
Thanks,
Sandy

[Diablo Loco]

Originally Posted by Flyswamom

I have acutally looked at the DiveTracker for a while now online, but have never been able to hear from anyone who has used this device. I just emailed them to see if they would let me do some sort of payment plane. Cheaper than divorce attorney anyway, ha.
Thanks,
Sandy

Sorry, but I don't think you can get a payment plan out of Marco or Thomas. Their primary market is Law Enforcement and Military. They only sell a limited few to the public. If you catch them at the right time, they have a few available. But if they are out of stock, you may be waiting for awhile. Every once in a while, a set will show up on Ebay. The last set i saw was about 4 weeks ago and it started at $300 and had no bids. Thought about buying the set as a backup. But I passed. I am kind of regretting now, as I have seen how much they are selling for new. I will not pass up another deal like that again.

Here is what I can tell you about the unit. You can use the transmitter in several places. I like to hang it over the side of the boat on a line. When I take the receiver, I leave it off until I need to get back to the boat. Once I turn it on, I watch the LED light meter to tell me direction and apprx. distance (yes, I said distance). It will tell me apprx. how many yards I am from the transmitter. I have not tested it out to the maximum distance of 4000' (about 400 yrds short of a mile), but I have been aprox. 2000' and it told me the range and got me back to the boat as though I were only a short distance. It is also very easy to change the batteries yourself.

Again, every one of my buddies who see this thing in action want one. Even those who were skeptics beforehand. They just do not want to pay the very expensive price. If you break down and buy one, you will not regret it.

[UnderWaterLover]

That system is sweet. Ive thought about making one for shore dives in Bonaire, you could swim out and tie this to a buoy and then drive up the beach a mile, hop in the water and know where you need to get out.

The technology is old, I would be very confident that it works well.

[Diablo Loco]

Originally Posted by UnderWaterLover

The technology is old, I would be very confident that it works well.

This company is one of the pioneers in the advanced technology. Everyone wants to make units like theirs.

Their is a unit I happen to have come across on Ebay (surprizingly), that I found to be interesting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120894584598...84.m1438.l2648

[Bill McIntyre]

Here is a low-tech approach that I used in my scuba days.

If there is a current, make sure you swim up current while hunting.

When you get down to some arbitrary tank pressure, maybe 1000 psi, surface and take a compass bearing to the boat.

Go back to the bottom and follow that compass bearing.

If there isn't any current, who cares? When you run out of air, swim back to the boat on the surface.

[UnderWaterLover]

Sonar pingers and receivers have been around for nearly 100 years, it's advanced but Desert Star did not pioneer it, only repackaged it.

The UDI system is very cool, they are likely pinging binary or something close to it. Even then, its still a modern adaptation to technology that's been around for 100 years.

So there is a great chance it's going to be very reliable.

[Diablo Loco]

Originally Posted by UnderWaterLover

Sonar pingers and receivers have been around for nearly 100 years, it's advanced but Desert Star did not pioneer it, only repackaged it.

.

I guess I meant for hand-held units. The technology has been used is sonar for boats and subs for that long, but not hand-helds. Yeah, your right. maybe not pioneers, but definitely in the forefront of the hand-held technology.

[French]

keep a compass handy.. and check your barrings often.. dont swim in every which direction, when you shoot a fish, use the landmark method(ie large coral head or something of that nature, subdue your fish, then return to your landmark and continue on course, if you decide to make a change in your general direction, do it somewhere memorable, so you can remember to turn the other direction on your way back. if you have issues remembering your previous barrings, get an underwater scribble pad and write them down. you could also just choose to dive on days where the visibility is better. you being the diver should make the decision whether you want to risk not being able to find the boat or land mark in shitty vis. Another thing is take your time, getting excited and rushed can make you forget where you are. check your compass often, and keep your self on an easy general course, until you get your underwater nav skills up. don't let some simple navigation issues deter you from this amazing sport!

dive safe!

[gcracker89]

Bi-directional text messages

Realy I can't get away from them underwater now

[Diablo Loco]

Originally Posted by gcracker89

Bi-directional text messages

Realy I can't get away from them underwater now

(LOL)

[riley's hump]

As Bill M posted, a lot of it is being aware of the environment around you and staying orientated to direction. I always keep where north is in my mind to keep my "brain compass set". Use a s simple compass, I like a wrist compass like Sunnto, to check north when you hit the bottom. Then after checking current, ripples in sand, ledge direction, etc. see what your general heading will be on your return. Check area of anchor, fix in your mind. Work into the current. With the compass and paying attention you will quickly get better.

[SteelBait]

I bought the scout about a year ago, paid $317.00 shipped from Leisure Pro and had no idea what a good price that was till I clicked on your link ! I just checked Leisure Pro's web page and it doesn't look like they sell them anymore .

It works like a champ, will take you right back to your anchor. I just hang it from my anchor rope about 15 feet up. Most of my diving is around a 100 feet so I always have a deco stop and it is so much easier holding onto the anchor rope, expecially if there is a current. I don't see how people do their deco stop in free ascent, you would wind up a mile from the boat!

You hang the big one and clip the small one to you.