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NEW USER INPUT DON’T TRY TO LEARN
HOW TO USE THE FRV IN A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT. When you first learn to use your FRV, do not use it in
challenging environments, such as rough seas or in strong currents, or where entry into
your boat is tricky. We have shown that experienced FRV users can handle these
environments just fine. However the additional stress for new users can be overwhelming.
Lean to become confident with your FRV in easy, comfortable conditions before you expand
into more difficult dive conditions. UNANTICIPATED INFLATIONS New Users often experience an inflation of their FRV when they are not expecting it.
When your FRV inflates for any reason, the Computer/Console
messages the cause of the inflation event. For example, when an inflation is caused by missing the swipe interval as in 1.
above, the Computer/Console will say, INFLATION-SURFACE. If your FRV messages
INFLATION-PREMATURE DIVE, then you know that you dove before the FRV was cleared on the
surface and that you failed to swipe. Other inflation messages are self-explanatory,
DEPTH, TIME, MENU and COMMAND. When your FRV fires and you are unsure of the reason, be
sure to check the Computer/Console for the reason. FROM JOE TOBIN If you are a new owner of a Freediver's Recovery Vest,
congratulations! You have made an
important investment in your personal safety but you're not done yet. You have to start the process of practicing with
your FRV and learning how to incorporate it into your specific diving profile. It won't take long to become proficient. On your first dive excursion with your FRV, plan on experiencing
a few unintended vest inflations. It will
happen, anticipate it and bring a SCUBA cylinder to promptly refill your vest. It takes time to digest all of the information you
have received from the product DVD and the instruction manual. It will also take a few sessions in the water
learning to apply what you have learned from the instructions. The FRV will quickly become familiar and second nature to you
but you definitely have to give yourself time to learn how it operates. When you experience your first unintended vest
inflation, don't get frustrated, remember, I told you that would happen! Analyze what you did wrong. Did you exceed the time or depth setting you set
for yourself? Did you forget to swipe while in
surface minder mode? If set to surface minder
off, did you make a premature dive before 30 seconds elapsed? I'm not embarrassed to admit that I had three unintended vest
inflations in one day when I first started using my vest.
Each time, I returned to the boat, refilled and reassembled my vest and
carefully analyzed my mistakes. In the
following days of diving, I had no further unintended vest inflations as I developed a
stronger working knowledge of the FRV. Be sure
to be patient with yourself and give yourself the time you need to develop a few new
habits. Here are a few other tips from my experience as a new FRV user:
We all know how deadly the phenomenon of shallow water blackout
has been in the freediving community. Your
decision to become an FRV user was a wise safety decision.
Your best chance of survival after a shallow water blackout is to be at the
surface where rescuers can find you without delay. Make
the commitment to learn how to incorporate the features of your FRV in a way that fits
your diving situation and wear your vest every time. Adjust
your trigger settings and surface minder options conservatively with your safety in mind
and always dive with a capable buddy. BUBBLES INSIDE VEST A once quite FRV can be quite noisy if air is introduced into
the bladder. The most common cause of such air is the small amount that enters the vest
during each test dive. Rather than unplug the vest from the inflation unit, it is safer to
simply remove the excess air after the test dives by sucking air through the oral
inflator. HOW TO TELL IF CHARGING
WHEN AIR PRESSURE WARNING OCCURS After your FRV has discharged, or if the trigger depth set is
deeper than the contents of the cylinder can support, the low air pressure warning
appears. The warning will obscure the amount of charge. You can, however, manage a quick
view of the charge state while quickly pressing the middle button when the screen with the
charge will quickly come in and out of view. The charge state is written as a % and
appears in the lower right part of the display. To confirm charging, the charger LED will
turn red and the indicated charge will usually jump 10% immediately after the charger is
connected. COLLEEN’S
IDEA FOR FILLING Colleen Gallagher found that she can fill the FRV easier by
first screwing the fill adapter to the FRV fill port and then attaching it to the scuba
tank. USE THE TRAVEL BAG AND A
TRASH BAG TO SOAK YOUR FRV
Your FRV bag and a trash bag make a simple, easy soak bath. Place your FRV into a plastic garbage bag and then place it into your black carry bag. Zip the carry bag almost closed, leaving enough room for the water hose. Fill it up and then remove the FRV after flushing parts as shown in the DVD. FROM GLENNON GINGO: Glennon is a former USA freediving coach. He suggests that pliers should never be used on the cylinder valve. To prevent slippage and scaring, he suggests using a dedicated wrench, or an adjustable wrench. Because salt and corrosion can develop under the cylinder valve on both the cylinder side and the manifold side, we suggest that you unscrew both sides of the valve every few months and coat the mating surfaces and o-rings with silicone grease.
NOTES ON MANIFOLD PRESSURE
RELIEF VALVE A pressure relief valve, located near the carry strap retainer,
allows excess pressures that may build up under the manifold cover from minute leakage of
air from the inflation cylinder, and is designed to release excess pressure from between
4-7-psi. For reference, the manifold cover retaining screws begin to bend at 12 psi, and
the cover will release and jump off the manifold at 25 psi. It takes about 3 weeks of
constant pressure on the manifold to allow 12 psi to develop. Therefore, we recommend that
after one week of constant pressurization, that you remove the cylinder from the manifold.
You may remove the cylinder by either venting off the manifold, or firing the
vest—both methods are explained in the manual. CLEANING CONNECTOR OXIDATION When it is not possible to rinse the FRV during a multi-day dive trip, green oxidation can develop at the connector threads for both the computer/console cord and the charger cord. While this will not affect the function of the FRV, it is unsightly.
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Copyright 2011 Oceanic Safety Systems LLC |
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