Diving equipment
The fundamental item of diving equipment used by divers is the SCUBA breathing equipment, such as the Aqualung or Rebreather. There are other important pieces of equipment that make diving safer, more convenient or more efficient.
Personal equipment worn by divers
- Aqualung consisting of the diving cylinder and diving regulator
- Buoyancy Compensator, Buoyancy Control Device, BCD or BC
- Compass for underwater navigation
- Decompression tables to avoid decompression sickness
- Depth gauge is used with Watch for decompression monitoring on decompression tables
- Distance line is used to navigate back to the start point in poor vizibility
- Dive Computer to avoid decompression sickness
- Dry box to keep objects in that the diver needs to keep dry at depth
- Fins
- Diving helmet is worn by divers who need to speak and hear underwater
- Knife to cut ropes and nets
- Mask allows the diver to see clearly underwater.
- Rebreather an alternative to an Aqualung
- Diving reel is used to transport a distance line or line for a surface marker buoy
- Regulator including first stage, demand valve and contents gauge
- Underwater writing slate and pencil to transport pre-dive plans underwater, to record facts whilst underwater and to aid communication with other divers
- Snorkel
- Suit such as a dry suit, a wet suit or a skin
- Torch/flashlight is essential in low visibility or when night diving
- Watch is used with depth gauge for decompression monitoring on decompression tables
- Diving weighting system counteracts the buoyancy of the diving suit
Surface Detection Aids
The purposes of this class of equipment are to:
- allow the boat cover to find divers on the surface after a dive
- prevent the diver being run over by boat traffic on the ascent
- mark the diver's position when drift diving or while at the decompression stop
- help rescue boats and helicopters to locate the diver
Surface Detection Aids (with cheapest and most effective towards the top) include:
- Surface Marker Buoy or Decompression buoy (Delayed SMBs)
- Red or yellow collapsible flag - high visibility, robust, bungeed to cylinder
- Whistle - cheap, will only be heard by people far from engine noise
- Torch/flashlight - if at sea after night fall
- Strobe - needs long lasting batteries
- High pressure whistle - expensive but they are effective
- Orange water dye - increases diver's visibility from search helicopters
- Compact Disc - makes a good, safe mirror of sunlight or searchlights. AOL is a good source for them.
- Red pyrotechnic flares - for helicopters and lifeboats
- EPIRB (Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon)
Other types of Diving Equipment
- Airlift - a gas "powered" tube that sucks small objects, sand and mud from the sea bed that is used in nautical archaeology
- Decompression trapeze consists of one or more horizontal bars, suspended at the depth of intended decompression stops by buoys
- Diver Propulsion Vehicle - to increase the range of the diver undwerwater
- Diving air compressor - a gas compressor, which can fill diving cylinders with high pressure air.
- Lifting bag - a robust airtight bag used to lift heavy object underwater
- Underwater camera housing - for still or video cameras
Equipment used by divers from the surface
- Boats such as the rigid-hulled inflatable boat
- Diving shot consisting of a weight, line and buoy used to mark the location of a dive site, allowing divers to navigate to and from the surface and to do decompression stops at a safe location. Typically the weight is 20 kg.
- Echo sounder - a SONAR depth measuring and profiling device used for dive site location
- GPS receiver - for locating dive sites
- Proton magnetometer - for locating ferrous wrecks
- Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle - for locating dive sites
- VHF radio - for communicating with rescue services and other boats