Securing The Buddy Phone To The Guardian Full Face Mask
by
Larry
"Harris" Taylor, Ph.D.
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One of the exercises in a full face mask (FFM) training course is the complete removal and replacement of the FFM. This is an exact analogy to the same exercise done with the typical scuba diving mask (often called a half-mask) encountered during initial recreational dive training.
While participating in a FFM (using the OTS Guardian FFM with an attached wireless Buddy Phone) training course, I experienced some difficulty with the replacement portion of this exercise. I noticed two potential problems hindering my clean replacement of the FFM:
1. the Buddy Phone could slide along the temple strap with potential to twist or entangle portions of the spider straps
2. the Buddy Phone communication wire from FFM to the transducer hindered access to the right jaw strap. (This was particularly frustrating.)
This is my solution to facilitate ease of FFM replacement:
1. I secured the Buddy Phone transceiver near the rear of the temple spider strap with black electrical tape (preventing movement of the device while minimizing interference with the replacement (see photo 1 below)).
2. I placed a doubled-up 12" O-Ring (Black, Buna, 12 inch diameter x 1/8 inch thick, Grainger part # 1KLL9) around the face place. The two O-Ring segments became an anchor point for a small (4 inch) black polypropylene (avoid nylon tie-wraps as the nylon material absorbs water and eventually becomes brittle and breaks) tie-wrap which was placed around both segments of the 12" O-Ring and the Buddy Phone connecting wire. This secured the Buddy Phone communication wire in the natural groove between the mask rubber sealing surface and the hard plastic shell. (see photos 2 and 3 below). Note that the excess, protruding tie-wrap segment was trimmed away. The small tie wrap kept the Buddy Phone wire between the mask and the transceiver completely free from the jaw spider strap and facilitated removal and replacement of the FFM.
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| Front | Side |
Lastly, when replacing the mask, I tilted the FFM ~ 45 degrees to the right. Gravity pulls the Buddy Phone away from the spider straps which completely opens the spider for easy replacement. Slightly tilting the head to the right while replacing the FFM allows a clean replacement with easy access to all the spider straps.
As Vince Lombardi (Legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers American football team during the 1960's) used to say, "Practice does not make perfect; only perfect practice makes perfect."
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About
The Author:
Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D. is a biochemist and Diving Safety Coordinator at the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scuba related articles. His personal dive library (See Alert Diver, Mar/Apr, 1997, p. 54) is considered one of the best recreational sources of information In North America.
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Use of these articles for personal or organizational profit is specifically denied.
These articles may be used for not-for-profit diving education