Reel vs Spool Which Is Better For Your DSMB

hi sd fans welcome back to the channel i've talked about the smbs or delayed surface market boys once or twice in the past this simple tube goes with me on every single ocean dive i do and having one and knowing how to safely deploy it from depth is something that i think should apply to all divers regardless of where you are in the world in this video i'll look at the two main ways of deploying a dsmb spool unreal and i'll look at the pros and cons of both as well as some of the ways of inflating the boy itself [Music] the humble dsmb this has to be one of the most important bits of safety kit that a diver can have in their arsenal why well let me give you a few examples you're on a wall dive and you get blown off into the blue by the current without at the smb your boat cover is not gonna know where you are until you surface and if you happen to be at 40 meters when you lose sight of the wall by the time you get up top you could be literally hundreds of meters away from where they're expecting to find you you then face the prospect of drifting around on the surface hoping to be found and the diver's head poking out the water is not the easiest thing to locate this is not some far-fetched what-if scenario this has happened on numerous occasions around the world here's another one you're on a dive and through whatever reason end up with some decompression obligations that you do not have enough gas to fulfill yes i know with proper planning this should never ever happen but alas we know it does with a dsm-b you can write a message on a slate and fire it up to the surface attached to the boy so that your surface cover know what is happening down below and can bring down another cylinder and rig okay so they are two extreme examples but just using a dsm b to signal where you are at the end of a dive makes life so much more simple for your boat cover i tend to fire one up from my six metre safety stop but i have enough line to be able to send it up to the surface from 40 meters it's no good the proverbial hitting the fan and you can't launch your dsmb because you don't have enough line for the depth you are at i've seen several dsmbs that come in a little pouch with six meters of line but this severely limits their scope of use so do yourself a favor if you've got one of these bend the line and get yourself a reel or a spool now let's look at reels first this was how i was originally taught to launch the smbs and many people still prefer to use a reel for dsmb deployment now there are obviously several types of real on the market and i have seen people use small cave reels to launch dsm beats but these are not designed for that purpose and i have seen it first hand all go horribly wrong especially if they fail to adequately undo the screw that locks the real closed if you want to use a reel get one designed to deploy a dsmb these lava handle and then they basically have a trigger release for the spool basically you depress the trigger spool runs free as the smb heads for the surface once it arrives release the trigger and then you can wind the spool in to put tension on the line and keep the dsmb upright on the surface so that it can be seen you then can wind it in nice and slowly as you make your ascent as you can see they're a very simple design and they work you can choose from basic plastic versions to super deluxe metal units like this one from apex you can even find plans online to make your own out of wood so the pros are they're easy to use and they can be cheap to buy the cons are they can be quite bulky especially larger units like this one so remember that you know if you get these you're not gonna be able to store them in your thigh pocket of a dry suit or the pocket on a bcd you're gonna have to secure them on a d-ring and no one likes being a christmas tree underwater let's look at spools now these are very simple bits of kit they're essentially a spool wrapped in line which is then secured with a double-ended clip now they can be made of plastic or metal like this anodized aluminium version from apex to use you just release the clip and then as the dsmb rises to the surface loosely hold the spool between your thumb and your four finger and the line unwinds once the body's on the surface you can wrap the line back around the spool a few times to put the tension on it and raise the dsm b it is literally as easy as that winding the line back around the spool as you ascend anytime you need to make a stop you can simply secure the line with the clip to prevent it from unraveling the pros of spools are they're cheap compact and easy to use once you've got the knack and as you can see they'll easily stash in a bcd or dry suit pocket out of the way until you need it the cons are they take a little bit more effort than trigger reels to get used to especially dealing with the double ender clip but this is all down to practice now regardless of what you use practice makes perfect just you need to practice launching a dsmb you ideally want to get to the stage where sending one up to the surface is almost second nature and not a chore and this will only come with time spent in the water now here's a tip get an old dsmb and punch a small hole in the top just a small one up here you can then launch the boy from say five meters once it hits the surface the air inside will leak out and you'll be able to wind it back down to you so that you can do it all over again repetitively without having to return to the surface each time to empty it now there are many different types and size of the smb on the market some one used canister of compressed gas to fill them up these are effective they are easy to use but they're a pain to travel with for obvious reasons others have a valve that can you can either blow into or you can push your low pressure width from your bcd or dry suit on most are like this one with an open bottom nice and easy to use and there are various ways to fill this the smb style up you can use your octopus and purge a bit of air into it now this works well but it means that you're going to have to have one hand holding the octo rig and the other holding the dsmb and your reel or your spool in colder waters purging your octo repeatedly in this way can bring on a free flow so i tend to use another method i use the exhale gap from my primary regulator what i do is when it's attached i'll hold the spool in my right hand out in front of me between thumb and four finger ready to deploy and the dsmb which is attached to the line i hold it up with the bottom like this up here to the left hand side of my head tilt my head to the right and i breathe out the exhale bubbles that come out of the left hand exhaust valve go up into the dsm-b two all three accelerations and the boys ready to go as i feel the dsm b start to pull i'll move it away from me and let it go that keeps the risk of me getting tangled in the line to an absolute minimum and as i use my exhale bubbles to fill the dsmb once it's on its way to the surface my buoyancy is still exactly as it was before i started the process now i've been launching the smv's in this manner for the best part of 20 years give it a try when you're next practicing launching a delayed surface microphone it could well become your go-to method too i have seen people take out their primary regulator to fill their dsmb that's not a good idea if something goes wrong you have now not got your main source of life-giving gas in your mouth you may think that you would be able to get it back in place very quickly in case of an emergency but that is often easier said than done when it's all going horribly pear-shaped so do yourself further leave your primary in your mouth remember whichever method of filling you use the deeper you are the less air you will need to put in your dsmb to send it on its way as this will expand as it rockets skyward even from your safety stop you do not need to try and fill the boy before letting it go you just need enough gas in it to allow it to stand erect on the surface when you apply tension to the line no one wants a floppy now do they moving swiftly on have you got any hints and advice on launching dsmbs leave your comments below and if you've got a question fire away if we can answer it maybe someone in our ever growing community will be able to if you've enjoyed this video be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel and check out our playlist for more educational and inspirational videos remember as always if you're going diving stay safe and remember don't forget your dsmb

Channel: Scuba Diver Magazine

Views: 13,060

Keywords: scuba diving, scuba diving reel, surface marker buoy, scuba diving - topic, dive reel, cave reel, smb finger spool, scuba diving advice, dsmb reel, smb reel, dsmb deployment, finger reel, safety stop, scuba diver, finger spool, scuba diving (interest), product reviews, product review blogger, product review blog, scuba diving videos

Id: ggvkv8VXmAs

Length: 10min 24sec (624 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 24 2021