SCUBA DIVING OAHU: A GLOSSARY OF SURFACE DIVE EQUIPMENT

One of the best things about being a scuba diving enthusiast is all the gear. There’s always some new gadget coming out or a new twist on an old tool or piece of equipment.

That’s one of the reasons serious divers are almost always also gear heads.

Surface Equipment

You can dive for years and still  not see all the equipment that can be used in scuba diving.

Here are some pieces of surface equipment that are commonly used with underwater diving for fun and for work.

Diver Down Flag — This is a flag tat is flown warning people on the surface that divers are in the water so they can use caution when boating or fishing in the area.

Diving Air Compressor — This device is used to fill diving cylinders with high pressure air and other gasses.

Surface Supplied Diving Breathing System — Some divers don’t use air tanks. Instead their air supply is delivered to them through a tube from a device on the surface. Typically, this system includes a low pressure air compressor, high pressure gas storage equipment, reating gas distribution panels, divers’ umbilicals, and diver’s voice communications equipment.

Dive Platforms —  These are usually attached to boats and are used by diver climbing off of and on to the vessel.

Boarding Ladders — Most scuba divers prefer boarding ladders that have a Christmas tree configuration, or a single central rail and cantilevered rungs on both sides. This allows the diver to climb up the ladder even while wearing swim fins.

Echo Sounder — This sonar device helps measure depth and identify the best dive site locations.

GPS Receiver — Finding a mapped dive site is easier with a GPS receiver. Simply go to the exact longitude and latitude and dive in.

Proton Magnetometer — This is a device used to locate iron found in shipwrecks.

Diving Chambers — These are used after long-term diving for surface decompression and to treat decompression illness.