SCUBA Equipment

SCUBA breathing equipment.

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 a safe start point
• Dive Computer to avoid decompression sickness
• Fins
• Knife to cut ropes and nets
• Mask allows the diver to see clearly underwater.
• Rebreather an alternative to an Aqualung
• Regulator including first stage, demand valve and contents gauge
• 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 conteracts 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
• 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
• 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

External links : Equipment Manufacturers

• (speargun)
• - Underwater digital cameras