Popular Science July 1953

[Bryan]

Besides the regulator conversion I love the part where the mud flaps are glued to the tennis shoes to make fins.....Where there is a will there is a way !! My hat is off to the Pioneers.

[JES]

That wouldn't the infamous Czech Pirate would it?

ARRRRGGGG!

[duckbill]

Besides the regulator conversion I love the part where the mud flaps are glued to the tennis shoes to make fins.....Where there is a will there is a way !! My hat is off to the Pioneers.

Well, there is vintage, then there is VINTAGE! We could still do this today. Now those along with a cartridge belt weight belt would definitely get the attention of the techies!

I've toyed with the idea of trying to make and dive one of those surplus diluter regulator double hoses shown in that issue, but they are only suitable for very low pressure and even the divers of the time considered them very unsafe.
"I personally know a number of divers who began their careers with a converted Air Force diluter regulator, and several of the conversions were quite thorough and well planned. However, not one of those divers would trust his unit in water over 30 feet deep, and all but one experienced a failure. One of the men, with what I had considered the best conversion of all, had his unit fail in a swimming pool during one of my early classes. The high pressure valve seat was blown clear out of the seat assembly, and was completely destroyed. I have not allowed surplus conversions in my classes since 1954 because of this incident.
...No other unit, or device, in diving has caused more deaths in the course of equipment failures than the home built lungs and surplus apparatus in the hands of a novice." Fred Roberts, 1963, Basic SCUBA, p.286
Might still be fun to try in a pool though. Have bystanders sign a waiver!