My Visit to Scuba Museum

[SurfLung]

- I was in Cincinnati on business last week and thought to phone Rob as we were driving between locations. I was lucky to catch Rob and Barb with a couple of hours between work and an evening engagement,... "C'mon over" said Rob.
- So I finally got to meet Barb the fashion model for Allen's harnesses, Bob the wonder cat, and a quick tour of Robs vintage dive equipment collection.

- Barb and Rob were awfully gracious to show us around on such short notice. I got to see several collections and also some of the famous regs... The see-thru 50 Fathom and even the one-of-a-kind printed prototype cased Argonaut.

- And at the end of our visit, I was presented with a lovely parting gift... A beautiful set of triple tanks!
What's that you say? No? I can't keep those? Aww... SHUCKS! Ha! Ha!
- Thank you Barb and Rob, for your gracious hospitality and friendship.

[21]

Picture of the USN triple 44s would be better if the two clowns in the foreground were in the back ground and the lovely mermaid in the foreground.

Is it a dedicated museum or a garage house collection? I and I suspect others were expecting a brick and mortar type establishment.

SDM

[SurfLung]

- Clowns? Clowns? Hey, I admit I don't take too great of a picture but Rob looks exactly like himself (I myself look much better in person ).
- The Scuba Museum is not a stand alone facility but it is much more than a pile of stuff in a garage. Rob had a boothful of items packed up to be displayed at a Scuba show on the weekend. But there was still plenty to see in several glass display cases, static equipment displays, wall hanging displays, and floor-to-ceiling bin after bin of air tight preservation-archive type storage of his extensive collection.
- The only other diving museum I've been to is that one down in the Florida keys http://www.divingmuseum.org/... Also very nice but the Scuba Museum has WAY more vintage Scuba stuff.

[swimjim]

If you ever go through Rockford Illinois theres a pretty cool one there. Rob and I dropped in there one day while he was visiting Swimjim land. Bit of a side trip, but if Lake Michigan isn't cooperating it's a worth while trip. We'll have to see if we could get a tour of DESCO sometime!

[kgehring]

Dont forget there is a Scuba Museum open to the public in Indianapolis!

[SurfLung]

Off Track Discussion...
- Actually I wasn't looking for a diving museum, bricks, or mortar. Just thought the forum readers would be interested in my Pilgrimage to a famous VDH Entity.

The Scuba Museum...
- Manufacturer of Faux 50 double hose cans in blue, black, and green.
- Manufacturer of replacement silicon rubber hoses for Voit double hose regs.
- Manufacturer of replacement hourglass, curved, and straight Voit mouthpieces.
- Manufacturer of replacement double hose diaphragms.
- Ambassadors and celebrities of the Vintage Double Hose movement.
- On screen actors and models for reproduction vintage gear (harnesses, hydroglove, etc.) and vintage techniques.
- Friends and occasional diving buddies... (when I'm lucky).

So, you can see why I am pretty thrilled to have visited Rob and Barb.

[Ron]

I like Robbo man, he has done a lot for diving. Rob sold me my very first steel 72 several years ago, and I still have it. Hell, I should probably blame him for most of my vintage SCUBA addiction...him and Bryan...you bah-stads.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mORQ2KtTd4Q[/video]

[SeaHuntJerry]

Hi,
great to see Eben visiting Rob and Barb.
Nice set of tripples,the hog has some too!
Jerry

[sitkadiver]

Rob and Ms. Barb have always been very nice when I've asked questions or had dealings with The Scuba Museum dot com. I've even used his site for research prior to buying some regs.

I need to update my FX 50 thread since mine is now sporting a new Pheonix. rob was very helpful when it came time to assemble the parts necesary. I also have a couple of Voit 72's I should send his way.

Thanks for the photos Eben, looked like a nice visit.