Kraken de Mabini

How did the defective arms fail? by breaking, unscrewing, other? Also, photos of the arms, floats, strobes and foam setups on the housing would help us readers to visualize and understand the otherwise a bit difficult to follow descriptions.

Question, as I am considering buying a pair of Z330's: What causes the shades to stick in place, is it plastic degeneration, or shrinkage or just dirt in the crack?

When I needed an adapter for my Nauticam 45 viewfinder to an Isotta housing, was told there were none. But as Isotta uses the Inon vf's, I got the Nauticam to Inon adapter from Backscatter and it works fine. In your case, maybe first ask Ikelite, or Backscatter to find one for you. In my day, Ikelite used inches (hard to believe, I know) for its equipment specs, and I hope they have switched to metric to join the rest of the diving world. But maybe the first step is to contact Ikelite, ask if they have adapters or can modify the housing to accept the Nauticam viewfinder.

Thank the three of you for the ID! Now that I know my friendly crab's name, Fred - Dardanus pedunculatus, I will send it a postcard to apologize for my absence these past few years due to the Covid virus. Fred's family has a famous ancestor: "Dardanus, in Greek legend, was the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra, mythical founder of Dardania on the Hellespont. He was the ancestor of the Dardanians of the Troad and, through Aeneas, of the Romans. According to tradition, having slain his brother Iasius, Dardanus fled from Arcadia—a mountainous region of the central Peloponnesus of ancient Greece—across the sea to the island of Samothrace. When Samothrace was visited by a flood, he crossed over to the Troad, married Teucer’s daughter Bateia and became the founder of the royal house of Troy." quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica

Rechargeable batteries will fail to charge sufficiently, sooner or later. I measure the voltage on mine after charging them, and often find one that has not charged well, or that loses part of its charge in a short time, time to throw it away. A digital voltmeter from eBay or Amazon has worked well for me.

Rechargeable batteries will fail to charge sufficiently, sooner or later. I measure the voltage on mine after charging them, and often find one that has not charged well. A simple digital voltmeter from eBay or Amazon has worked well for me.

The Subal flat ports have a flat glass window about 8 mm thick; the glass has one right angle edge and one beveled edge on its front or outer surface, held in place and sealed by one O ring. The inner surface of the port has a built-in rim for the inner edge of the glass to rest on, and a ~3 mm wide groove for the O-ring. The O ring is 2.6 mm thick, its inner diameter is the same as the glass outer diameter. The Subal dome ports use the same O-ring arrangement. Removal: The glass is removed by pressing it out with a blunt object. Installation: 1. The O ring is first lightly lubed w silicone grease, as is the outer edge of the glass and the groove and inner surface of the port. 2.The glass is installed with the beveled edge aimed to the front. 3.The O ring is laid between the port and the beveled glass, and pushed into the O-ring groove at 12 and 6 o'clock with a narrow blunt object, for for a length of 15 mm or so, then is pushed into the groove at 3 and 9 o'clock, followed by the remaining O ring. =

While diving in Lembeh Strait I met and chatted with this friendly crab, but I forgot to ask for its name. Any ideas as to its name?

Purchased two Olympus cameras with accessories and one Olympus housing, all in top shape for an excellent price from traveldave, Immediate delivery, careful. packaging, a pleasure to buy from him.

Sounds like a good plan. An inexpensive backup for a vacuum leak detector is to carry a bulkhead plug to screw into the housing if the leak detector fails. Subal plugs have 1 x14 mm screw threads and Isotta plugs have 1x16 mm screw threads, both of black plastic, with a sealing 0 ring.

A diagram of the Vivid Vacuum Leak Detector may clarify the situation, as it shows the two possible blocks to air entry to relieve the vacuum, one between the smaller disc of soft valve 3 and supporting ring 4, and another between the adjacent surfaces of electronic disc 5 and ring 6. An air block between 3 and 4, is unlikely as the soft flapper valve 3 is moved and an air gap created when it is is lifted to break the vacuum. A block is likely between electronic disc 5 and its supporting ring 6, if disc 5 sticks, from dirt or similar, to ring 6. The cure is to unscrew ring 4 from 6, and clean the mating surfaces of 5 and 6. Should ring 4 be difficult to unscrew from ring 6, then a small amount of lubricant or vinegar can be applied to the crack between them, and left overnight to loosen the threads. Or gripping the rings with a rubber strap, or some rubber and slip pliers, to unscrew them, should do the job. (Figure is from the User's Instructions of Vivid Vacuum Leak Detector, v5)

Please let us know what caused the malfunction once you have the opportunity to take the vacuum unit apart. Good luck until then!

Great progress! And please tell us more detail: What is the defect in which part?

Large Hammer applied to Tim's head or to the valve?

What is the story of this valve problem, does it have a happy ending? Please do tell.

Re strobe leaks, I have used both Inon and Sea&Sea strobes for eight or more years. I have had one Inon battery flood from a twisted cap O ring, my fault for not detecting it, but no Sea&Sea YS-D1 or D2 leaks. From looking at photos of the Sea&Sea YS-D3 strobe, its battery cap is practically the same as in previous strobes. The Inon and Sea&Sea battery caps need minimal human intervention, and when kept clean with minimal handling, they keep the water out. The weak link is us error-prone humans. As the strobe cap designs are solid, it is safe to say that most, if not all, leaks are the divers responsibility.

The two parts of a housing's vacuum system, the housing vacuum device and the pump, each has its own air check valve. The check valve in the pump allows the piston to remove the air from the housing and then expel it, while keeping the outside air from returning; the check valve in the housing vacuum device does the same while the pump is cycling and when it is removed. The check valve of my electric vacuum pump lost its seal, I replaced it with a low cost pump from eBay, and it works fine: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324186907552?hash=item4b7b0ba3a0:g:MTAAAOSw-m1ezMI5. One can make one's own by adding a click switch and a 9V battery in a small plastic box. Or one can use a small hand pump, such as a brake bleeding pump: https://www.ebay.com/itm/384478800046? hash=item5984b8e8ae:g:mC4AAOSwaV9hgN-G

Another possibility is that moisture inside the housing is condensing and fogging the trigger windows. If so, one or two moisture absorbing packs might solve the problem.

One test you can do on land to see if the strobes or their batteries are cold sensitive is to put new batteries in the strobes, test fire them, put them in the refrigerator for 30 and then 60 minutes, and test fire them again. This should tell if the batteries or circuit(s) fail when cold. If they fail when cold, you can then just refrigerate the batteries to see if the failure is in strobe circuits or the batteries. Separate and test each variable, one by one.

Super underwater video, gets even better towards the end. Great composition, lighting and editing, most enjoyable.

Some "Happy New Year" UW photo thoughts : Always check the battery charge and remove the lens cap before closing the housing, To prevent hard water spots, after every dive promptly wipe dry the housing's glass.

The title of the photo is: "Those of us who have, those of you who will..."

Congratulations to both of you, the seller and the buyer, nice equipment. This now-sold camera has a 4 " dome with a Tokina 10-17 mm lens, but no zoom gear. I am curious, as I have a a twin to this dome-lens, but have not had a chance to use them underwater, how do you suggest they be used, such as close focus, wide angle mode, or other manner? Thanks and Happy New Year to all!!

Port with O-ring, front and rear covers. Nikon lens focus ring included. SOLD ! - Thank you for watching.