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mempilot
02-18-2008, 02:09 AM
Hello everyone. Just thought I'd throw a post up in this forum. I'm diving one of the 'Movie' Megs used in the movie "The Cave".

I'm dive buddies with Padipro on the board here. We both dive Megalodons, mostly on wrecks in SE FL.

Any other Meg divers on here?

mbelair
02-18-2008, 11:22 AM
Hello mempilot

I'm diving a Meg here in Canada. Mostly quarries in winter time, the St-Lawrence river in summer.

I have two buddies that have Megs. We trained last spring in Florida.

I'll be leaving for Mexico in a month with one of my buddies.

mempilot
02-19-2008, 01:39 AM
My dive buddy Padipro and I both trained in the springs in N FL as well. Who did your training on the Meg? We trained with Jill Heinerth.

mbelair
02-19-2008, 01:55 AM
We trained last spring in Florida.


We where in the Miami area and trained with Tom Mount. We really appreciated his teaching.

mempilot
02-19-2008, 02:10 AM
Tom is a good guy. We dive with him quite a bit.

The Publisher
02-19-2008, 04:39 AM
I hear Grand Master Tom is a good guy too...but everytime I hear his name, I hear this voice in the back of my head......a melodic voice.....yet a voice that bristles with a hint of physicality....a voice that tells a story of warriors.....warriors who, who were....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zub7o3MguEg

mempilot
02-19-2008, 04:43 AM
:D :eek: :D

--------------------

mbelair
02-19-2008, 11:34 AM
Tom has a great sense of humour and when we completed the training, he gave my buddy a graduation inspired by the Kung Fu series with David Carradine.

Gabriel playing Grasshopper, had to snatch his C-Card form the Masters hand has the young boy had to snatch the pebble from the masters hand in the series.

Guscabana
05-26-2008, 08:30 PM
Hello,
how was the training with Jill?
Im looking for a meg instructor in Fl.
Thanks,
Gustavo


My dive buddy Padipro and I both trained in the springs in N FL as well. Who did your training on the Meg? We trained with Jill Heinerth.

mempilot
05-27-2008, 02:27 AM
Jill is top notch. I will use her again in the future, and I have sent many other divers to her over the last year. You can get a hold of her via her website www.rebreatherpro.com, and tell her Eric Stadtmueller sent you.

Guscabana
05-28-2008, 08:42 PM
Hi Eric,
I did my homework ;-) and checked Jill's sites before, and is easy to see She's Top. But I like to know how is a meg course? what you do during the week, lots of classroom? dives? if you like to share your experience... I like Jill also because She shoot video and photos too, and Im a photographer and makes it more interesting.
Thanks,
Gustavo


Jill is top notch. I will use her again in the future, and I have sent many other divers to her over the last year. You can get a hold of her via her website www.rebreatherpro.com, and tell her Eric Stadtmueller sent you.

The Publisher
05-28-2008, 10:10 PM
Yes, but more importantly, Jill has a Cis-Lumar Mk VP!

BeckyKagan
07-21-2008, 03:13 AM
Hi Eric,
I did my homework ;-) and checked Jill's sites before, and is easy to see She's Top. But I like to know how is a meg course? what you do during the week, lots of classroom? dives? if you like to share your experience... I like Jill also because She shoot video and photos too, and Im a photographer and makes it more interesting.
Thanks,
Gustavo


Gustavo,

I know this thread is a few months old now, but if anyone else reading it is interested in how a CCR is structured then i can share my experience. I was first certified on an Evolution. I did about 8 hours of classroom type stuff and we did 8 dives on the unit. Then, a year later I crossed over to a Meg and that wasnt as intense since CCR fundamentals were already there. That was 2 days, not much classroom mostly diving the unit and learning it. You can really do most of your reading before class, pick up the books and read them a few times. It will make so much more sense later.

Enjoy

The Publisher
07-21-2008, 05:01 AM
I do prefer the Vision electronics, especially the scrubber temp stick. I allows me to get 6-7 hours out of the scrubber when doing recreational profiles.

I have seen the Meg in person repeatedly and the build quality looks really good.

mempilot
07-21-2008, 02:13 PM
Becky hit the nail on the head when commenting about pretraining preperation. I read Bozanic's rebreather text book, as well as ANDI's Megalodon Rebreather manual. I had actually started researching CCR about two years prior to actually purchasing a unit. I had several mentors during that time that included Tom Mount, Rob Davies (RIP), and a few other locals who had purchased their units about 6 months ahead of me. The key here is, do your homework and it will go a lot smoother.

I transferred over to CCR after years of diving technical OC, so a lot of the diver fundamentals were already engrained in me. That made the concepts of CCR easier. Other than the rebreather itself, I didn't have to learn new gear or procedures like handling decompression bottles which are now called OC bailout and decompression bottles. If you are already technically inclined, then the biggest thing to get used to with a rebreather is bouyancy. It is completely different on CC vs OC, since you retain gas volume in the loop as well as any other bouyancy device like a wing or drysuit. In OC, your lungs are a variable in bouyancy. In CC, they are a constant, since you just transfer their volume to the counterlungs and back.

As for the training with Jill; it follows the IANTD curriculem and syllibus. I traveled to her, so we did our training in the springs and caverns of North Central Florida. My final few dives were in 40 Fathom Grotto with some light decompression thrown in at instructor's discression. The training for the prepared mind is not really that difficult, but I am used to using checklists and memory item recall during emergencies in my job as a pilot. This more complicated task loading and the bouyancy issue are the two hardest things to master during CC training.

You will run the gammit of rebreather failures and conditions during training:

1. hypoxia/low PO2
2. hyperoxia/high PO2
3. hypercapnia/elevated CO2
4. failed electronics/no PO2 monitoring/SCR
5. failed O2 solenoid/open and closed
6. loop flood
7. OC bailout and OC ascent
8. manually operated CCR/manual gas bypass for DIL and O2
9. removing and passing off bailout bottles
10. dive planning/constant PO2 tables
11. gas extending contingency procedures for failed eCCR/SCR

etc etc etc...

The training, while demanding, is quite enjoyable. Jill is the perfect blend of layed back and tough, and she is a joy to learn from.

Eric Stadtmueller

Guscabana
08-01-2008, 10:22 AM
Thanks for all the answers.
I been reading about rebreathers for some time, got the Bozanic manual last year, and Im doing technical diving with doubles, trimix and deco bottles, preparing for the real thing ;-) My tek instructor dive along us in his meg, and ill do a tryout before going to the course in Florida.
Im not a pilot but I allways double check my equipment, Im a professional skydiver, and better be sure of what you you have in your back before going out the door!
Can I download the meg manual somewhere?
Gustavo
Pd. I saw my instructor meg, fell from the back of his truck to the pavement, without a single damage...

mempilot
08-02-2008, 04:26 PM
Can I download the meg manual somewhere?

The best manual for the Meg is published by ANDI and can be found here (http://andihq.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AI&Product_Code=2-264)

Guscabana
08-12-2008, 02:12 PM
Jill is already booked in the dates I will be in Florida, she suggest me to contact Gregg Stanton from Wakulla Diving center. Now we need 1 to 3 more divers to fill the class, the dates are november 11 to 18, if anybody is interested please contact Gregg at g3stanton@wakulladiving.com

Thanks!
Gustavo

www.guscabana.com

mempilot
08-12-2008, 02:22 PM
Jill is already booked in the dates I will be in Florida

We will be completing CCR Cave with Jill the first week of December. :D

jingjing
07-09-2010, 09:24 AM
I'm dive buddies with Padipro on the board here. We both dive Megalodons, mostly on wrecks in SE FL.

Any other Meg divers on here?

__________________
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mbelair
07-09-2010, 11:38 AM
I'm dive buddies with Padipro on the board here. We both dive Megalodons, mostly on wrecks in SE FL.

Any other Meg divers on here?


I dive my Meg mostly in the St-Lawrence River and the Great Lakes with visits to the Mexican caves on occasion.