H2O Audio Attachment Ideas

[atedeschi]

So xmas came early and my girlfriend got me a H20 audio. I was wondering for those who have one, how are you attaching it? Are you leaving it clipped to a deco bottle? I am open to suggestions. I was thinking of putting it unto a pocket on my O2 bottle and leaving it there but do you think its safe?

[cavediver256]

I had considered that same option, but I would be VERY careful about where I left my deco bottles.... but I haven't came up with a better solution.....

It will be interesting to see how others are storing theirs.

[LiteHedded]

leave it in your pocket? maybe on a butt d-ring?
how well do these things work? worth the money?
I'd be scared to leave it anywhere other than on my person in a lot of caves

[cavediver256]

leave it in your pocket? maybe on a butt d-ring?
how well do these things work? worth the money?
I'd be scared to leave it anywhere other than on my person in a lot of caves

Mine has worked flawlessly for a few years now !!! (after saying that, it will probably flood on the next dive)

[FW]

What is the depth limit? I suspect in a pocket on the Deco bottle would work, at least before posting the idea on the internet :roll:

[cavediver256]

The new ones for the IPOD is rated at 300ft.....the one I have is the much older version with MP3, can't remember the depth right off the top of my head, but I want to say its around 130ft

[aainslie]

I just keep mine in my drysuit pocket.

[atedeschi]

rated to 300', yeah im nervous about leaving it. Was thinking drysuit pocket but if i need to get my safety spools or backup light it might get in the way. Guess Ill have to dive it to find out :)

[Tegg]

I have it in a pocket on my rig. Really good for those long 4hr dives on the breather. :)

[atedeschi]

yeah thats why im excited about it, now i can watch movies on deco, instead of building structures out of shells and twings.

[amphipod06]

I have it inside a pocket that I can attach to my 70 ft bottle. I would never do a long deco w/o tunes or TV again...

Congrats on your new toy and Merry (early) Christmas!

Dive safe,

Celia

[skip]

Twigs and Shells! Twigs and Shells! TV on Deco!? Say it ain't so.

-skip

[amphipod06]

Twigs and Shells! Twigs and Shells! TV on Deco!? Say it ain't so.

-skip

It's all good Skip, you can play with twigs and shells if that is what you like... really, it's all good...

No one is going to make you watch TV... or listen to your favorite music... I promise.

Dive safe,

Celia

[Me]

Ken and I dived with a guy a few years ago......he zipped it up in the front of his wetsuit. Would work, provided you dive wet. I would keep mine in a drysuit pocket.

[FW]

Twigs and Shells! Twigs and Shells! TV on Deco!? Say it ain't so.

-skip
just 'cuz you never have any long deco... :roll:

[traveler]

For the older style of H2OAudio designed for an iRiver, the dive gear section of Home Depot sells transport tubes for them (some assembly required).

about 15" length of 3" PVC or ABS pipe
1 3" end cap
1 3" cleanout fitting
1 3" cleanout plug
2 hose clamps
2 bolt snaps
heavy cord

Assembly is fairly obvious. Cord, bolt snaps, and clamps are for rigging it like a stage bottle. Drill a hole in the center of the cleanout plug, and run a length of cord through that hole from the upper hose clamp and tie a stopper knot -- that just helps avoid losing the plug. Cut a notch (about 5/8" wide and 1 1/2" long) in the cleanout fitting, so when the plug is in place you can still pass the headphone cables through. Add several holes (about 3/8") to the pipe to let it drain or fill with water easily.

That's about it. Slap your name on it and go diving. Carry it like a stage, leave it with your deco bottles. It offers enough protection that you're very likely to actually find your MP3 player working when you get back to it (which isn't always the case with soft-sided carry methods).

I haven't seen anyone build a way to transport the new style that holds an iPod Touch, but I've had enough friends break their unprotected cases that I'm convinced it's a pretty good idea to build something along the lines of what I describe above.

[DA Aquamaster]

I have one of the older ones designed for the iRiver MP3 players and have always just carried it in a pocket on my drysuit(spare mask and deco tables in with it, spools etc in the other pocket).

The cord is long enough to to be used with it still inside the pocket, you just need to be careful to route it under the long hose, etc if you plan on using it during the dive.

In that case I also think it works better to set it up before you submerge and in particular pre s-drill just to make sure you are not creating a potential problem. I also route the cord under the shoulder strap to prevent any slack and keep it out of the way.

I removed the little mask strap hanger brackets and just tuck the speakers under my hood behind my ears and rely on bone conduction (very effective with this unit) as it is a lot more comfortable that way on long dives.

I used to use one of the partial aviator looking hoods and kept getting crap about it, so I went way over the top with the same style hood in bright green with shrek ears. People must figure it is just an intentional anti-DIR statement because they leave me alone now. :)

But the stage bottle'esque idea above sounds interesting, especially for use just on the deco stops. How do you access the buttons with it in the tube?

[billyf]

I have the IRiver version, I keep it in a Dive Rite Mask pouch, that way I can put it on my rig when listening to it or put it in my suit pocket or in my deco bag on the stage.

[traveler]

How do you access the buttons with it in the tube?
I don't. For my purposes, I only wanted to have this for long deco. During the dive I want to stay as observant as possible, and also from an enjoyability standpoint I just like being there in the moment and not letting my mind wander. So, no music for me during the dive, but I've been known to hum on occasion. ;)

Anyway, the tube just protects the case and simplifies transport. When it's time to use I slip it out of the tube, turn it on and press play, tuck the headphones under my mask strap, and then slip the case back in the tube and clip it on.

Trying to attach a few images... they show a single-boltsnap variation, but the more stage-like version I described above transports a little better.

p.s. I don't want to imply I came up with this approach -- several guys on the team have used it, and I'm honestly not sure who got the ball rolling.

[caverkevin]

I have a Dive-Rite strap on leg pocket attached to my deco bottle. The iDive300 and head phones fit in that well. I just hide my bottle well if I use it at Ginnie. For the head phones I made a head band out of the 1" flat elastic strap. Simple and easy to just slip over the hood.

[Slüdge]

the dive gear section of Home Depot

I heard you can buy enough stuff there to build a rebreather.:rollguy

[rrosepiler]

I just took some bungee and made two individual loops and attached them together with one piece. By doing this I can actually slide it on my belt. The bungee has enough give that I can pull it out and see it if I want to change the song or mess with the volume. I also made a slit about an inch onder my ears on my hood so that I just slide the earphones in my hood it works great.

[chimie007]

So xmas came early and my girlfriend got me a H20 audio. I was wondering for those who have one, how are you attaching it? Are you leaving it clipped to a deco bottle? I am open to suggestions. I was thinking of putting it unto a pocket on my O2 bottle and leaving it there but do you think its safe?

I used to leave mine in a DR pocket clipped to my O2 bottle. I have used it at Ginnie and never had an issue. I do leave my bottle inside the cave by the sign.

[aainslie]

THe earpieces are a PITA. I unscrewed the silly strap clip things. I then just loop them under the mask vaguely near my ears and crank up the volume. That way everyone in a 20 ft radius gets to hear my TV show :) In the ocean I just slide them under my hood, no holes.

[LiteHedded]

what does it sound like underwater?
is it clear?

[cavediver256]

what does it sound like underwater?
is it clear?

Well you don't have that Bose quality, but it ain't bad.

[MengTze]

Mine came in yesterday.........................I like the tube Leonard put up here. Looks like a xmas holiday project to me.

[atedeschi]

can vplanner be accessed from it while in this case?

[aainslie]

nah. There's very limited access to stuff. In fact you MUST go in and preselect whether you want to watch video or listen to music, then switch off in that state using the H2O's switch. Otherwise when you power up it says "Slide finger to switch on" or something similar. Which is infuriating... since you can't touch it...

[Benthic]

I put my iDive 300 inside this pouch (http://www.511tactical.com/browse/Home/All-Products/Accessories/Pouches/H2O-Carrier/D/30100/P/1:100:50000:50800:50811/I/58722). Fits the unit perfectly. It attaches very easily to the bands/bungee that hold the hoses on the side of a deco bottle. I leave the player with the deco bailout gas and then pick it up when I return. Like Andrew, I removed the silly mask strap brackets and just tuck the earphones inside my hood.

Brian

[atedeschi]

Thanks for the ideas its to bad I'm heading to nj until the 1st no diving for me
Can't wait to try it out