Black dSMB

[Helen F H]

So, any debate regarding the use of a black dSMB can be added to by these pics taken today:

Divers in the foreground, black DSMB in the background near the cliffs.



Black SMB more or less in the middle of the pic near the cliffs.



Needless to say the guy who owns it once shown these pics decided it possibly wasn't so much of a good idea and has gone back to his normal one.

Discuss at your leisure!

[JimmE]

Black dSMB

I wasn't even aware such a thing existed!!

Certainly doesn't seem a good idea in terms of surface visibility.

[jb2cool]

I love the fact that you have to give the location of hrs dSMB for us to find it in the pic.

When are they designed to work? Super bright day with tons of glare?

[Digger]

I think you'll find that I was wearing a black drysuit and just got a bit excited on deco. Again. I was at 9 The aim of it is not to be visible, it is to cool me off a bit in the wind before getting back on board

Digs.

[Frappawotsit]

A very strange design..... even more strange that somebody actually thought it might be a good idea to buy one.... something about Darwin & natural selection springs to mind!

[Paulo]

I recall someone proclaiming their virtue on here or maybe the old place not that long ago.

Could be worse, could have been a yellow and orange one

[Tunicates]

Context is everything.

Against a dark and varied background with lots of dark tones, then a light and bright coolour will be better.
Against a bright, full glare, little variation type background like the red sea - black might work well.
Certainly the one time I had to surface in the red sea busy with small baot traffic, holding up a dark blue fin was far more visible to the boat drivers than an orange SMB.

[jb2cool]

From the website;

Why black? It seems an odd choice, but in fact, in terms of visibility from sea-level, a solid black line is highly visible against both the sea and the sky in most daylight conditions. For this reason, many fisherman use black buoys and flags to mark their pots. It is also why the RAF have chosen black as the best colour to paint their training aircraft.

So really it's your fault Helen, you were in the wrong place. You should have moved the boat so that the cliff wasn't in shot. Rookie error.

I think I'll stick with orange though.

[Soggy]

I dunno you lot must be blind, i saw it straight away

[Tilesey]

Looks like the choice of the Quarrior to me

[MikeF]

look at pot marker dan buoys (that's if it's not the usual small invisible buoy) next time you're out at sea miles from land. Black ones do stand out better on a sunny day due to the contrast.

saying that I still use a red one though for the reasons shown in the photo's, and the fact that it's not been sunny in the UK for 10 years.

[dwhitlow]

I was looking at them at Eurotek and it seemed a strange colour choice.

Having replaced my yellow box with something lest fragile and more stylish I clearly need one of these: clap: A change of dryuit will complete the set and ideal for the conditions of my next Scapa trip, in November

(I am sure Rob will be very polite about the choice)

[mikey b]

Black dSMB

I recall someone proclaiming their virtue on here or maybe the old place not that long ago.

Could be worse, could have been a yellow and orange one

I ALWAYS dive with a 2-tone orange and yellow one, FAR more visible than just orange. I'm aware that some technical groups have yellow DSMB's as a signal that they're in trouble, however this probably makes up less than 5% of the diving community. Most of the skippers I use in Scotland favour the 2-tone ones, also the Coastguard surface location aid test in Diver magazine concluded that the Coastguard advised all divers to carry a 2-tone orange/yellow DSMB...

[cotochris]

When are they designed to work?

At night?


I glued a reflector on the top of my dSMB, that helps a lot to being spotted and also I believe it makes it easier to spot on radar. I also have a reflector on my hood, so far in 10 years I've had it it has attracted seagulls to dive bomb me, either with their shit or beaks; not sure which one is worse!

[cotochris]

I ALWAYS dive with a 2-tone orange and yellow one, FAR more visible than just orange. I'm aware that some technical groups have yellow DSMB's as a signal that they're in trouble, however this probably makes up less than 5% of the diving community. Most of the skippers I use in Scotland favour the 2-tone ones, also the Coastguard surface location aid test in Diver magazine concluded that the Coastguard advised all divers to carry a 2-tone orange/yellow DSMB...

I use a yellow DSMB, I've had the odd person comment that it is a 'in trouble sign' but in all my dives I have never seen one use it. As you said in technical diving maybe but I am a casual diver. Nevertheless if I am with a skipper I don't know I do mention that I have a yellow DSMB to avoid any chance of confusion.