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To Scuba Sciences, Inc.
Serving Arizona Scuba Divers Since 1971!
We Made A Science of
Teaching Safe Scuba!
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News & InformationProduct Recalls
Only X650 second stage regulators purchased from authorized Scubapro dealers from November 2004 through May 2006, are affected by this recall. You can determine if you have one of these units by looking for a visible raised bump located on the right side of the regulator between the letter “C” and where the mouthpiece attaches to the regulator body.
Replacement Program
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE U.S.A. SCUBAPRO is conducting a voluntary recall of the Air 2 Converter Kit. The converter is a plastic cylinder that permits an Air 2 Alternate Inflation Regulator to be attached to a non-SCUBAPRO buoyancy compensator. The Air 2 Converter Kits were sold beginning October 8, 2003. They were also included in the box of the Air 2 Alternate Inflation Regulator beginning December 19, 2003. A break in the converter coupling could occur which will impact the diver's ability to control buoyancy. For safety reasons, if you dive with an Air 2 Alternate Inflation Regulator on a non-SCUBAPRO buoyancy compensator we ask that you immediately stop use and bring your buoyancy compensator with the Air 2 intact to your Authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer for evaluation. IF YOU ARE DIVING WITH A SCUBAPRO BUOYANCY COMPENSATOR, YOU ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THIS RECALL. Replacement Program SCUBAPRO will replace your Air 2 Converter Kit with a new one within thirty (30) days or sooner. In order to obtain a replacement, register on line by filling out the form below. After we obtain your name, address, and telephone number, a SCUBAPRO representative will contact you with the Authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer near you. All you will need to do is contact this dealer to schedule your evaluation and new replacements if necessary.
Halcyon is recalling all stainless steel power inflators. The only units affected can be easily identified by their stainless buttons and started shipping on all Halcyon BCs after Oct 21, 2003. This recall is in response to problems experienced by some Halcyon customers. Identification of the cause was unusually difficult due to the odd dispersion of these problem units. Furthermore most customers report that their units are performing flawlessly. However, there are pockets of unacceptable failures in which customers or dive shops seem to have a grouping of unreliable inflators. Given the nature of this failure, there is no way to ensure that a unit performing properly will not develop problems over time. Typically, the problem expresses itself as a slow leak into the BC bladder. The cause of the leak relates to small imperfections within the machining of the stainless air barrel of some inflators. Not all of the inflators exhibit the machining flaws. Thus, a majority of the units perform flawlessly but groupings of product might display the imperfections. We believe there to be no responsible alternative but to institute a recall of every stainless steel inflator sold by Halcyon. In order to ensure this recall occurs in the most responsible manner possible, we have contacted the U.S. Products Safety Commission and notified them of the return. They are monitoring the recall process and the return of the units. Halcyon is deeply apologetic for any inconvenience this recall might cause. We are dedicated to making the world's best diving products and to ensuring diver safety at all costs; this solution seems the only reasonable course of action. Please do not use your BC with the Halcyon stainless steel power inflator until we have had the chance to replace the suspect unit. This recall only applies to Halcyon inflators shipped after Oct 21, 2003. These units have stainless steel buttons and are easily identifiable from previous Halcyon inflators. In order to reduce the inconvenience and to return your BC to operation as quickly as possible, we are shipping new inflators to your local Halcyon dealer. You may bring your inflator to your dealer, trade it for a new unit, and have it fitted to your buoyancy compensator. Please contact your local Halcyon facility to coordinate the best time for this warranty replacement. If this solution is not feasible, please contact Halcyon using the following information:
We are the Exclusive Arizona Dealers for Halcyon, DIR (Do It Right) Equipment. Scuba Sciences' Featured in the Arizona Republic! What jobs payBy D.J. Burrough Special for The Republic Jan. 12, 2003 WHO: Paul Wagenseller, 48, a Phoenix resident who has been a scuba instructor since 1974 and currently works at the Scuba Sciences dive shop on Seventh Street in Phoenix. SCHEDULE: As with most scuba instructors, Wagenseller also works in the scuba shop, selling gear, signing up students for classes and putting together dive trips. He generally works from about 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. in the shop; then, 7 to 10 p.m., he'll instruct new divers. On weekends, he's often away on dive trips to California or Mexico. Along with an assistant instructor, Wagenseller will work with about a half-dozen students, showing them how scuba gear works and how to become comfortable under water. HE SAYS: "It's a fun job. It's not a high-paying job; you don't get paid in money but in sunshine. You get to travel all over the world." Wagenseller has logged more than 6,000 open-water dives in his career. PREPARATION: On nights when he's teaching, Wagenseller will have prepared a lesson plan for that evening's class, which is taught in the classroom or in the pool. Students are responsible for retrieving and returning the equipment, but Wagenseller will make sure it's all in the correct place, check the pool chemical levels and sweep the decking. He's usually out the door by 11 p.m. EDUCATION/TRAINING: Becoming a scuba instructor requires several hundred hours of training. It begins by becoming a basic scuba diver, moving on to advanced diving and then completing a 21-week instructor course. Upon completing that you'll serve as an unpaid assistant from six months to a year. You're ready to become an instructor only after you've completed at least 100 open-water dives. REWARDS/LIABILITIES: Spending time in great tropical locations, experiencing the wonder of the underwater world and free diving. A scuba instructor can expect to earn anywhere from $15,000 to $45,000 annually. Toughest part: Just getting comfortable with a group after six weeks of training only to see them graduate and have to start all over with another class. FINAL WORD: "Once you get comfortable with the teaching and you find areas that you enjoy, then it's a great job." Scuba
not just 'man's world' By Glen Creno It's a Wednesday night at Scuba Sciences and dive students are starting to show up for the basics class at the north Phoenix shop's indoor pool. Ten years ago, one or two of the 14 people unpacking their gear on the breezy deck might have been women. Today, eight women ranging from a self-described adrenaline junkie to a retiree planning a trip to Hawaii are about to hit the pool. "It's not a man's world anymore," said Kevin Rodgers, the shop's assistant manager. Changes sweeping the dive business have removed scuba from the realm of guy sports. New equipment, styles of training and better and easier travel have brought more women into diving. In 1990, 31.7 percent of divers were women, according to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. By the end of 2000, the percentage had risen to 34.6 percent. Paul Wagenseller, general manager of both Valley Scuba Sciences stores, has seen an even faster increase. In 1998, women made up 40 percent of the classes at the stores; now it's almost 60 percent as divers like Kim Bidle, a 28-year-old environmental consultant from Mesa, get hooked on scuba. Bidle tried scuba at a Club Med a few years ago, was certified in July and has made about 50 dives since. She's in training to become a dive master and now plans her vacations around dive trips. "It's not competitive, couples can do it together, you can do it with your friends," said Julia Day, managing director of the Leisure Trends Group, a Boulder, Colo., market research firm. Changes in the industry have made it easier for women to get involved in the sport. Women divers used to struggle with dive gear designed for men. Wagenseller said women began to flood the sport once manufacturers figured out that they were ignoring a key market and began making things like wetsuits and buoyancy controllers to fit the female shape. As a result, sales of dive gear and instruction courses are up. Total U.S. scuba sales hit $812.8 million last year, up from $770 million in 2000, according to the Diving Equipment Marketing Association. A beginning diver can be certified for about $200, then can decide whether to buy such basic gear as a mask, fins and snorkel for another few hundred dollars, or rent it on trips, Rodgers said. There are several certifying agencies. Wagenseller said dive instructors have toned down some of the "macho" training and salty language to make classes more palatable for women. Diving also has a social aspect. Divers share experiences and the sport can be a conversation starter. "It's not that people who don't dive are dull," said Adrianna Tornell, 19, a biology student at Grand Canyon University. "But it's something to talk about right away rather than your job." Deana Perry, a 31-year-old seller of vacation properties from Phoenix, is a skydiver and scuba diver who said she will do "anything with adrenaline." She has been diving in Fiji and laughs at the notion that a sport could be just for men. "I don't think there's any such thing any more," she said. Ellen Roach, 53, of Scottsdale is retired and planning a trip to Hawaii. She and her husband, Chuck, are getting certified so they can dive the islands. "The only barrier I've ever had is I don't like cold water," she said. Many dive shops offer a package dive trip, some as short as a weekend bus hop to California and others to such exotic dive locales as Fiji, Aruba, Hawaii or Honduras. Jerry Dombek, publisher of Southwest Diver, said trip coordinators have gotten more sophisticated in their planning, often holding meetings before the trips so group members can get to know one another. Another benefit is meeting people with similar interests. Bidle met her boyfriend, also a diver, through a friend who dives. "I don't think they walk in here saying: 'I'm looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend,' " Wagenseller said. "But they meet people because they spend so much time together."
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Halcyon
is committed to manufacturing dive gear that exceeds the industry's highest
standards. Nevertheless, we recognize that eventually a component could be
shipped to our customers that does not meet our expectation of quality. Even as
we do our best to ship only the highest quality gear, we will announce any
recall in a timely manner, along with the procedure that will need to be
followed to ensure a quick handling of the issue.