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Right across from the IANTD booth, which provides the course for the KISS
rebreathers, was Jetsam Technologies
http://www.jetsam.ca/ The
booth was nicely decorated with plenty of photographs from dive trips as
well as the units themselves. |
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Some
of the photographs were taken by Curt Bowen, who also provided this
excellent graphic of the new SportKiss. It illustrates the unusual gas flow
of the new CCR. Curt is a cave explorer, photographer and the publisher of
Advanced Diver Magazine
http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com/ Photographs of the
SportKiss, Ouroboros and other rebreathers he took during Zero Gravity 4.0
are posted on the website. ADM has supported rebreathers since its first
year, featuring articles on the PVR-BASC, the Cis-Lunar, Prism Topaz,
Megalodon and others. Back issues are available in print or on CD. This
graphic is from an upcoming article on the SportKiss, look out for it. |
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Kim
and Gordon were busy all day showing their new SportKiss inside and out, as
well as the Classic KISS CCR. Here Kim explains the stainless housed
version. |
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Gordon with his new creation, this one with the aluminium housing. It's a
few pounds lighter than the ss case, which will be appreciated by airplane travellers. Either way it's a very compact rig. (Unfortunately Gordon Smith passed away in 2006. Thanks Gordon for what you did for the rebreather community!) |
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Gordon lifting up the hoses and harness to show the very low profile of the
the SportKiss. |
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I
can't see how you can make a mixed gas CCR any smaller and get good
performance from it. Those are 2 ltr tanks mounted on the sides. (maybe there is one exception.... http://www.therebreathersite.nl/06_Homebuilders/world_smallest_ccr_by_dave.htm ) |
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And
said tanks come off easily thanks to the standard quick connect. |
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The
unit features the same tripple sensor readout as the Classic KISS, with
three O2 cells connecting to three separate displays by three cables, each
display housing its own battery. |
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It
is also equipped with Jetsam's OC bailout integrated DSV. A quick quarter
turn gets you off the loop and on your bailout gas. |
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The
KISS valve now has a moulded housing, but functions the same way as the
metal version. |
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The
moulded red connectors attach with a quarter turn. There is a safety wire
that prevents them from coming loose during the dive. This is the exhalation
side. The stainless steel hose provides the O2 supply from the valve, the
second hose the diluent for the ADV. An overpressure valve is on the
opposite site. |
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Here
the OPV and diluent T-connector. It also supplies the 2nd stage in the DSV.
The red housing connects to the scrubber cannister. |
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On
the opposite side the red connector houses the three sensors. Jetsam
supplies the small 3K1D sensors with the CCR, they are supposed to last for
one year. |
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Once
the connectors are removed, the cannister can be accessed by opening a quick
connect buckle. Here the cannister is shown upside down with one of the
breathing bags attached. While it looks very small, the cannister actually
holds 5 lbs/2.7 kg of absorbent, hence the 2.5 hrs rating. One announcement
held for DEMA is the plan to offer a second cannister that will hold 6.5
lbs/2.95 kg of absorbent. This larger scrubber will be only 38 mm/1.5 inches
taller than the one in the pictures. Still very compact. Price, date and
duration haven't been announced yet. |
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A
look inside the housing reveals an angled plate. It can be adjusted to five
settings, allowing for the counter lungs to expand as much or little as
needed. The counter lungs, by the way, come in two sizes, allowing the diver
to choose from ten different loop volumes.
(updated 25-10-2004) As many will already know, Jetsam will pursue CE certification for the SportKiss. A sensible idea as there are more Classic KISSes in Europe than elsewhere. In order to pass the hydrostatic testing, usually a problem for back mounted counter lungs, Jetsam designed small over-the-shoulder lungs for the new rebreather. |
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Those breathing bags fit between the red connectors and the cannister, and
will be held in place with buckles. Shown here is a prototype. |
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Actually, they will be more on the shoulder than over it due to their small
size. The idea is to use them together with the rear mounted lungs, not as a
stand alone. Therefore hydrodynamic drag, often criticized on O-T-S bags,
should not be an issue. |
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Maybe the best part about the o-t-s lungs is that they will act as a water
trap, and on the production model at least a water drain on the exhalation
lung is planned. Seen here is the deflector shielding the port and routing
any water from bad mouthpiece protocol into the bag. |
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On
the opposite site is the same grid as on the bottom of the red connector. |
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The Classic KISS. |
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