Richard Pyle is an early adopter of technical-diving practices and is known around the world as a rebreather diver and designer. He is a highly respected Ichthyologyist (in plain English a scientist who studies fish) and he has discovered many new species of fish.

A dive with a profound effect

When Richard Pyle was 19 he was living and diving the western Pacific Ocean off Palau. During his time there he suffered a very serious case of decompression sickness and became quadriplegic.

RF3 was convened primarily as a platform for discussion of various issues that may have an impact on the safety of diving with rebreathers. It was attended by many expert presenters and rebreather divers who contributed to these discussions.

It was recognised however that the forum would also attract some divers who were not rebreather users, but who were perhaps contemplating purchasing one, or simply interested in learning about them. For this reason the program included this presentation on the basics of rebreather devices.

He has had some O-ring charts drawn up to make it easier to identify JJ main and DSV kits. 

You can download the charts by visiting this link.

Prior to this meeting the Rebreather Education and Safety Association (RESA) and the Rebreather Training Council (RTC) had been having a robust active discussion about industry-wide rebreather training standards. It seemed sensible therefore to take the opportunity for the two organisations to find a common path forward.

Mark Caney from PADI and the RTC stated "The key item to come out of this meeting was an agreement for a joint committee to look at standards issued by both organisations, and work objectively towards harmonisation of standards.

The vast majority of AP rebreather divers will have been informed of this update by email. However it has come to APD's attention that some of their registered Inspiration users have not received the mailing. This is either because the email address APD has on record is out-of-date or the mailing has been rejected by the individual's spam filter.

AP Diving has therefore made the following request.

The (34,000 Swedish Krona) package consists of a SE7EN E-module, two HP-sensors and a HUD.

The deadline for this upgrade is 24th December 2017 and it cannot be combined with any other offers. The old MKVI e-module must be returned to Poseidon and the owner will also need to either buy a M28 or a Paddle with a can connector.

Poseidon has also confirmed that there will be a minor upgrade for current SE7EN owners so that their rebreathers are solid state sensor ready.

This first standard is called "RTC Rebreather Diver Level 1," and it delineates a stage in a diver’s development where he or she is trained to dive with a rebreather to a maximum depth of 30m (100ft) with no planned stage decompression stops, and without supervision by an instructor or divemaster.

This standard will make it easier to compare certifications from different agencies, and is intended to be followed by others later.¹