Beach diving is an inexpensive and fun way to explorer your underwater world. I love La Jolla Shores in San Diego, it has bathrooms and showers for quick after-dive rinse, it keeps my car and gear a whole lot cleaner.

But what about when your diving in an area with out showers? I've seen surfers use water jugs/bottles to get the sand off there feet and gear but it's not as convenient when your trying to spray off sand from all your dive gear.

Enter in HotJugz. No, it's not some dodgy Internet site that you shouldn't be visiting at work but a portable pressurized and insulated shower.

It works like a hand-pressurized pesticide sprayer, you pump the handle, it pressurizes the contents and has a shower head with a coiled hose.

But wait! There's more! It also is insulated so you can keep the water hot or cold over a longer period. So, you could fill up your HotJugz (I love typing that) with hot water, do your dive, come back to your car and get a hot shower.

Brilliant!

They range in price from $50 to $60 dollars, so while not cheap they are a great idea.

Jason Rollette, an electrical engineer, and his 12-year-old son, Trevor, have simple dreams. For example, they want to showcase their home on the Parade of Homes to raise money for the local library. Moreover, they want to explore the lakes and rivers near their Milwaukee home. So they built their own ROV for roughly $300. It took them 4 days.

Fashioned from 2- and 4-inch-diameter PVC piping, controlled and powered by a laptop, and steered by a joystick, their ROV can swim more than a quarter of a mile, dive to depths of 250 feet, and watch the whole thing over the live feed the camera sends back to shore. Next up: a motorized claw for grabbing treasure...or whatever they find in the Wisconsin waterways. If you want to see how they made their ROV, they have the specs, parts list, and footage of the ROV in action on their website.

Related:

• 14-Year-Old Builds Working Sub Out Of A Pig Trough
  
• Engineering Students Make ROV Capable of Diving to 400 Feet
• A DIY ROV That Uses Atari Joysticks As Controllers
• DIY ROV for $100

[Via Digg]

Scubapro's new T-Flex rash guard can be worn under wetsuits for added warmth or simply worn on its own while snorkelling or if you get chilly scuba diving in temperate waters. The shirt is made of ultra-stretchy lycra for maximum sun protection, freedom of movement, and easy donning. Comes in black/ gray and white/ gray for men, and black/ blue and white/ blue for women.

Available in sizes XS to XXL, the T-Flex runs $40, though I'm not sure it's available in the States yet.

[Via FiNS Blog]

You've seen the bloated contents of my dive bag so today we'll take a look at something more svelte. Marc Lyng's warm water setup is direct and to the point but not as flashy as Willy's. I envy you warm water divers but at least hauling my bag around is a good workout.

If you want details on the gear in the photo, head over to Marc's Flickr page and hover over the photo.

Responding to someone's question about how to sanitize dive gear, DAN crafted a detailed response. Don't use household cleaners, go to your dive shop and buy one specially formulated for scuba diving equipment. Follow the directions and don't forget to rinse your gear with fresh water.

Really people...disinfect your gear? DAN claims there is no documented proof of viral, bacterial, or fungal infections brought on by diving.

How do I clean my gear? I hang it up outside and douse repeatedly with fresh water. Drip dry, return to storage. When I lived in an apartment I let it soak in the tub for awhile before the drip dry.

Considering my entire body is immersed in the ocean and has touched my lips and been ingested in small amounts, disinfecting my gear is probably the least of my worries.

Recently, LetsGoDigital traveled to Maldives to test the Olympus E-330 DSLR, the first SLR camera with Live View LCD, in conjunction with Olympus' PT-E02 underwater case. (Um, hello AOL? Are you reading this? They went to the Maldives!)

According to the reviewer, users can access all the buttons on the E-330 through the polycarbonate housing fairly easily. However, if shooting in manual mode, the aperture must also be adjusted, meaning two buttons have to be operated at once. Overall, the reviewer was very happy with the rig, though she was disappointed with Olympus' FL36 flash. Claiming it was "too short to use with a wide-angle lens," she noted that for wide-angle photography, you really need to use two flashes attached to longer brackets. Like it so far? Check out the photo gallery to see some sample images.

According to David Harner, "Not everyone would want to jump in a nuclear reactor. It's a definite breed." Harner should know whereof he understates, because Harner is a nuclear diver, one of those "definite breed" who dives inside the cooling reactors of nuclear power plants while wearing a specialized, 100-pound "cool suit." Claiming he enjoys diving in reactors because the vis is so good, I've got two words for him: Cayman Brac.

Interestingly, a nuke diver's logbook doesn't just track depth and bottom time. It also includes data concerning millirems, a measure of radiation exposure. Nuclear divers try to keep their exposure below 2000 millirems a year, although the government allows divers to be exposed to 5000 millirems a year. (For comparison, an x-ray delivers about 40 millirems, and people sitting too close to the television can receive up to 890 millirems of radiation to the eyes annually.)

Most nuclear power plants don't retain full-time divers. Rather, most work as subcontractors and travel as teams. If you want to learn more about nuclear diving, start with Kathryn Kranhold's profile of several nuclear divers, and after that, try these:

• Underwater Construction Corporation is the largest nuclear diving company in the world. With over 200 employees (about 5 of which are women), they travel the world offering nuclear plants the services they need. Guess what? They've got job openings right now.
  
• Both MescoDivers and The Ocean Corporation offer nuclear diver training programs.
  
• Diving Heritage has an excellent history and overview of nuclear divers, including some tiny but illuminating images of nuclear divers at work (like the thumbnail in this post).
• Valhalla, Texas is home to a missile silo that used to house a nuclear-tipped missile. While it may not be as, um, glamorous as diving in a real nuclear reactor, it's probably a lot safer and requires a lot less training.

[Thanks, CharlieK!]

I'm not sure what to say about this one... It's a "submersible" gasoline powered scooter capable of traveling 10 miles on a gallon of fuel. It's meant to tow a snorkeler and its submergibility is limited to that same depth (i.e.: less than 12 inches).

I'm not sure I want to be inhaling gas fumes since the scooter's exhaust pipe appears in close proximity to my head (and thus, snorkel). Perhaps the 3-hour run-time (or 10 miles) makes it more attractive than a battery powered unit.

It may not hold a candle to the X-Scooter or SAV-7 but it's less expensive by $2,000+.

Get yours today for $899 (unless you live in California where shipping is prohibited).

[Thanks Obizy]

Designed specifically with sailors in mind, the Velocitek S10 would be handy for people who own/run dive boats, as well. Featuring 2 over-sized buttons and 2 large digital read-outs, the S10 is a waterproof, "high-accuracy GPS Speedometer / VMG Sensor with a 10 hour GPS data logger." Designed to work seamlessly with both Google Earth and GPS Action Replay, the 0.45-pound unit allows users to download, view, and analyze the GPS data recorded while on the water.

Capable of recording latitude, longitude, time, speed and heading, the tiny unit -- fabricated from bomb-proof polycarbonate -- is waterproof to 75 feet. Although I don't think you could dive with it to that depth and expect it to record data, you could easily strap it to a float and tow it with you on a shallow dive, or *maybe* stick it in your pocket as you snorkeled. Unfortunately, the $299 unit is XP-compatible only.

[Via Waterlog]

The Mask Connection System securely connects a dive mask to a hood, preventing the accidental loss of that mask. With a unique latch on/ latch off assembly, the System is a simple, foolproof way to make sure you don't lose your mask. Once attached to your hood, you don't have to worry about carrying your mask, or having it fall off your head while you walk to your entry point. Moreover, even if one of the silicone straps break -- let's say another diver kicks you in the head, for example -- the mask will simply swing to one side of your head, but still be within reach.

A complete Mask Connection System assembly kit includes locking pins, inner posts, outer posts, and latches. The mask, the hood, and the head are all up to you.

Willy showed us some East Coast style with the contents of his dive bag. Compact and to the point. On the other hand we've got my bag throwing down some West Coast style. Neither compact or trim, it's all about bulky neoprene for Southern California waters in the range of 50-70 degrees F.

The gear is around five years old so there isn't much which needs changing, but a drysuit (or semi-dry) is mighty tempting! It's a real workout getting in and out of thick, layered, neoprene.

I've shown you mine so show me yours! Drag that equipment out of the garage, post a photo on Flickr, and tag it with "whatsinyourdivebag".

Yesterday, we told you about Alexander Nikitan, the Russian who died after diving to 300+ feet. According to an accident analysis by Jean Loup Hamacher (TDI Extended Range Instructor and PADI MSDT) who was at the scene of the accident, Nikita was conscious and asking for help when he surfaced from his dive. Having difficulty breathing, Nikitan explained that, while at 330 feet, he had lost his weight belt. Rescuers administered emergency care, but Nikitan died soon thereafter. An inspection of Nikitan's computer revealed that he had performed a normal ascent until 240-210 feet -- but surfaced from that depth in only a few seconds. He had missed his decompression stops and had not used his nitrox28 and nitrox70 on ascent.

Based on a post-accident gear analysis, Hamacher assumed the cause of the accident was probably poor gas management. With no reserve left, Nikitan likely removed his weight in an attempt to save his life when he ran out of gas at depth of 240 feet, resulting in hypoxia and massive gas embolism. For the full analysis, check out Tetis, a Russian forum, which has posted the report in English.

Here at Divester, we don't usually encourage you to put a radio in the bath with you, but we don't usually see many waterproof radios, either. This floating, rubber cartoon-y sub radio features a waterproof speaker, an antenna, full frequencies auto-scan function, and all the buttons on your "regular" radio (think: power and volume buttons).

Available in either black or yellow, the manufacturer claims the radio is suitable for ages 3 years+, but you can tell people it's for adults, you know, since it's a sub. The radio will set you back about $30, which is a very reasonable price, I think, so you can brag to your friends about the personal sub you own. Drop it in the pool with your remote-controlled shark and let them battle it out.

Last March, 5-foot, 4-inch tall Carrina Beer was doing a shore dive with her university's dive club in 7ºC (44º F) water, despite having little experience with the sport. During the excursion, her friends spotted without her regulator in her mouth and rushed her to the surface. She later died.

According to diving safety specialist Nicholas Bailey, who recently inspected Beer's gear, the 7mm men's semi-drysuit she was using was too big and "not suitable" for the conditions. According to Bailey, "Carrina was a slim girl and the suit would have been a very loose fit on her, which means it would have a very poor thermal retention. All suits are designed to be a snug fit and to allow just a little water in, but this suit would have allowed cold water to come rushing through, chilling the diver much more than it was meant to."

Apparently, the fact that she was not feeling well prior to the dive was a contributing factor in her death, which has been ruled "accidental." Her friends, who for some reason didn't encourage her to use the proper equipment, have been ruled "dummies."

SharkPoint is a digital logbook for scuba divers. Compatible with Palm, PocketPC, and Windows, SharkPoint allows users to import, save, and browse their dive data easily. SharkPoint also gives users the ability to engage in enhanced profile charting, photo album management, and Nitrox support. Currently, SharkPoint is available in three editions:

• Express (for recreational divers who just want to do the basics with their digital logbook);
  
• Advanced (for divers who want to add photos or to track dive log profile experiences in more detail); and,
  
• Professional (for divers who want it all).

A free demo is available for download. The complete software package ranges from $25 to $90, depending on the edition you choose.

[Via Scuba PRWire]