Apocalypse Newsletter #2
On behalf of OSEL in this Newsletter I will address: 1. Production Apocalypse Images 2. ALVBOV Images 3. Answer to Questions on RBW Apocalypse Images
This is nearly a production (Matt Black) Apocalypse Type IV O2-CCR, with a 2 litre bail-out fitted for size and with the hose from the ALVBOV to the bail-out cylinder removed just for this picture (i.e. from the reg to the port closed off with a blue dust cap above. The only change to this that will be different to the units shipped to customers is the purge button will be dark orange instead of yellow and the Make_Up_Gas regulator is rotated at 90 degrees to that pictured when rigged to be dived. The PFD components are also in stock, just not fitted to the above unit for testing and they are flawless. The above images are completely without any Photoshop (we do apologise for the flaws with these images, they are rough, untouched though taken by a professional at our factory in Scotland as that appears to be what has been requested). ALVBOV Images I have some very commercial pictures, but as they actually look a lot like CAD images, the test staff photographed it as below, just laying the ALVBOV on the carpet in the lab and taking some snaps.
We have some other nice pictures that have the PFD on it: I will release images of the iCCR in full in the next newsletter, with production monitors, PFDs etc, as there should be some pleasant surprises that have been hinted at and not revealed in full.
From the front. From underneath with the whiskers unclipped so you can see the detail.
Front right.
Front left
It is possible to zoom into the above. All plastic parts injection moulded apart from the hoses, which use another moulding method. All the internal parts are fitted and appear to be functional, though the test house is still checking and will be for the next couple of weeks running through the full cycle of required CE testing. As above, these are identical in every way to those to be fitted to the production units bar CE marking and the yellow purge button being Dark Orange. Frequently Asked Questions These questions are taken from posts onto Rebreatherworld.com addressed to me: OSEL_Paul. 1. Could you please give those of us that have been waiting an eternity for a real delivery when you are anticipating this will be. We can confirm progress towards shipment as the ALVBOV mouldings arrived in good condition and they are currently undergoing the testing required for full CE certification. Whilst we would love to be able to give a specific 24hr period for the delivery of orders that are back-logged, at this point we can not do this accurately.
We understand that this lack of a distinct updated shipping date, may disappoint some, both customers and those yet to order, but this timing is an element that still remains out of our direct control following the ALVBOV/PFD being changed for safety reasons. 2. As per previous posts can you confirm what 'free' goodies the so-called 'early adopters' can look forward to receiving. This is not something that I will be covering, as those who ordered early should be fully aware of the benefits of doing so. If not, they will be able to report these benefits in full when they unpack their order. Sufficient to say, they are substantial. 3. Is the test version of the ALVBOV in Deep Life's hands, assembled, and in testing? Yes it is, as shown above. These are the actual production ALVBOVs as will be shipped to customers, other than the CE, notified body markings and colour of the purge button. The Apocalypse Type IV has 93 different individual component mouldings and all have been received, checked for tooling quality control and there are no substantial problems reported. Deep Life and the independent test houses are now rerunning some of the tests on those parts (i.e. final production parts) and are updating their compliance reports. 4. Normal commercial grade photos of the ALVBOV in this edition? No, these were left out of this newsletter as they actually looked too much like the CAD images already released. 5. Is there any way to override the cell batch detection system for times when one might be in a remote location and there is only one cell on the shelf but it matches one of the others in the unit already? Or do cells have to be purchased in pre-mismatched packs of three? The Oxygen cells will be sold to iCCR users initially in packs of 4 via OSEL approved instructors on commencing their training course, pre-mixed which will include a spare. When replacements are ordered these can be supplied of a different batch/manufacturer to those held. 6. Can you dive the iCCR with cells from 2 different manufacturers but of the same date 'batch'? Yes, provided they are OSEL spec Oxygen cells. 7. Has the EAC price promise materialised yet? The tariff import/export codes have been formalised and we expect to publish this retrospective pricing prior to orders shipping. So dependent on the quantity of EACs ordered with an Apocalypse Type IV, (either O2-CCR or iCCR) the final invoice will be updated automatically with the lower EAC cost prior to billing occurring. 8. Are orders that are placed now having their deposits charged immediately, or are they not within 4 weeks of shipping? Apart from the noted exception published on RBW, which was due to the customer electing to pay by bank transfer and then not paying their deposit, all deposits are being charged immediately and the production commitment we make is both immediate and automatic. All of our rebreather products are made to order {injection moulded components are made in large batches to reduce costs, as storage is relatively cheap, but electronics, CNC, assembly and test is booked on receipt of orders}. We are operating on a 4 month lead time for this, once the 50% deposit is received: such that for an order placed now, the customer can expect this to be delivered in October, August is delivery in November and so on. 9. I would like to see a photo of a dozen or so of any of the Apoc specific parts - such as CL, case or scrubber canister.
There are a significant number more Apocalypse specific components then listed as this rebreather has been designed from the ground up. We note that the design team has previously posted images of a large number of the custom seals on RBW along with a number of the preproduction ALVBOVs. Once we ship out the first couple of hundred orders, gatherings of Apocalypse divers should be quite easy to see in sizes of a dozen or more, location dependent. As the majority of our current client base are members of RBW and other like rebreather centric diving forums, we expect independently published images of multiple units will be quite common following shipment. 10. Be nicer to see a dozen Completed Apocs minus the long awaited ALBOV. As above, we shortly look forward to seeing our customers with their units. 11. Have you had any requests for the RF stuff from outside manufacturers? Have you given it to them. Requests: Yes, several covering the larger majority of applicable manufacturers, which is good as it will offer the Apocalypse iCCR diver a choice of a wide range of complimentary dive computer products. As regards giving it to outside manufacturers, packages containing all of the required RF data are being sent out this week. 12. Are there any outside suppliers with prototype or finished monitors/computers. Some have stated publicly that they have. Other than point this out, OSEL do not intend to comment on the actions or the status of other companies. 13. What is your projected turn around time on the annual service. 3 weeks, provided the ALVBOV or Monitor Pods have not been physically damaged. 14. Would it be possible to a web based cross over training for people with existing CCR certs? Read a manual take a test? Perhaps with a check out dive if the above is not completely acceptable. Sorry but our licence terms agreed with Deep Life require us to have the same passion for safety as they are famous / infamous for. This mandates a training programme for every diver. Those early adopters who contractually do not need to be trained on the Apocalypse, are still expected to source appropriate training if they do not already have it. Based on the details we have of customers, and the number of potential instructors we have listed, the number of early adopters who are not currently rebreather trained and have ordered the complete iCCR is a very small number. 15. Will you be including a bottle of 20 year old single malt for people who paid deposits in 2008? No, though we do understand that the design team have a standing offer for a bottle of single malt if a new safety fault is found in the design of our rebreather product. We are not sure of the age of the whisky, but are assured that it is respectable. 16. Perhaps you should raise the price and include the first years service for free, perhaps including a freight paid label. As the cost to customer would be the same at the end of the day, we don’t see any point in this as a business practice. 17. How about a case for monitor that can serve as the shipping box so it wouldn't be damaged in route. The monitor case that is supplied with the monitors should be sufficient with correct packing and the use of bubble wrap. The state of each Monitor/ALVBOV will be recorded on receipt at the factory.
18. Any news on the FFM, FFM adapter for the BOV, the computer? Our current focus is on the Apocalypse Type IV release, once the backlog of orders from this are shipped, we will then commence negotiations with Deep Life for the accessory options for the Apocalypse Type IV to be released, particularly the OSEL wireless iCCR compatible mixed gas dive computer and FFM option. 19. Any news on the heated undergarments? These are for professional umbilical commercial diving use only, information of which is available to those who need it through Deep Life and their commercial clients. 20. Do you have procedures for locations where their is only 96% O2 in the manual? Yes: Frequent flushing of the loop and reducing the depth dived. 21. How does the electronics deal with narcosis from high Argon levels in the loop? It recognises that you are not using pure oxygen. The requirement is then to flush the loop every 20mins whilst breathing off it, if you are not using pure Oxygen (within 1%). 22. Does the monitor when operating in O2 mode, indicate when an incomplete initial purge is done? Yes, in that the set point is not achieved. Please note that the iCCR Monitor does not have a specific Oxygen mode, and even when only using Oxygen it is still a fully functional mixed gas PPo2 and CO2 monitor. The O2-CCR is sold as just an Oxygen rebreather with no monitoring at all. 23. Any word on when the dual scrubber version will be available from NA90? As per other ancillary options, let us successfully ship the Apocalypse Type IV out first. Deep Life will not release anything else to OSEL until the Apocalypse Type IV (both O2-CCR and iCCR) are shipping smoothly. This is our goal in any case, and we would not want to spread our effort across other products until the Apocalypse Type IV is shipping regularly and on time. 24. Will you be allowing/encouraging "recreational" (non-deco, I guess) to use light trimix. If not why not. Yes, this is a basic design criterion of the Apocalypse iCCR: it has a helium sensor and trimix decompression capability as standard, and a trimix gas monitor built into the CO2 sensing pod. Trimix/Heliox is recommended below 30m to alleviate narcosis. 25. What will be the official time/depth limits for this "recreational" unit. iCCR Official duration: 2 hrs 45 minutes depth independent to 2kPa CO2 (NORSOK limit). Official Depth Limit: 80m on Trimix/Heliox, 30m using Air as Make_Up_Gas. O2-CCR Official duration: 45 minutes (purely due to CNS limits, scrubber duration remains 2 hrs 45 min) Official Depth Limit: 6m on pure Oxygen as no PPo2 monitoring is supplied. 26. How many of the early adopters do you expect to abide by these. We expect ALL early adopters to abide by these recommendations as they are there for the safety of the diver. To encourage this, the full compliance test data is being published, to allow end users to understand why these limits have been set. Those iCCR divers that don’t abide by these limits, we will know about when their data is downloaded during annual service, if they do not end up being added to an accident list as yet another statistic. It is the intent to use the downloaded data, stripped of user identifiers, to give
both OSEL and Deep Life knowledge of how safe a properly designed eCCR that is designed to work 24 x 7 will be in recreational hands. 27. Will you provide software to the end users or third parties to download the iCCR dive logs. Yes. There are no hidden files or sections not available to the end user to download. The user can download all data and store it in a human and Excel readable form. 28. What is the depth and time resolution of the integrated iCCR dive log. 1 cm 1 second when diving. 10s when not diving. 29. If the integrated 2L oxygen cylinder isn't taken, with the idea of using whatever oxygen cylinders are available at your destination, what does that drop the iCCRs travel weight to {minus lead & all cylinders}? Depending on exactly what is removed from the shipped stock configuration, and what is available at a divers destination the travel weight of the Apoc iCCR can be less then 8kg: noting that it is recommended that the ALVBOV and Monitor Pods be hand carried in their protective case anyway to minimise physical shock damage to the oxygen cells, as well as the regulators being removable. With the 4 different factory selectable harness options, this will alter the weight slightly, dependent on which option is used and the divers personnel equipment still needs to be carried as well as EACs if these are not yet stocked at the destination. The minimum dive weight will remain at 17kg, inclusive of scrubber and 4kg trim weight, dependent on the cylinders that are used. We understand that EACs are not currently available at all remote diving destinations; this is something that we expect will correct itself over time. 30. Who exactly is doing the independent testing of the Apoc? Deep Life, who are the Design Authority for the Apocalypse rebreathers, use six different laboratories. Deep Life use the Baltic Assessment Institute for their rebreather performance tests (and have always done so), along with other test centres in Europe and the USA. 31. How does this independent testing tie in with the work that SGS/SIRA (or whoever the notified body is) is doing, auditing it for EN14143:2003? SIRA Certification are the EN 61508 auditors for Deep Life. SIRA Certification are part of CSA Certification, a $100mn/year global conformity assessment company. The SIRA audits are very deep and cover the specification management, design, testing and verification, manufacture and end of life processes that the Apocalypse Type IV lives within. The EN 61508 audit also encompasses all OSEL activities that relate to the rebreather. Deep Life have elected for complete EN 61508 lifecycle audit of the entire process rather than just the product design: this the most stringent safety audit and certification process available. OSEL licence the product and process from Deep Life. SGS UK Ltd are the Notified Body for the rebreather. SGS audit the tests and the work done in the test houses. BVQI have independently audited Deep Life (Deep Life is ISO 9001 accredited), and BSI audit the manufacturing plant where the Apocalypse Type IV is produced to ISO 9002 (for production of safety critical systems). All test houses used by Deep Life are ISO 9000 certified and many are ISO 17025 accredited. 32. If it is the Baltic Assessment Institute that is independently testing the Apoc, what is so special about that particular testing agency other then the ISO9001 accreditation?
Deep Life Ltd carried out the largest part of its rebreather development in St Petersburg, and as they built up their rebreather development activity there from 2000 onwards, they mirrored it with investment in local independent test and verification facilities, namely the Baltic Assessment Institute. Whilst the two organisations have extremely well integrated systems (given the scale of the investment and activity by Deep Life, they should be), no staff or organisation is involved in both design and verification of any product designed by Deep Life, and there are other measures also to keep the independence between these two companies. It is worth mentioning that Deep Life has also commissioned test and certification work on the Apocalypse Type IV in various western European countries, and has had the main tests replicated in independent test facilities in the USA. EMC testing of the iCCR electronics was performed by a Russian ISO 17025 accredited test house. Where the materials have required it, an ISO 17025 accredited chemical analysis facility was used. Historically, Deep Life’s test reports have not disclosed the testing organization due to legal liability issues, however we understand that for future reports the reports will be issued directly by the companies that have conducted the testing, to improve the openness of result traceability. It is the intent of Deep Life to rerelease all main reports in this independent format in the near future. 33. Surely there are heaps of testing agencies in Scotland who can assess to that standard or does it come down to the test facilities they have? There is no facility in the UK for rebreather testing that offers tests as extensive or as deep as the Open Revolution project has been tested to. OSEL uses services and facilities from around the world to get the best expertise we can, Deep Life work to the same policy. They have performed unmanned testing in Germany, Norway, Russia, the USA, and manned testing in Scotland, Russia, Norway, Turkey and the USA. 34. Who else has had their rebreathers tested with BAI, do they do work for the Russian Navy? When asked, BAI declined to reveal their client list, other than state that they have performed rebreather testing for multiple companies (which we already knew). For manned dive testing for both Deep Life and other western companies we understand that BAI uses leased Russian Naval diving test facilities (similar in function to what NEDU in the US has). Deep Life has logged all test data on its servers directly (there is no export of Deep Life data to any third party by BAI), and BAI use those Deep Life servers to access the data for reporting purposes. 35. Can you give us a view of how much actual real dive testing has been done on the APOC? i.e. has a unit been used on multiple days diving in real life scenarios? - i.e. testing for the unexpected things that are likely to happen to the unit in practical dive trip reality? Each manned test session normally spans a week. Over the past year, photos from some of these multiple day diving sessions have been published. One of the independent test divers has commented on RBW about his experience during some of these dives. These dives have included the widest spread of conditions: caves, wrecks, open sea, ice dives, high visibility and zero visibility. More importantly, then just being dived over a number of days, the Apocalypse Type IV has an exceptionally thorough FMECA (Failure Mode Engineering Critical Analysis). One of the aspects covered by this FMECA, is that the iCCR switches on automatically when the diver starts breathing from the loop, and does not switch off whilst being breathed from. It uses 3 batch/manufacturer mismatched oxygen cells and a method for checking the membrane transfer function of the cells by using a charge injection method. This is covered further, both in the FEMCA and in the iCCR manual which will ship with orders.
This should cover the OSEL applicable questions from last week’s “mail bag”. I will review RebreatherWorld and also repeating questions on our support lines at support@opensafety.eu or sales@opensafety.eu for my next newsletter in three weeks time. Updated datasheets for our rebreather product will also be shortly released on our webshop www.opensafety.eu Paul K 8th July 2009