TOBBE.COM

Do you believe in Open Source?

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:02:15 +0000

If you don’t you should probably think twice before buying this dive computer with the following tagline:
“An experimental platform for all experienced divers who are interested in the theory of diving and who value maximum transparency and individual adaptabily .”
After reading this i was first a bit sceptical about if this was a fully developed product.

But this dive computer is really amazing. It’s robust, has a simple user interface with menues and functions that is easy to configure and adapt for you own needs. The OLED display is crystal clear with a battery capacity of approx 40 hours run time when fully charged using the USB connector.
The computer can handle up to 5 pre-configured Trimix gases. It’s also quite simple to simulate dives and test different scenarios.
The only drawback i see so far is that it’s a bit heavier and bulkier than my old fashion Suunto dive computer.
But the best thing is that even an old fart like me can read the digits without any problems

New year – New gear

admin — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:10:31 +0000

I sold one of my two Gavin Mini underwater scooters a couple of months ago. Instead i bought the Cuda 400 from Dive Xtras during a trip to Florida in January, and today i took it for a pool test drive/dive.
“Monkey diving” – Scooter dive with minimal equipment in shallow water is fun and allows you to go faster than with heavy gear and double tanks.

This Cuda is similar to the Gavin mini in terms of size and weight, but it’s a bit faster and has a single handle with an 8 gear speed shift.
I still find the Gavin verry robust and reliable and i will probably keep them both.
I also got the opportunity to try my GoPro Hero2 under water for the first time.

Scratched camera dome

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:50:38 +0000

As an under water photographer and wreck diver it is almost impossible to keep you optic dome port and camera rig away from sharp objects.
This will results in scratches that sooner or later will be visible on your images. So I took my courage In both hands and attacked the dome with some special sand paper pads…

The scratched dome and the Micro Mesh kit

You start with the roughest pad first from edge to edge.

Change to the next pad and turn the dome 90 degrees to rub off the scratches from the previous pad

After the finest pad you move over to the Novus polish kit and a clean cloth

The last bottle contains anti static polish. The dome is now like new!

Midi Mania

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:34:21 +0000

Hook up your keyboard or any other Midi-instrument with this low cost USB Midi Interface. I found it on Ebay for 9 $ including delivery.
Worked perfectly with my Mac, Garage Band and Roland TD-9KX drums.
There is a Garage band plugin to enable Midi OUT:

http://mysite.verizon.net/retroware/

Living room 2.0

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:27:38 +0000

Time for an extreme makeover
Our living room was boring, cold and pretty much original 1958 style. The plaster was coming down from the walls, there was black mold under the floor…

Finally we got started. First step: Tear down the walls floor and ceiling…

Before

Plaster, floor and ceiling removed. Old windows still in place

Floor insulation completed and foundation for fireplace

Studs, wall insulation and board on walls. Chimney mounted and electrical wiring completed

Painting almost finnished

Floor completed, LED-lights mounted

The last painting done!

And some furniture!

RFID cat flap

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:20:51 +0000

Some time ago i installed a cat flap to make things more easy for the two cats. The only problem was that the door also was used by the neighbors big red oriental to kick some cats ass and steal food.
The solution was to get a cat flap that can read the microchip implant identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of each cat.
Now everything works fine except for some fighting on each side of the door.
It can be locked from the inside and it also has a night program that allows the cats to enter, but locks from the outside when it gets dark.

Pet Porte Smart Flap Microchip Cat Flap

Ultrasonic Cleaner

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:32:08 +0000

Ultrasonic cleaner

If needed to clean some pieces of diving equipment with hollow areas that was hard to reach – The ultra sonic wash did a great job! I was amazed but this little machine.

Before

After

The tank can be filled with up to 1.5 liters of water. I added a cap of concentrated vinegar that got rid of the calcium oxide. You can see the result above on the brass double-ender that i have been used for several dives.

Foam cutter

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:40:24 +0000

For one of my projects i needed to cut some styrene foam, so i took a regular car battery charger, 220v dimmer and a guitar E-string. It was a little difficult to cut it free hand, but i used the wooden frame as a guide for straight cuts. And it worked really well.

Iceman giving a helping hand

Temperature of the wire can be adjusted with the dimmer