Installation of the Shearwater GF and HUD to the Copis Megalodon Rebreather

Here I show how I installed the shearwater GF and HUD in my Copis Megalodon Rebreather.

Click on the first thumbnail and you will be taken to a screen where you can click through the enlarged photographs and read the step by step details.

My ultimate aim has been to create a expedition DCCR with a primary monitoring system that focusses exclusively on po2. I believe that actively knowing one's po2 and being responsible for it, all the time, is the key to safe rebreather diving. I chose the Copis Megalodon for it's modularity, robust build quality and KISS style CFO/manual o2 addition, and the Shearwater HUD for real time, continuous po2 monitoring and the Shearwater GF for in line decompression, overall redundancy and po2 cross checking. I decided that the style of diving required by a DCCR made the addition of a fully independent 4th cell obsolete. The brain is capable of much more dynamic voting logic than a set point controller, so I left the 4th cell out of the equation. In this installation, I have left the stock handset in place; strapped to the dilluent tank.

Overall, this system is very modular, with electronics that are easy to swap out and upgrade over time. They are also relatively easy to swap out in the field in the event of a problem... no need for soldering or guess work, just unplug, unscrew, replace and send in the offending gadget for service when it's convenient. I tend to go to very remote places where field serviceability and added redundancy have become a high priority since factory service is all to often a half a world away.

While I am confident of my installation, I do not intend for this account to be used as a an instruction manual for installing these electronics and take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information or anyone else’s attempt at using it. Any such undertaking should be done with direct guidance from the electronics manufacturer or an experienced technician. The use of any of this information could result in serious injury or death and is therefore the sole responsibility of anyone attempting such an instalation.

I undertook doing this installation myself so that I would gain a more intimate understanding of how my rebreather worked. I hope you enjoy the review!