Normal snorkel but with a fibre optic wire leading from the mask to the top of the air pipe. A lens is at the top pointed forwards and light entering in is then displayed in one of the corners of the mask.
The lens has little wipers to keep it clean, controlled via a switch on the mask.
Great for a variety of reasons:
1.) Swimming out to a rock formation is made easier as you won´t veer off course by accident and end up back on the shore.
2.) Knowing how close you are to cliff edges makes snorkeling safer.
3.) Kids can see where their parents are without having to lift their head out of the water. (Possible addition of an LED on the parent´s snorkel air pipe to ensure the kids know which snorkel to follow.)
4.) Might spot shark fins sooner. (Tenuous.)
5.) Fun. Or at least, funner.-- theleopard, Jul 21 2007 (?) Leopard shark http://mae.ucdavis....%20shark%20kelp.jpgHarmless and shy [normzone, Jul 21 2007] Softcore shark porn http://www.youtube....watch?v=8QYykUnDqYk [normzone, Jul 21 2007] (?) Hardcore fish porn http://www.youtube....ode=related&search=If this offends anybody, it can get deleted, but I thought it was funny [normzone, Jul 21 2007] Black Sea Bass http://www.californiafish.org/gbsbass.htm [normzone, Jul 23 2007] baked http://www.freepate...ne.com/7062796.html [pashute, Apr 11 2011] [leopard]shark?
I could have used one of these many a time, but is a fiber optic wire some kind of oxymoron? Fiber optics cable is glass, wire implies metal. Perhaps you mean strand.
You'll probably require some additional optics to make a coherent image.-- normzone, Jul 21 2007 Cable, sorry.
Anyway, who are you calling harmless and shy?-- theleopard, Jul 21 2007 Don't know you well enough to judge, but leopard sharks, while beautiful beyond the poor picture I linked to, are so shy I rarely see them, although they gather here for social sex.-- normzone, Jul 21 2007 What? Sharks gathering at the Halfbakery for social sex? How have I missed that?
I suppose they just stay at home for antisocial sex.-- lostdog, Jul 21 2007 //they gather here for social sex//
Where are you [normzone]? An interesting coastal region, remote island or aquarium, or just some kind of lurid Leopard Shark brothel?
Seriously, you´re obviously into your aquatic sports. Am I right in thinking this would be a really useful addition to the snorkeling head gear? (apart from the shark fin spotting, which is, I admit, a little farfethched).
And, I am harmless (mostly).-- theleopard, Jul 21 2007 San Diego, California. Less than an hour from La Jolla Cove. Was supposed to make it there today, but life chores took precedence.
Yes, it would be a wonderful tool, if it was low tech and easy to maintain.
I'm poor at swimming in a straight line, and have to lift my head and check landmarks often. This would be very helpful.
Also boaters pose a serious danger - most of them being untrained, unknowing, and uncaring. I've seen some terrifying close calls. I now have a policy of pointing my speargun at anything that motors by, just in an attempt to get the message across.
I wear a belt-mounted dive flag in the water, but it just gives them something to aim for.
The problem with such gadgets is they are often more hassle to use than the benefit they pose. It's all in how well engineered they are.-- normzone, Jul 21 2007 La Jolla looks nice, good scuba apparently. By the way, what would you use your speargun for? (Apart from scaring boaters.)
As for how well engineered this would be, let me tell you, if it were indeed to be engineered at all, it would be _exceptionally_ well engineered. Scouts honour.-- theleopard, Jul 23 2007 The Cove itself is a preserve zone, so no guns there. I've seen black sea bass there. Supposed to be no boat traffic there either, but some fools don't know or don't care.
You're right about the nice scuba, it's a great training ground, I did my first night dive there. Night diving is one hell of a lot of fun.
Outside the Cove is a lot of nice kelp beds, calico bass, yellowtail, white sea bass, barracuda, sand bass, and lobsters, yummy lobsters.-- normzone, Jul 23 2007 Nice link [pashute]-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Apr 12 2011 //Nice link [pashute]//
The patent is good, but not the link to freepatents. I much prefer to link to cleaner sites (with less advertisements) like Google Patents.-- xaviergisz, Apr 12 2011 random, halfbakery