Leigh Bishop of http://www.deepimage.co.uk has sent me some nice pictures of the Ouroboros rebreather. The unit could be seen on Boot 2004, Dema 2004 and Duikvaker 2004 as well on other dive shows. I spoke to Kevin Gurr on Duikvaker in the Netherlands and to Gary Sharp on Boot in Germany about the unit. It seems a very nice designed unit with extreme possibilities. Recently a test series of dives has been made in the Red Sea. Leigh supplied nice pictures about there test team. Thanks Leigh for your kind addition to my web!

The zodiac as a tail-eating snake (Ouroboros) symbolizes the eternity of Time and the boundary of the universe. Below it, the double lion Routi ('Yesterday and Tomorrow'), the agency of resurrection, supporting the newborn Sun God.

The symbol appears principally among the Gnostics and is depicted as a dragon, snake or serpent biting its own tail. In the broadest sense, it is symbolic of time and the continuity of life. It sometimes bears the caption Hen to pan - 'The One, the All', as in the Codex Marcianus, for instance, of the 2nd century A.D. It has also been explained as the union between the chthonian principle as represented by the serpent and the celestial principal as signified by the bird (a synthesis which can also be applied to the dragon). Ruland contends this proves that it is a variant of the symbol for Mercury - the duplex god. In some versions of the Ouroboros, the body is half light and half dark, alluding in this way to the successive counterbalancing of opposing principls as illustrated in the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol for instance. Evola asserts that it represents the dissolution of the body, or the universal serpent which (to quote the Gnostic saying) 'passes through all things'. Poison, the viper and the universal solvent are all symbols of the undifferentiated-of the 'unchanging law' which moves through all things, linking them by a common bond. Both the dragon and the bull are symbolic antagonists of the solar hero. The Ouroboros biting its own tail is symbolic of self-fecundation, or the primitive idea of a self-sufficient Nature - a Nature, that is which, à la Nietzsche, continually returns, within a cyclic pattern, to its own beginning. There is a Venetian manuscript on alchemy which depicts the Ouroboros with its body half-black (symbolizing earth and night) and half-white (denoting heaven and light).

The unit will be for sale approx. Oktober November 2004 for Euro 12.000,--

1. Breathing loop


o Size 3kg/6.6lbs Version 1 or 4.4kg/8.8lbs Version 2. (I was told that the CE version has a 2,2 kg and 6 hours duration, or a 4,2 kilo with a 10 hours duration, tested at 2 degr. Celsius with a breathingrate of 40 l/min)
o Duration Pending CE testing
o Canister design radial
o Auto packing system
q Counter lung
o Volume Approximatly 5.5l
o Rear mount split lung configuration
o Material Ballistic nylon coated polyurethane
q Gas injection

o O2 Automatic – solenoid valve

o O2 manual – over shoulder injection block with additional external o2 cylinder input capability. Version 2 with solenoid shut off.

o Diluent Automatic addition

o Diluent Manual addition – over shoulder injection block, with additional external diluent input capability. Version 2 with Automatation shutoff.

q Water dump – automatic dump valve
q Over pressure – automatic dump valve
q Hoses High impact resistant ballistic nylon coated rubber

2. High pressure

q Diluent cylinder – capacity 2 litres, 232 Bar, 15cuft, 3400PSI
q O2 cylinder – capacity 2 litres, 232 Bar, 15cuft, 3400PSI
q DIN fitting
q Internal small bore 3mm, 1/8” stainless high pressure piping
q 20micron oxygen filter to protect valve from jamming with continuous flow
q External Stainless steel armored hose for cylinder DIN connection
q Solid state digital electronic high pressure sensors to feed content and usage rate information to main electronics

3. Electronics Control and display system

q Central canister
o 3x po2 cell pre-processer board in central canister
§ nominal 10mV o2 sensor
§ Passive split to Secondary/Main electronics
§ Active amplification of feed to main electronics
o 4th cell to feed independent backup po2 and decompression
o device – eg VR3
q Primary Display – full control and detailed system setup
o Diluent setup
o PO2 setpoint setup
o Alarms setup
o Log book
o Gas profiles
o Dive plan
o Open circuit bailout
o Simulate
o PC link
o High pressure – o2 and diluent displays
o Sensor calibration and ON/OFF/Auto select of individual sensors or all
o Summary of system values and alarm status
o Decompression requirements
o Game
o Calendar
o Altitude/Atmospheric pressure
o Main dive screen – depth, time, Total time to surface, PPo2, Setpoint, Deco graph,
o In water dive profile
o Backlight
q Head Up Display HUD
q PO2 - Green LED
o Steady = PO2 on setpoint
o Slow flash = PO2 just below setpoint
o Medium flash = +- 0.1 from setpoint
o Fast flash = Very high or very low (<0.16 and >1.6)
q Deco Stop - RED LED
o Steady = At deco stop
o Slow flash = Deco stop required, but much too deep
o Medium flash = close to deco stop
o Fast flash = too shallow
q Valve – Blue LED
o Single flash = Valve operation OK
o Rapid flash = Valve electrical feedback not received – Valve malfunction
q General Alarm – Yellow LED
o Steady = No General alarms, system OK
o Slow flash = HP content alarm
o Medium Flash = Battery alarm
o Fast flash = HP rate alarm
q Secondary display system
o Shares po2 cells in central canister
o Provides total software independent voltmeter and normalized po2 readings on LCD digital voltmeter for individual oxygen cells
o Backlights
o Independent battery – AA cell
o Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery preferred – approx 40hrs continuous operation
o 10second on timer to conserve battery
o Low battery warning LED

q Main electronics
o Battery – computer system
§ single C cell
§ Approx 40 hrs continuous use on Alkaline C style battery
§ Lithium Thionyl Chloride Cell 3.6v can be fitted for extended duration
o Battery – valve system and backlights
§ 2x C cell
§ Approx 2000x 1second firings of solenoid valve – equivalent to approx 40 hours diving
o Valve drive – proof against single component failure causing
§ solenoid valve continuous operation. Valve failsafe normally closed and in-line valve filtration fitted.
o 16 bit Microprocessor control system
o Damage to any single external cables will not cause catastrophic failure of main electronics
o DC to DC converter system to extract maximum performance from batteries
o .Integrated depth sensor
q Turn on mechanism:
o Primary display reed switch
o Wet contact turn on
o Depth reading > 1.5metres measured on depth sensor
o Manual dive mode for chamber and saturation bell usage
q External stainless steel diaphragm depth sensor option for chamber use.
q In system re-programability
q Connection to main canister po2 sensor
q Full data downloading of all system parameters and data logged information
q Data record rates are user settable with a minimum resolution of 1 second.