This view shows the back of the rig, as worn by the diver. Notice the clean design, and numerous venting holes. The shell is manufactured from aluminum, as is the majority of the rig, as it was designed to be non-magnetic. Astute observers will notice a second rig on the bench just over my left shoulder. This is a fully closed circuit pure oxygen rebreather that is a scaled-down version of the Orca, and made using many of the same components. A detailed report on this, the IDA-64, is also found on the site.
The bottom of the rig shows the two shut-off valves for the cylinders. Between them is located the filler port, which allows the rig to be filled without removing the cylinders from the chassis. Just to the right of the central filler port, you will see the overpressure relief valve peeking out from the half-dollar sized vent hole. This would prevent a blown line in the case of a failure of the high-pressure seat of the reducing regulator. Details of the harness are also visible.
This is the top of the rig, showing the capped ports for attachment of the breathing hoses. Centrally placed between the two is the addition valve, which functions exactly like a demand SCUBA second stage to allow the counterlung to be kept full upon descent, allows a demand-mode of bailout to be used (by exhaling from your nose after taking a breath), and by pushing in on the 'purge button' acts as a manual bypass valve for venting the loop when desired.
This gives an idea of the size of the manual bypass portion of the addition valve. You can just see the profile of the exhaust valve above the addition valve.
Here is a nice detail of the exhaust valve. The location very near the centroid of breathing should give it good characteristics. It, like all other components, is made from machined brass, with matte chrome plating. This offers good corrosion protection, as well as a 'tactical' non-reflective surface, important it the rigs military role.
The DSV deserves special mention. It is constructed of brass, and features an "Apparatus" setting (Dive) and "Atmosphere" setting (surface). Since it was to be used with a full-face mask, the "Atmosphere" setting allows the diver to breath from the outside Atmosphere while retaining the mouthpiece in his mouth. Since the body is brass, it would be easy to modify this to add a normal SCUBA second stage to allow the DSV to become an open/closed circuit DSV with bailout capability. The DSV is designed to screw on to a full-face mask, although a standard mouthpiece may be stretched to fit. We are working on production of a Delrin adapter that will thread onto the existing DSV to allow a neater attachment of the mouthpiece. This should be available for sale shortly.
The flapper valves of the DSV are not the more usual rubber kind, rather they are rigid plates made of Mica, sprung against their seats by a very finely made stainless steel spring. This is by FAR the best non-return valve system I have ever seen. The work of breathing of the valve is extremely low, and the cost to manufacture this system must have been astronomical.
The gauge is highly visible, and glows -brightly- in the dark. Don't ask me for the nuclear regulatory commission permit for this baby! You can see the very clever folding bracket that attaches the gauge that may be flipped open to expose the face for viewing. When folded shut the gauge is held very close to the body, and will not drag on the bottom. This is a clever system, and very well constructed.
The internal plumbing to feed the high-pressure gauge is rigid tubing, exiting the rig at the divers left hip and the gauge attaches there. This is a virtually identical system to the Draeger FGT-1D. You can see in this picture some additional details of the harness, and how the cylinder valve protrudes for easy shutoff.
The rig can be hinged open by removal of one of two identical pins as shown. To remove the lid entirely, simply remove both pins. This is simple, and durable. You will not lose a lid on this rig!
OK, here's the good part: I have removed one of the hinge-pins and opened the clamshell up to expose the interior. The hinge-pin is seen laying on the bench to the left of the rig. Visible now are the counterlung (left), scrubber (center), twin 3-liter aluminum cylinders, Shutoff valves, high-pressure gauge exit, and the constant mass-flow valve (center).
Continuing the disassembly, one cylinder has been removed to expose the scrubber to our view. Additional details of the CMF valve can also be seen, as well as the filler port. Running alongside of the scrubber, on the left side as viewed here, you can see the stainless steel line that feeds gas to the counterlung. The 'coiled' stainless steel line that you can see at the lower left is the supply to the high-pressure gauge. The curved contour is to clear the bottle that has been removed.
For an idea of scale, I have removed the scrubber and one of the cylinders and laid a ruler along side. You can see the entry and exit ports of the scrubber. The ports are not symmetrically located, and the scrubber can only be installed in the correct orientation. I thought this was a good detail to maker sure the scrubber flow is always in the correct direction.
Here is the base of the counterlung, with the two scrubber ports exposed. On the left is the hard tube that feeds the gas addition valve (Auto/manual add valve). On the right there are two tubes leading to the interior of the counterlung. One is fed from the constant mass flow valve. The second is not as obvious. The rig features an audible alarm of low supply gas pressure, and this line feeds the 'whistle' for this system. The two rods laying at an angle are the rods that secure the scrubber and bottles. The nuts that tighten the counterlung to the scrubber are tightened by a spanner wrench that's included in the spare parts kit. The counterlung is made from a heavy rubberized cloth, which should provide long service.
Here is an overhead view of the brass constant mass flow valve and associated plumbing. What appears to be rust in the picture is really a trace amount of some sort of preservation compound similar to "Cosmoline" that was applied to small areas of the system to preserve it for long-term storage. The rig is absolutely brand new, and all components were wrapped in brown anti-corrosive paper and tied with thin cotton string. The care taken to preserve these after they were manufactured is impressive.
This is the CMF valve as seen with the scrubber removed. On the right you can see the line running to the high-pressure port (with the 90-degree bend in it). The line laying under it running straight down to the right center of the picture feeds the auto/manual gas add valve. I'll plan on cutting this line and tapping a T fitting in, and then running my suit inflation and a bailout regulator from it. One the left are the feed line from the constant mass flow valve to the counterlung, as well as the second line that I believe feeds the audible 'whistle' for low gas supply pressure. Again, what appears to be rust on the cylinder bracket is preservative grease.
Again, for scale, here are both cylinders and the scrubber laid side-by-side as they are found in the interior of the rig. The bottles are aluminum, and are marked for 200 BAR fill with a 300 BAR test pressure. Valves are apparently a DIN standard for inert gas. Blue is the Russian color code for oxygen, and the red stripe indicates an oxygen mixture. The military gas was 50% Nitrox, however using any of the available formulas will offer the diver a selection of gas percentages. It is my plan to simply cut the counterlung and add a Draeger port for an Oxyguage, and then to dive the rig using an Oxyguage for the same reasons I would do so with a Draeger Atlantis or FGT-1D. The scrubber is aluminum and is filled through the port that is visible in the photo on the scrubbers right end.
Lastly, here is the tool and spare parts kit for the rig. The canvas tool-kit contains all of the tools needed to fully maintain the rig, and the small paper-wrapped packages contain a complete selection of spare parts of every sort. There is little doubt that the Russians planned on sending these units into the field with exactly what I was provided, and with the expectation that they would be able to be maintained indefinitely with what is provided in this kit. To say I was impressed is an understatement.