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Beautiful Bonaire
People who never visited Bonaire often wonder what’ there to like about such a small island. But don’t let size fool you, Bonaire is one of the top 5 dive spots in the world, has a unique eco system and has one of the largest unspoiled mangrove tree forests in the world. If that does not convince you check out the documentary below which gives a superb portrait about Bonaire, Bonaire’s nature and the people protecting it. (sorry: in dutch only)
Smile, you are on the cover of Sport Diver
Last week I was in Bonaire for some family reasons and although it was short there was time for a nice tech dive with Leo. When we had some (soft ;-)) drinks together Leo showed me the January issue of “Sport Diver” and asks me “Swa, do you recognize one of these divers”. NOPE 
Yes it is mr. Leo at the right. Smile 
Great picture and worth sharing.
I finally received some wreck files Leo has written which I will put online soon. We also made a spectacular plan for the end of the year where Leo and Felix will do a 12 hour dive for a good cause. Stay tuned as we will create a dedicated section on this site for this project.
Leo (right) on the cover of Sport Diver Magazine
Tags: Open Source Dive Computer (OSTC)
Jawohl freunden, today I ordered the open source dive computer (OSTC) developed by the gentlemen Christian Weikamp Heinrich and Matthias Weikamp. As some of you may know I’m on the quest to combine my computer skills with my diving skills in the hope I can create/contribute something new and at the same time learn more about decompression modeling and the application of computing in diving. The cool thing of this project is that everything is open, the hardware design, all used parts and the software. So this is really a perfect platform to start exploring this exciting area.
The hardware:
- Microchip PIC18F4685 Processor
- Dimensions: length 70mm, height 62mm, depth 28mm
- Pressure sensor: 14 Bar absolute; accuracy +-20 mBar
- Temperature sensor: 0.1°C resolution; accuracy +-1°C
- Intersema MS5541B sensor for pressure and temperature
- OLED-Display: 128×64 Pixel; available in yellow or green; 180° viewing angle
- 128 kB non-volatile memory for profile data, 96 kB program memory, 3.3 kB SRAM
- Real time clock
- USB-interface
- Replaceable LiPoly accumulator for at least 40 h of battery life or two years in standby; rechargeable via USB-interface or optional external power supply
- I²C, RS-232 and 10 Bit A/D for internal or external auxiliary modules
The Interface:
- Compact USB interface
- Mini-USB port
- 3 LEDs for status display
- Charges the battery using power from USB
- Hidden Reset-button for OSTC (necessary for firmware updates)
- Uses a FTDI FT232R USB Chip
- The driver for Windows can be found here. They are included in Linux Kernel > 2.6.9
After I have had some time to play around with it and dive with it, I will post a full review on this site for you to enjoy. I will also try to post some more software development related posts when I’m a bit further with understanding the code-base and hardware.
More info can be found here: http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net. Please note that they’re currently re-designing the site. Only a German version is available in the new layout. The “old” English version can still be found on http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/old/ostc/en/ . If you’re interested or have questions the forum (http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/forum/index.php) is very active and of course Christian and Matthias can answer all of your questions.
The adventure begins!
Below are some pictures I borrowed from the forum and the website.
The Lion Wreck
In May 2009 Markus Harde and Anders Backstrom discovered a new wreck lying on 43 meters of depth in the archipelago of Stockholm. The wreck is a Dutch ship originating from the 17th century.
Due to the cold water the wreck is in an exceptional good condition. The top of the rudder has a statue of a lion. Below is a movie shot from a dive made to the wreck.
The ship with three masts seems to be well kept, and has been under 141 feet (43 meters) of water for 400 years. The divers contacted Johan Rännby, a researcher in marine ecology, at Södertörns University in Stockholm.
“Why this discovery is exciting is because it is rather old. I have not as yet dived to see it, but by looking at the pictures and films, I am quite convinced it is from the 17th century,” Johan Rönnby said on Monday. The ship seems to be a sister to “The Ghost Wreck,” found in 2007 in the middle of the Baltic Sea, East of Gotska Sandön, a tiny island outside east coast of Sweden. After doing research the scientists stated that the Ghost Wreck was a Dutch trading ship from the beginning of 17th century, and was probably used for trade between Amsterdam and Stockholm.
The ship was specially constructed as a cargo ship that sailed all over the world. It’s assumed that both ships were built in Dutch shipbuilding yards, and the decorations expressed the tradesman’s pride and wealth. According to Johan Rönnby there is no place in the world that wins over the Baltic Sea when it comes to ship archaeology. These kind of discoveries from 17th century are hard to beat, because it is like ”diving back in time.” “This does not exist anywhere else. Both of the ships are very unique and scientifically it is going to be a lot of fun to see what details will differentiate them,” he said.
The Swedish County Administrative Board has decided to ban all diving in the area. In August the ship wreck will be subject to more investigation and documentation.
Finally we are here
Pfewww it has take a while but here it is. Welcome to discoverdepth.com, your prime place o the net for some online technical leaning sessions. Discoverdepth is a blog written for people with a passion for diving, technical & cave diving in particular. You can find out more information about this site in the “About” section.
Leo and I will start adding content from now on. Leo will put some links online and we will start putting the wreck files online. Bare with us
This week I will post some book reviews from two excellent dive classics and we’ll take it up from there. Furthermore we will blog stuff we find on the web.
ENJOY!
Welcome to discoverdepth.com
Discoverdepth will be a blog written by Leo Hoogenboom and Felix Faasen. Dive stories, Tech dive discussion, gear review, book reviews and links to everything which we think is cool! Leo will also regulary write a “Wreck file” which will include interesting details about wrecks. STAY TUNED!