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December 10,2010
DESCO is working towards offering leather shoes again. They will be made to order and can be ordered in Black, Brown, or Tan. The uppers can be ordered separately as replacement parts.
November 10, 2010
The 3" Helium Canister Wrench has been added to the Divers Accessories page on the online catalog.
October 20, 2010
We have added a doubles harness and a swivel toe harness to the DESCO Waterski products. See http://descowaterskis.com/desco_water_skis.htm for more information.
September 21, 2010
The price of the U.S. Navy Diver's Knife has increased to $290.00 effective immediately. The increase is due to changing blade blank suppliers with a consequent unit cost increase.
September 13, 2010
With the economic downturn and no discernable reduction in material prices it was necessary to find ways to cut costs and hold the line on our prices as much as possible. Below are two instances where small but significant changes were made to the Air Hat which reduced cost while maintaining usability. The new ACV handle has resulted in a reduced retail price for this part.
August 27, 2010
New Specialty item. A insulated travel mug has been added to the Specialty Item offerings. See the online catalog personal accessories page for details.
New Air Hat Air Control Valve Handle
We are changing the air control valve handle on the DESCO Air Hat. The inventory of Air Hat air control valve handles diminished to where we needed to place an order. Ric decided to have our supplier quote on a handle similar to the one used on the Browne Commercial helmet ACV. They came back with a price that warranted making the change.
Since these handles are cut from billet stock the smaller size uses less Brass, so the handle is less expensive. The smaller size also presents less of a snag hazard. It is lighter in weight so reduces the diver's neck load.
The new handle Cat. No. 61133S will be $53.00 as opposed to $58.00 for the larger handle. When we introduced the larger handle in 1997 we assigned the Cat. No. 61133N (new) to it, as the cast handle was 61133. The N was dropped over time but with the new handle and the need to keep replacements for the old handles in inventory we are reinstating the N to that part number. As of now the original cast ACV handle is Cat. No. 61133C, the large machined ACV handle is Cat. No. 61133N, and the new small machined ACV handle is Cat. No. 61133S.
61133C 61133N 61133S
Chrome plating on parts of the DESCO Air Hat.
This was originally announced on the News Page on 04/01/10.
DESCO has discontinued Chrome plating the non-return valves and exhaust valves on the Air Hat. We determined that the aesthetic value was overshadowed by the rising cost of plating. Secondly there was a issue of bad plating on some exhaust parts in the last batch which required stripping and replating of the parts. Thirdly over the years divers have mentioned that when welding underwater the plating is being attacked and becomes very pitted and rough. It was decided that we would high polish the parts in lieu of plating.
Air Hats we are currently shipping have Non-return valves made up of plain bodies and plated adapters. Our stock of caps for the Double Exhaust valves is also still plated and we will be using these up.
August 27, 2010
We have added three new products to our Specialty line:
DESCO or Diver Leather Belt
Cat. No. 60246 – DESCO
Cat. No. 60247 – DIVER
$77.50 + S&H
Made to order Black Leather belt. In the center of the back either “DESCO” or “DIVER” is stamped into the leather. On either side is braiding made of Shark skin. A Shark skin fob on a bead chain is also included. The belt comes with a standard buckle. The belt is the correct width for the DESCO Cast Belt Buckles sold separately. At time of ordering give waist size.
Revolver Pistol Holster & Cartridge Belt
Cat. No. 60248
$290.00 + S&H
A custom revolver pistol holster and cartridge belt made to order by DESCO’s leather goods supplier. Mounted to the holster is a medallion with a Mark V Helmet in bas relief. Also the DESCO Commercial Helmet is stamped on the end of the belt. The holster has a snap retaining strap and leg tie down.
The holster and belt are made to your specifications. Available in Black or Brown. At time of ordering specify: waist size, caliber, barrel length, left or right handed, and color.
DESCO Travel Mug
Cat No. 60250
$16.95 + S&H
A 16 Ounce Stainless Steel insulated mug with a screw on cover. Excellent for hot or cold beverages. The top has a spill proof slide closure. The DESCO Mark V Helmet is printed in Blue. Dimensions 7” tall by 3 ½” wide (max). Base is 2 ½” in diameter.
July 20, 2010
DESCO is introducing a reprint of the 1945 Bureau of Ships Technical Publication 10 covering Shallow Water Diving and the new lightweight diving suit.
From www.divedesco.com:
U.S. Navy Shallow Water Diving
Technical Publication (1945)
Cat. No. SI001
$18.95 + S&H
This is a reprint by DESCO of a 1945 Bureau of Ships technical publication (TP 10) covering the use of the Lightweight Suit, nicknamed the “Zoot Suit” in the text. The publication was produced as an introduction to the new dress and overview of its use. Also included is basic diving physiology and principles. This publication was intended to supplement the USN Diving Manual of the period.
7 ¼”x 10 ¾”, 30 pages, cover is in color.
March 31, 2010
DESCO is no longer offering the Four Wire Communications Elbow Retrofit Cat No. 61218. A revised price list is available on the downloads page.
NEW - January 19, 2010
DESCO Lightweight Divers Shoes with rubber outer soles.
Cat. No. 29078RS
Last summer the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit called from Panama City to ask us to come up with a sole which would not mar the non-skid decks on their ships. NEDU had been trying different ideas to protect ships decks from damage by the shoe soles. They had some limited success but really needed shoes from the manufacturer ready to dive. Ric agreed and we set about testing adhesives and materials. After experimenting with various sheet rubber materials and adhesives and came up with this. The rubber is bulk shoe sole material with a herringbone pattern. The glue is a heavy duty industrial grade marine adhesive. The lugs of the Brass sole are filled with a bead of adhesive and the rubber sole is set on. Two assemblies are clamped firmly and the adhesive cures for 24 hours. The soles are trimmed and the bolt recesses are opened up. The rubber covered soles can be retrofitted to existing shoes by swapping out the bare Brass soles.
The shoes are the same in all other respects to the standard Lightweight Shoes in our catalog. The rubber outer soles are not available on the Heavyweight Shoes with the Lead soles.
02/10: NEDU sent back the first pair of soles for us to evaluate their performance. They put approximately 300 dives on the pair and were pleased with how the soles stood up. Upon examination we found the front of one sole a bit worn. The front of the second sole the rubber had let go a bit from the Brass sole. The glue had released from the Brass so in the future we will media blast the Brass soles to assure adhesion between the Brass and the glue. The tread was worn a bit at the ball of the foot. This may be due to using the shoes on non-skid deck surfaces. We don't know how often the shoes were used on those surfaces but the wear is not excessive.
NEW - 09/09/09
Spring Loaded Lock Conversion Kit
Cat. No. 61041
This conversion kit was developed for DESCO Air Hats which will be used in an environment where significant snagging hazards exist. The kit contains all necessary parts to retrofit a standard Air Hat.
The spring lock conversion kit is a new product developed in response to a specific customer request. While the design should perform as required no field testing or use experience has yet been compiled. DESCO recommends that this adaptation of the Air Hat locking system be used for now only in dives where a serious snagging possibility exists, or where the potential danger from contaminated water makes using all available safeguards necessary. For the short term the springs should be checked pre dive and post dive for signs of fatigue, which will reduce their holding force. Once sufficient field experience with the conversion is accumulated a normalized inspection and maintenance term can be recommended.
