24 replies to this topic

[georoc01]

While on the NC Wrecks trip, I was admiring all of the OMS BP/Wing setups that Bill aka OTWDiver an SD corporate sponsor see info here had brought for the NC trip. He gave me a quote and I said I would get back to him and after looking around, felt the price was fair and placed the order. Looking forward to my new gear!

[WreckWench]

While on the NC Wrecks trip, I was admiring all of the OMS BP/Wing setups that Bill aka OTWDiver an SD corporate sponsor see info here had brought for the NC trip. He gave me a quote and I said I would get back to him and after looking around, felt the price was fair and placed the order. Looking forward to my new gear!

Cool! Usually he does better than 'fair'...but its hard to beat the deals he gives our members! Thanks for sharing! -ww

[finGrabber]

He does give members awesome deals!

I bought a set of tanks with bands plus an extra set of bands for a price I couldn't find anywhere - OTWdiver is awesome

And if you're looking for a tech instructor, Bill is an excellent choice. So far, I've taken Adv Nitrox and Deco Procedures classes from him and plan to do Trimix and Adv Trimix with him as well

[diverdeb]

Congrats on the new gear - I just love getting new toys! You'll love diving a bp/wing.

(Does anyone think he's noticed he's slowly being pulled over to the "other side" ?????) LOL.

[georoc01]

Ok..so the BP/Wing showed up last night. The harness looks to be all set up on the BP, so other than a little shortening of the waist strap, I think the harness & plate are ok.

But it looks like I am missing a piece of hardware. What connects the BPHarness to the wing? And then I think I need an STA, but then it has wing nuts on it, where do they figure in? I have read on other forums about sex bolts. So do they slide through connecting all four pieces together? Is there basically two (one top and one bottom?) Are they a standard size or do I need to get them through OMS?

[georoc01]

Well, I just got off the phone with Bill of OTW Divers and he says that I am all set to go. That to thread the cam bands through the wing then through the plate and back through the wing and that it holds better than using the STA.

Thanks Bill! Looking forward to trying it out this weekend!

[Latitude Adjustment]

Congrats, my BP/Wing just showed up yesterday too! I ordered a Hollis because of my LDS and keyman pricing. I got the HTS (a little bit more than a harness), black plate, single tank adapter, and wing. In order to get the whole rig together, the black plate was attached to the harness and then the single tank adapter to get the wing on. I don't know if this is helpful for you, but that is what I, um actually the guys at the dive shop, did for me.

My plan is now that I have a bp I can get a plain harness and double wing, once I get into doubles. And if I remove the bp and tank adapter, I can attach a dive rite travel wing to the for my recreational and travel diving.

I am so looking forward to moving to the other side. Good luck with your rig! And if you have any more questions, I'll do my best to answer, as this set up is new to me too.

What is your black back plate made out of, painted metal or black plastic?

[Latitude Adjustment]

I think its aluminum, but I was told it weighs about 6 lbs. I won't know until I pick it up, probably on Thursday. My friend just called and told me it was in and he helped rig it up. Isn't it nice to work at a dive shop where people care?

If it weighs 6 pounds it's stainless steel, the aluminum ones are lighter than that and I guess it's painted or plated to make it black.

[Geek]

Well, I just got off the phone with Bill of OTW Divers and he says that I am all set to go. That to thread the cam bands through the wing then through the plate and back through the wing and that it holds better than using the STA.

Thanks Bill! Looking forward to trying it out this weekend!

A BP/W is intended for doubles. The bolts from the doubles go through the doubles bands, then through the wing, and finally throught the BP. Wing nuts are then used to secure the ends of the bolts. The wing nuts and bolts generally are supplied with the tank bands, not the BP/W.

For a single tank shorter bolts are usually used going through the single tank adapter (STA) then the wing and BP, and secured with the same type wing nuts. In this case the bolts and nuts come with the STA.

If you don't have an STA, you can get by with the cam bands holding the package together, but I would suggest getting an STA and the right bolts and nuts which will be more secure, i.e. less movement of your tank. You'll enjoy the solid feeling once you experience it.

While it sounds like your harness fits well, you can probably tighten it up a bit and that will also reduce movement of the equipment on your back. Once you get it right you'll wonder how you ever put up with all the flopping around you had with your old BC.

[NJBerserker]

The OMS BP/W setup came with two sets of plastic "screws". Two male and two female ends. I use them to hole my wing to my BP, then I threaded the cam bands through the whole setup. I'm glad you finally came around to the bp/w side and I'm sure you'll love it. I have ordered literally K's worth of gear from Bill and everything has always arrived swiftly and he stands by everything he carries. I kind of consider him my personal one man LDS.

[Geek]

The OMS BP/W setup came with two sets of plastic "screws". Two male and two female ends. I use them to hole my wing to my BP, then I threaded the cam bands through the whole setup. I'm glad you finally came around to the bp/w side and I'm sure you'll love it. I have ordered literally K's worth of gear from Bill and everything has always arrived swiftly and he stands by everything he carries. I kind of consider him my personal one man LDS.

Lose the plastic screws in favor of stainless. If you can't find them easily let me know. I'll be at Dutch this weekend and can bring along an extra set.

Edited by Geek, 06 August 2008 - 07:11 PM.

[Geek]

Ok..so the BP/Wing showed up last night. The harness looks to be all set up on the BP, so other than a little shortening of the waist strap, I think the harness & plate are ok.

But it looks like I am missing a piece of hardware. What connects the BPHarness to the wing? And then I think I need an STA, but then it has wing nuts on it, where do they figure in? I have read on other forums about sex bolts. So do they slide through connecting all four pieces together? Is there basically two (one top and one bottom?) Are they a standard size or do I need to get them through OMS?

I forgot in my earlier post to explain the "sex bolts". These are bolts where the female is not shaped like a nut, but is shaped like a post with a head on it so that when the two parts are joined you have a smooth post with a head on each end. This is good if you don't want the threads on the bolt chewing up whatever the bolt is supposed to go through. Very short sex bolts are often used to hold accessories on to the backplate.

OMS calls them "book screws" in order to avoid the unfortunate name. You can see an example on this page:

http://www.omsdive.com/bcaccess.html

Edited by Geek, 06 August 2008 - 07:44 PM.

[Latitude Adjustment]

Well, I just got off the phone with Bill of OTW Divers and he says that I am all set to go. That to thread the cam bands through the wing then through the plate and back through the wing and that it holds better than using the STA.

Thanks Bill! Looking forward to trying it out this weekend!

A BP/W is intended for doubles. The bolts from the doubles go through the doubles bands, then through the wing, and finally throught the BP. Wing nuts are then used to secure the ends of the bolts. The wing nuts and bolts generally are supplied with the tank bands, not the BP/W.

For a single tank shorter bolts are usually used going through the single tank adapter (STA) then the wing and BP, and secured with the same type wing nuts. In this case the bolts and nuts come with the STA.

If you don't have an STA, you can get by with the cam bands holding the package together, but I would suggest getting an STA and the right bolts and nuts which will be more secure, i.e. less movement of your tank. You'll enjoy the solid feeling once you experience it.

While it sounds like your harness fits well, you can probably tighten it up a bit and that will also reduce movement of the equipment on your back. Once you get it right you'll wonder how you ever put up with all the flopping around you had with your old BC.

That depends on the BP, my FredT SS and DSS Kydek plates work fine without any STA, no flopping and the tank is closer to my back.