Dave_Hicks

Sure, lets meet for a dive and I can borrow some parts afterwards. You'll get in a dive and should have that itch scratched for a few days at least! Any time, I am free most of the week.

Macro Port Buoyancy Float for Nauticam n120https://makerworld.com/en/models/2784346-macro-port-buoyancy-float-for-nauticam-n120#profileId-3094935 Add clean, professional looking buoyancy to your Nauticam housing with these waterproof, pressure resistant buoyancy float rings. Up to 355g of buoyancy! (12.5 ounces) Models for:Port 60 (60mm AF-S) / +235g buoyancy Port 87 (105mm AF-S or z105mm) / +350g buoyancy Port 60+20mm extension (z105mm) / +280g buoyancy Underwater camera housings are quite heavy and tend to be negative in the water, requiring the addition of buoyancy floats to get the rig near neutral in the water. Typically, this is done with high density foam floats on the strobe arms. Another option is a float collar on the ring. I found these to be really ugly, and non-professional looking and figured I could try to make something better. As a fun an interesting experiment I decided to try and create a cleaner solution by 3D printing a custom fitted hollow float ring that snugs up to the contours of my Nauticam n120 macro ports. A float ring on the port has the added benefit of better balancing the entire rig, especially if you are using heavy glass diopters on the macro port. After a great deal of experimentation, advice from others, and testing I have developed a very good solution that is extremely durable and functional. With several hundred dives completed without any leaks or failures on dives up to 120 feet (40 meters) of depth, I am pleased to share the models with others that would like to make their own. I first posted about this project over a year ago. After hundreds of dives and some minor iteration changes, I am confident enough with this design to share it freely for others. It's printed in ABS or ASA and requires no additional sealants or treatments to be completely watertight and pressure resistant to 40 meters. These float rings are fantastic in the water. The provide a clean, professional look, added buoyancy, but also better balance of the whole rig when using heavy glass diopters up front.

Do you use the EVF exclusively, or do you use the back screen? And do you have the camera in Airplane Mode? I also rotate between 3 batteries to reduce wear. I only use the EVF, which I suspect uses less power than the rear screen. And no need for wifi/bluetooth underwater. Even shooting some video for a few minutes across dives, I've still only run down the Z8 to zero once in about 300 dives with it to date. I was stretching it out on a 4-dive day and had several rapid action encounters were I really racked up the shutter count.

Those strobes need some bumpers and more Blue Accents to match the floats!

No issues with heat. Only about 1cm of the heat sink is covered. I have had no problems with the HF-1 strobes using the bumpers and reduction rings.

Thanks for asking! I hope these work out for you as well as they have for me! Yes, PETG is the best material for this model. PETG-CF would likely be fine. It's actually not as strong, but it tends to print a bit nicer cosmetically. Use TPU 95 or 90 for the rubber gasket parts.

I have 3 Inon 330 strobes and two of them died due to this exact problem with the main power switch. I got one repaired when they were still in support, but the other died sometime later after support was ended. You can contact Inon, but I don't think they will fix them anymore.

Seriously, you can buy a good 3D printer for the cost of ONE zoom gear! That's just $250 USD for an Bambu A1 Mini. For well under $1000 you can buy an amazing machine that will pretty much tackle any material and any scenario you can imagine. If I were to buy a 1st printer today it would be a Bambu X2D and an AMS combo for under $900. At least for created functional prints. (like camera, scuba, and household items) If you just want to print multicolor flexi-dragons, there are other choices.

Just message me with details and we can work something out.

Reduction Ring and Bumper set for the Backscatter Atom StrobeI just posted a full Reduction Ring Set for the Backscatter Atom Strobe. I made this several months ago but didn't get around the sharing the design until now. It uses some common parts shared between the reduction rings set for HF-1 and Retra ring sets I've designed. These work great and improve results for Macro/Super Macro work as well as Wide Angle in let the perfectly clear water. https://makerworld.com/en/models/2766433-reduction-ring-set-for-backscatter-atom-strobe#profileId-3072067 Other Underwater Photography models can be found at: https://makerworld.com/en/collections/16165730-uw-photography-by-dave-hicks

Makerworld is not for sales, it is a free sharing site for 3d printed designs. If you can't print your own items, message me and I can send you what you want for a reasonable cost. I generally charge the cost of a spool or two of filament plus $10 shipping.

Email me at [email protected].

I've made bumpers, reduction rings, and improved knobs for the Retra Maxi strobes. You can find these and other UW photography accessories I've made here: https://makerworld.com/en/collections/16165730-uw-photography-by-dave-hicks

Sure, message me and let me know what you need.

I just got a request for an Atom Knob from a frustrated cold water diver. I made a pretty cool replacement and will test it this weekend. Atom HF-1 Retra Miniflash https://makerworld.com/@awkward_swine/collections/16165730?appSharePlatform=copy

1) Agreed, the Maxi is > Pro Max II. Slap on a 4500k filter and call it day. Don't talk to me about "quality of light". Dump your 32 AA batteries in the recycle bin or donate them to your Inon wielding buddies. 5) HF-1 is heaver then the Maxi in the water, by just 2 jumbo-Stix cubes The Maxi based system is heavier on land (barely) and just two float blocks give it parity in the water. So not that big of a difference. But the Maxi wins on brightness by a decent margin.

Amazing! Love the bright pink an the hosing on around the cable. Super fun!

Maybe the answer is the Backscatter Atom strobe? Smaller than any Retra, more powerful than an Inon, good battery life and excellent snooting/macro capabilities while retaining enough ommph for Wide Angle.

TPU for AMS is indeed very stiff (68d) and not suitable for this use case. You need to get a TPU 90 or 95A which are much softer, any brand will do.

I've not seen one. It's not a common lens in UW use so far. It's not hard to make one, but you need to have one in hand to take the measurements.

The next step is a curved glass macro port. Already have the glass...

Cool, i love the style! Have you tried it out? The offset spotting light always made the Inon strobes tough to snoot with. Hopefully the lens in the OS-1 compensates. I have been using the Atom Snoot for a few months now, i just forgot to share it!

Backscatter Miniflash adapter for Atom Strobe Convert your OS-1 Miniflash snoot to work with your Atom Strobehttps://makerworld.com/en/models/2718050-snoot-adapter-os-1-to-atom-strobe#profileId-3010574 I have had the Backscatter Miniflash MF-1 and MF-2 strobes for many years and love the OS-1 Snoot that this small strobe was designed around. It's probably the best snoot on the market, accurate and easy to use. The new Atom strobe is more powerful than the Miniflash models, but not much bigger. It's pretty much replaced my MF-2 strobe. But I really didn't want to buy the new OS-2 snoot for it. It turns out that the new model uses the same exacted optics and lens module as the older OS-1 snoot. It just uses a new mounting part to attach to the strobe. I have designed an adapter with very similar dimensions as the OS-2 snoot, and it works perfectly. The light cards from the OS-1 will also work in the updated snoot. Directions:Remove the four M3 screws that hold the aluminum optics front end module from the OS-1 snoot. You will need a 2.5mm allen key wrench. Use four M3 20mm screws to attach the adapter to the OS-1 optics module. Do not over tighten, just slightly finger tight. Do NOT use a screw longer than 20mm or you will very likely crack the glass in the optics module. Filament Choice:I strongly suggest using the recommended PETG for this model. PLA might work in the short term, but PLA does not wear well in the water and sun. It might break unexpectedly when exposed to the elements.

I have already designed the n100 part. I need to borrow a Sony housing for a couple of days to refine the fit and do some vacuum testing. I'll be diving up in BC again this weekend, so perhaps I'll be able to produce the final n100 parts in a couple of weeks.

3D Printed n120 Port Body Extensions for Nauticam https://makerworld.com/en/models/2728055-n120-port-body-extensions-for-nauticam#profileId-3023087 NOTE: This is a technical print with a mission critical application. Failing to follow all of the suggested settings could result in a non-viable part. There are many accessories for Nauticam Underwater Housings. One of the most essential are Port Body Extensions that are used to configure the length and offset of Macro and Dome ports to work with specific lenses. At some point I needed multiple copies of several ports extensions to support a growing family of lenses. Rather than buying more extensions, I decided to take on the engineering challenge of 3D printing a fully watertight, pressure resistant version of the parts. The result is a full set of n120 port extensions for Nauticam housings. Others and I have made many dives to well over 100 feet / 30 meters with several of these printed port extensions. Every dive with the printed port extensions were 100% successful with no leaks or loss of vacuum. Just as good as the real thing. The one difference from the OEM part is that they don't have a locking mechanism. However, as they fit very snuggly after being rotated into position they are not going to come off. If under a vacuum or under the pressure of submersion, it would be nearly impossible for them to come off. While I have not tested much beyond about 30 meters, I have confidence that these parts are strong enough to go much deeper. In the interest of caution, I suggest not diving beyond about 40 meters with these parts. If I am able to conduct tests to greater depths, I will update this suggestion. NOTE: Just as with OEM ports, I recommend having a strap wrench available to help remove port extensions if you have trouble doing it by hand. If port extensions are left installed for an extended period, the lubrication will dry and it may be very hard to rotate the port off. For better leverage, keep the port extension locked to the housing and rotate the port off. Use the strap wrench if you need more leverage and grip. Rubber gloves also help with grip. Print Plates with the most common extension sizes are included: 1. 20mm 2. 30mm 3. 35mm 4. 40mm 5. 50mm 6. 70mm If you need a size not included, let me know and I can easily generate a new one from the Parametric CAD model. Before diving a housing and camera using these port extensions I strongly suggest first: · Test the seal with an empty housing on the bench using the vacuum circuit for 24 hours. · Perform a test dive with an empty housing to gain confidence in the seal and strength of the printed part. Print Preparation: To get the strongest and most successful part possible, it is recommend to use a printer with a heated chamber and two print nozzles. The support material will be stronger and cleaner with a second nozzle. Using a single nozzle can weaken the part. The H2D, H2C, and X2D all meet this criteria in April 2026. Printing ASA or ABS without a 65C heated chamber will result is weaker layer bonds. You want this part to be as strong as possible. I have also created versions of this part with PETG, but not tested this material in the water. If you choose to attempt PETG, the settings for filament and slicer listed below should be largely the same. (substitute nozzle temps 5C higher than the default for PETG rather than the ASA values suggested) After printing, carefully remove all of the support material. Be careful not to scratch or dent the sealing surfaces in particular. These are o-ring groove, and the inner surface at the top of the ring. The sealing surfaces should be filed and sanded using medium grit 400 and fine grit 1200 sandpaper. After sanding wash the part with soap and water using a toothbrush. Repeat sanding if necessary after inspection. Install a Nauticam original o-ring in the printed port extension. Apply a light sheen of white PTFE lubricant such as Nauticam provides. (Tribolube, Cristolube) Do not use Silicone lube on these silicone orings as this can cause the orings to swell and leak. Vacuum test the printed port body extension and o-ring in your Nauticam housing for at least 24 hours before attempting to use it underwater. If the vacuum circuit changes from Green to Flashing Yellow or Red, you have a bad seal. More sanding or a full reprint may be required. Note: if the vacuum circuit light is Solid Yellow or Red, that indicates a weak battery in the circuit. Install a fresh battery and retest for 24 hours. Print Profile Settings: Filament Settings: · Bambulabs ASA dried for 12 hours · Flow Ratio: 1.1 · Shrinkage 99.5 · Retraction .55mm · Nozzle Temp: 270 / 275C · Bambulabs Support for ASA dried for 12 hours Slicer Settings: · .4mm nozzle · .1mm layer height · 10 wall perimeters · .5mm outer wall, inner wall, top surface · 1.5 bridge flow · Concentric top / bottom surface pattern · 2mm top / bottom shell thickness · 100% infill (with 10 wall there should be NO infill) · 150mm/s outer and inner wall speed · 100mm/s top surface speed · 25mm/s bridge speed · Enable Support ON · Tree(auto) support in Tree Organic Style · On build plate only ON · Remove small overhangs ON · Support base DEFAULT · Support interface SupABS · Top Z distance 0