Anyone making a hard cover for the ZEN 9"

Hi All

After just scratching up a Zen 9" port, (thanks insurance for the new one)

I am dead keen to get rid of the poxy Neoprene and replace with a hard cover, does anyone know if there is an off the shelf solution or am I gong to get on the Lathe with a chunk of Delrin

Cheers

Chriso

Chriso,

i had exactly the same problem, the glue remains on the original neoprene cover scratched the acrylic dome. Arggghhhh!

I had the same idea to make a hard cover NOT touching the dome and i will do it probably with:

- PVC pipe for sewage with a glued on disk of pvc/wood/aluminium as cover, tube inside covered with neoprene to fit the diameter

- aluminium (difficult to weld but can be attached with rivets)

- plywood (thin plywood to bend the tube and a thicker one for the top, cover with 3/4 layers of resin to make it stronger

- Delrin, expensive material and it need a huge lathe or better a milling machine to machine it

In a few weeks i will be back in Italy and work on that.

Chris

What about something like this?

http://www.stockcap.com/prod_detail.asp?id=126&cat=14

Cary:

thanks for the link, but they say: "Made from flexible PVC" what - at least i want - is something hard to avoid that anything

touches the dome (and flat port as well).

Chris

Cary:

thanks for the link, but they say: "Made from flexible PVC" what - at least i want - is something hard to avoid that anything

touches the dome (and flat port as well).

Chris

You're welcome.

I saw a neoprene cover once that had an extra thick section that actually

touched the glass but gave the cover very good padding and bump protection. Unfortunately

I don't remember who made it.

Maybe a Rubbermaid round storage bowl can be modified to fit....?

I have the same dome BTW so I understand the concern.

I have been using a trimmed down plastic bowl that cost about $1 which fits snugly inside the Nauticam 9" dome shade, but clears the glass slightly. It's held in place with a string bridle. It's stiff enough to protect the dome in a suitcase, but far from ideal. For a Seacam superdome I found a PVC pipe end cap which was a push fit over the dome shade. Machining from delrin seems excessive.

To protect my 200mm Zens while travelling I use Polar Gear lunch coolers. They are very light-weight, padded and the domes fit perfectly. I also slip0 disks of chamois and closed cell foam between the neoprene cover and the glass for added protection. I dive with the neoprene cover slipped on my arm and always fit it before handing a rig up at the end of the dive.

In fact, I've found the Polar Gear range of lunch coolers provide excellent packaging for a multitude of expensive and fragile items, both when travelling and when diving closer to home.

@ PeteAtkins: I am looking for something going over the shade to avoid that anything can touch the acrylic dome.

I was thinking of a PVC end cap, if it is too wide i could glue s stripe of neoprene inside for a snug fit.

@ Timmoranuk: Nice tip with the round cooler, i did not thought about that. I hope i find one for my 170mm dome.

@ Cary Dean: Thicker neoprene will not solve my problem as the vibrations of the neoprene may lead to micro scratches or dull spots it again

What i want is a big "jar" going over the shade to avoid that anything can touch the acrylic glass.

Mid of next week i'm home in Sardinia and then McDiver will start to do the job properly.

Chris

@ Cary Dean: Thicker neoprene will not solve my problem as the vibrations of the neoprene may lead to micro scratches or dull spots it again

next week i'm home in Sardinia and then McDiver will start to do the job properly.

Chris

I see. Let us know how you solve the dilemma.

I custom made a few hard foam ones molded to fit my domes, which basically gave the dome surface about 5mm clearance and the surface is made of smooth rubber. Then I have a neoprene cover on top of that so it would be secure during transport. Weighed a bit and made the package bulky.

It's custom made for Subal and Seacam. But as long as you have the dome port, it can be made. The only problem is the shop is in Asia.

I have been thinking the exact same for my Nauticam tokina minidome, not come up with anything yet though!

For my Nauticam mini-dome (made with a Bare dome and a Nauticam extension) I used the top of a plastic box (the blue bit in the pictures) with a large hole cut in it which fits around the dome shade and is glued and welded (with a soldering iron) in place. (The shade was cut from a desk-top pedal bin which happened to be exactly the right size and cost $3.) The plastic box itself forms the dome cover and fits perfectly in the remains of its lid. A wrap of self-amalgamating rubber tape is there only to make the blue bit look more up-market...

For my Nauticam mini-dome (made with a Bare dome and a Nauticam extension) I used the top of a plastic box (the blue bit in the pictures) with a large hole cut in it which fits around the dome shade and is glued and welded (with a soldering iron) in place. (The shade was cut from a desk-top pedal bin which happened to be exactly the right size and cost $3.) The plastic box itself forms the dome cover and fits perfectly in the remains of its lid. A wrap of self-amalgamating rubber tape is there only to make the blue bit look more up-market...

What a cool system! congrats, i'm a fan of simple sollutions!

Yeah Pete,

that is exactly what i want to do as this kind of protection will avoid that anything will touch the so delicate acrylic dome.

I was searching yesterday without success in San Jose to find a bin/jar/round cooler to build a protection like yours.

I will continue my search next week when i am back in Sardinia.

Chris

For my Nauticam mini-dome (made with a Bare dome and a Nauticam extension) I used the top of a plastic box (the blue bit in the pictures) with a large hole cut in it which fits around the dome shade and is glued and welded (with a soldering iron) in place. (The shade was cut from a desk-top pedal bin which happened to be exactly the right size and cost $3.) The plastic box itself forms the dome cover and fits perfectly in the remains of its lid. A wrap of self-amalgamating rubber tape is there only to make the blue bit look more up-market...

Very good!

Same method here,

justa dd a couple of stickers and you a pro