jaguar piccolo technisub speargun

[popgun pete]

Thanks for preparing the files as the parts drawing I already had was not great with very blurry lines due to it being a copy of a copy from a US Divers catalogue, they being the gun's distributors in many overseas markets, as they were for other Technisub products such as masks and fins.

 

[Chris Morgan]

I've just picked up a fully functional Technisub Ranger gun with spear. But it didn't have the tank or pump....

I'd like either to find someone here that has the tank (and the pump or if only the tank I can find a pump with threads that will fit...) OR sell the gun to someone that needs it for part.

What do you think?

 

[Chris Morgan]

patin_windward@hotmail.com

I've just picked up a fully functional Technisub Ranger gun with spear. But it didn't have the tank or pump....

I'd like either to find someone here that has the tank (and the pump or if only the tank I can find a pump with threads that will fit...) OR sell the gun to someone that needs it for part.

What do you think?

 

[popgun pete]

By tank do you mean only the cylindrical tank tube? The Ranger has a black rubberised cover on the tank which makes it less tubular in appearance by adding some angular lines and features to the outer cover.

This post and the above query would be better shifted to here: https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/technisub-ranger-seals-manual.91855/page-2

 

[Chris Morgan]

My mistake!~ I assumed it had a pressure tank inline behind the handle, like many other models! Does the pump (that I don't have) just screw into the threaded port at the back of the handle?

Currently the spear will launch, but without much force. It should work fine with a pumped up charge. Do you know the recommended PSI?

 

[popgun pete]

My mistake!~ I assumed it had a pressure tank inline behind the handle, like many other models! Does the pump (that I don't have) just screw into the threaded port at the back of the handle?

Currently the spear will launch, but without much force. It should work fine with a pumped up charge. Do you know the recommended PSI?

You will find scans of the "Ranger" owner's handbook" here: https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/technisub-ranger-seals-manual.91855/#post-866442
Those guns use 25 atmospheres or about 370 psi. The gun has a 32 mm ID tank even though the outer diameter looks closer to 40 mm.

Don't shoot the gun out of the water or you will eventually bust it.

 

[Diving Gecko]

My mistake!~ I assumed it had a pressure tank inline behind the handle, like many other models! Does the pump (that I don't have) just screw into the threaded port at the back of the handle?

Currently the spear will launch, but without much force. It should work fine with a pumped up charge. Do you know the recommended PSI?

Yes, you attach a pump into the valve at the very back of the gun. But the challenge is finding out what kind of thread Technisub used in that valve. Perhaps they adhered to one of the two major sizes used by most other brands. If that's the case you can pick up either a Cressi pump or a Mares (Seacsub uses that too as well as some older Omer guns).
But I guess there at least two more standards. Some years back, another forum member had gotten his hands on an old Scuba Pro gun and since the molds of that gun was later put into service to make a new line of Salvimar guns, it was a very reasonable suggestion that a Salvi pump would fit his gun, but for some reason it didn't. So, for screw-in pumps, I guess there are Mares, Cressi, Salvi and possibly a Scuba Pro standard. Maybe even more.

Do you have a way to measure the thread diameter and pitch of the female thread of that valve? If you still have the plastic plug - and if that one is a male "match" for the thread perhaps you can let us know its size and we can try to make an informed guess for you. Also, let us know if you can see an o-ring sitting below the thread in the valve? Reason being, some brands have the o-ring on the pump, others have it in the valve and it might help is hone in on an answer.

For now, I can tell you the following about the pump threads:
Mares: M14x1, o-ring on the pump
Cressi: M18x1.5, o-ring in the valve? (not sure at all)
Salvi: M14x1.25, o-ring in the valve

If none of these match, you might have to have an adapter made. If you end up going that way, I suggest you pair it with a Mares pump as they are the easiest to source.

@popgun pete What do you think? Looking at the drawings, it seems to me that the inlet valve might be pinned in place on the barrel as opposed to being screwed into the barrel? If that is the case, I guess swapping the whole inlet valve is out of the question.

 

[Diving Gecko]

Very, VERY much as an aside, I kept thinking that the Ranger had a bit of Starwars blaster look to it. So, I started researching and while the Ranger doesn't really match that closely with any of the weapons of Starwars I found something else:
Boba Fett who was the bounty hunter that delivered Han Solo to Jabba The Hutt supposedly carried a sidearm in The Empire Strikes Back which was an actual Technisub speargun.
While it seems he never actually unholstered it on screen, legend has it that it was the Technisub Pulce 40 with very minor modifications.

Since there are a ton of collectors out there who love replicas of Starwars paraphernalia, those old Pulce 40s now seem to fetch up to USD 800-1000...!
Some industrious folks have made molds of these guns and sell molded replicas for around USD 200, it seems.
Who would have thought

Here is an original:

I think for the movie, they just removed the front plastic muzzle cover as that's how the replicas are all shown. Here's one made from molds of a Pulce 40:

 

[popgun pete]

The "Ranger" follows on from the "Grinta" and I expect that Technisub retained many of the same parts as it had a similar tank diameter, around 30 mm. The "Ranger" tried to look like the larger diameter “Sten” and “Cressi SL" guns with their 40 mm OD tanks, but that was a bit of a deception as the tank was fattened up with a black shroud. The pump thread diameter was M17 from memory in the "Grinta" and the sealing washer was in the rear of the gun, not on the nose of the pump.

The earlier "Pulce" used the same 3 ball sear system in the front of the gun as the "Drago" and was badly affected by wear of the balls which are exposed to saltwater.

 

[osidiver]

I doubt that my remarks carry any weight but......Sme time agow I come acrss, at the local flee market ,five spear guns that I have never seen before . One of them , a Jaguar Technisub spear gun,was in very poor condition,not salvageble acording to the seller.I decided to strpp it down and did not take long to realise that the piston/relise mecanism were gone. As wee know that there are no spares available ,I decided to manufacture my own. To days later I had a brand new piston assambler and after instaling it I presuraised the unit,hard work, and to my surprise ,worked like a dream . However,using a pump it is not the way to go, I have modified the gun so I presurised it by using a sodastreem gas bottle. I was over the moon to find out that my piston design was so good that the gun it is still at same presure o week later.So in conclusion, if you have a pneumatic spear gun that does not work due to a damage iston/relise mecanism, get acces to a good metal lthe ,some solid brass bars , a kit of O rngs and design your own unit.Wish you all the best in your endever. Kind regards OZIDIVER..

 

[Diving Gecko]

I doubt that my remarks carry any weight but......Sme time agow I come acrss, at the local flee market ,five spear guns that I have never seen before . One of them , a Jaguar Technisub spear gun,was in very poor condition,not salvageble acording to the seller.I decided to strpp it down and did not take long to realise that the piston/relise mecanism were gone. As wee know that there are no spares available ,I decided to manufacture my own. To days later I had a brand new piston assambler and after instaling it I presuraised the unit,hard work, and to my surprise ,worked like a dream . However,using a pump it is not the way to go, I have modified the gun so I presurised it by using a sodastreem gas bottle. I was over the moon to find out that my piston design was so good that the gun it is still at same presure o week later.So in conclusion, if you have a pneumatic spear gun that does not work due to a damage iston/relise mecanism, get acces to a good metal lthe ,some solid brass bars , a kit of O rngs and design your own unit.Wish you all the best in your endever. Kind regards OZIDIVER..

That's awesome, well done!
I read back on this thread and our resident curator/historian/expert Pete mentioned that these guns don't have the regular sear/hook trigger. I don't even know what ID the barrel is? This is interesting as "normally", you can pretty much use whatever 13mm piston in any brand gun from the 80s up (if it's indeed a 13mm gun, of course).

Drop us some pics if you can. It's pretty easy, you can drag and drop them into a regular post though you may have to downsize them first.

Congrats again. It's amazing when old guns are being given a second life like this.

 

[osidiver]

Thank so very much, I have taken several pics. witch I will post before Sunday. Thank you all again. Kind regards Ozidiver.