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Personal stereos in competition?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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donmoore

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Aug 19, 2002
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Is it legal to listen to music while performing, via waterproof headphones and a personal stereo, in an AIDA competition?

I tried looking on AIDA’s web site, but their ISP must be having difficulty today. Seems like the only equipment restrictions are in cb and then there is the question - is this considered equipment? I thought some of you competitors had probably already thought about this before. ;)
Thanks,
don
 
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There was a bit of a stink when Mandy set her static record a while back as she had a radio on. The record stood, so I don't think there is any stupid rule about it (I would hope).
Cheers,
Erik Y.
 
I can already see how AIDA could claim that it increases performance, and it costs money, therefore it's not equal oppertunity for anyone. :D
(kidding ofcourse.)
 
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I know that - at least in 2003, when I obtained the info - listening to music during a performance was (-> is ?) not explicitely forbidden, which means that it (was ?) is allowed. As far as I got it this is mostly due to the fact that hardly anybody makes use of this possibility anyway. Guess if numerous people start using it there will be an official statement about that.

Veronika
 
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Thanks for the info. :thankyou

You know, waterproof MP3 players are already starting to become available. One has an underwater case for scuba diving that’s rated to 200 feet, but it is bulky and would not work well for freedive depth disciplines. Another is aimed more at the swimmers and surface market and is very small. It looks like it would work for well for dynamic as well as static. The swimmers love them, because it distracts their mind while doing their long and boring practice sessions.

I haven’t been much of a music listener in the past, but I recently set a highest O2% and lowest hr PB on my pulse/oximeter at 5 minutes while listening to Pink Floyd. That has opened my eyes to the value of music! :friday
don
 
Do you know where you can get these underwater MP3 player because i always perform better when my mind is distracted by music.
 
Hi,

they are available via Ocanic. Pretty expensive, though. The link is http://www.oceanicworldwide.com/p_mp3player.html . There you can also have a look at a small film which shows best what size they have (not very small, to put it that way :hmm ).
As far as I remember there is a small waterproof radio which is more reasonably priced, it is (was ? just saw it on their homepage ages ago) sold by Speedo. Don't know if there are other brands available, too, but i guess so.

Veronika
 
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Here is a link to Swimman Inc, which makes a smaller one than the H2Audio/Oceanic. http://www.swimman.net/pages/859129/ I e-mailed them to ask if they had a depth limit, but they have not responded.

I have tried the Speedo radio and it is junk. Not worth the low cost it sells for. After buying it I ran into someone else who bought it and had the same opinion.
don
 
Originally posted by donmoore
I have tried the Speedo radio and it is junk. Not worth the low cost it sells for. After buying it I ran into someone else who bought it and had the same opinion.
don [/B]
I've just seen it on pics, never tried it. What exactly were the problems ?

Veronika
 
not just freediving competitors

I listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn while I practice in my room. I always do better when listening to it, than when I practice without anything playing. It just helps my mind relax when I can focus on something nice-sounding instead of how bad my lungs are burning! I would buy a good waterproof player in a heartbeat! I just never knew they existed...thanks to this great forum, now I do. Damn, how cool would it be to spearfish to music! I can only imagine the soundtracks! :D I'll keep watching this thread for more info on this topic, especially intel on quality players. And thanks for the gouge on the Speedo radio, because I already had searched and found it because of this thread, and was ready to buy it, until I read the recent posts. Keep us readers posted on what new info you learn, I'll do the same. Sorry if I sidetracked the thread from purely competitive freediving focus, I just got excited. :)
 
Veronika,
The speedo radio is built very cheap. It would only receive about 3 stations in an area that has about 20 local stations. The channel selector is very difficult to use. The quality of sound it terrible. So bad it sounded like a joke. If you do some searches on them you can probably find some swimmers who have comments on them.

I received an e-mail back from Swimman. They said their MP3 player is built to tolerate pressures greater than 10 feet, but they don’t recommend going deeper than 10 feet, because the silicon ear buds are not made to allow water to flow through for equalization purposes. The H2Oaudio MP3 case has an amplifier in it, which is part of the reason it is much larger. They use large speaker headphones. Swimman’s MP3 probably would not power the type of headphones H2Oaudio is using.

I think Swimman MP3 would work well for static and dynamic which is where I think I could get the largest benefit. Deep diving with music would be cool, but I find it easier to relax there than dynamic.

LutzSpearo, I’m glad you’re excited about music and apnea. Keep us informed if you get a player and what music works for you. I’m going to start experimenting with different music while keeping dry static records and see if I can come to some conclusions on what music works best. I recently starting listening to a “Lifescapes” “sleep” CD that has delta waves in it. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it really does help me fall asleep at night. Last night I woke up and tried to go back to sleep for about an hour, but just couldn’t get all the thoughts out of my head. I put that CD on and was back to sleep before the second song ended! ;)
don
 
There is now a third waterproof MP3 player on the market. It’s by Oregon Scientific in England. Even has a FM radio. U.S. price is $165, which is the lowest so far. Probably have to pay shipping and customs as well. I hate paying customs!

You can buy it at http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/MP3120_.htm.
don
 
Maybe I'm alone, but I can't imagine interfering with such an intense and personal event, such as a dive, by listening to music, spearfishing or otherwise.

From a competitive angle, I remain in the camp that thinks use of music should not be allowed. I believe it creates an 'unfair advantage'. Freediving is about the person's own ability. Wetsuits, masks and fins are as far as I think it should go (they could be considered essentials, in my view, tho not so much the fin).

From a technical angle, a waterproof MP3 player sounds excellent. I'll be checking out the above links!
 
I did some more searching, because listening to music while doing static and dynamics is something I really want to try. I came across this review of the Oregon Scientific player http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/printreview.php?reviewId=557. Scratch that one from the list. :ban

Then I came across this one http://www.freestyleaudio.com/product.html. Headphones look like good quality and the prices are $200 for the 128mb, $250 or a 256mb, and $300 for a 512mb. Comparable to the others and by far the largest memory.

Then I found the lowest cost one by far. H20MAN--H2O Man 128MB USB Waterproof MP3 Player from Computer Geeks at http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp? invtid=H20MAN&cat=MP3. $49 plus $6 shipping! :friday Apparently TUSA is marketing it as well. Here is a link to a review of it in German. If you don’t read German, like me, you can do a goole search on the following words, TUSA H20 Man, and click on the “Translate this page”. The review wasn’t real helpful.

Here is a link to a where simply scuba is selling it http://www.simplyscuba.com/ProductDetails.aspx?StockID=78772. Apparently they are making a good profit or the import tariffs are higher there. :crutch

I ordered one before I made this post. Well get back to you on the quality. If its junk, it will likely become a Christmas gift for one of my children.
don
 
let us know what its like! in theory I want one... now!!
 
i do a daily 10km fast walk every day! And since I started listening to music during the walk I have improved and found the time pass away without feeling it!
 
H2Oman

I finally received the H2Oman MP3 waterproof player. I could tell you the good points, but a product is only as good as its weakest links, so the good points really don’t matter much. The worst thing about it is the headphones. The are what make a pretty good product, stink.

The headphones look like Sony water resistant ear buds. Except they come with two silicone covers the go over them. The covers have ribs on them, which is apparently for sealing them in the ear canal. The problem is the headphones were made to sit in the ear being held in place by hooking over that little lope protruding up from the bottom of the outside ear. With the covers on them, they don’t fit at all in the ears. The only possible way they could stay in the ears is with a hood or swim cap, but even then its frustrating to try and keep them straight and not turn sidewise in the ear canal.

One cover says its splash resistance and the other waterproof. They both have holes in the end of them, the only differences is the size, with the waterproof one being smaller. I suspect that the ear buds headphones were not designed for the covers so a hole has to be in them to have any chance of enough volume reaching the ear. The problem as I suspect and predict is the earbuds are not waterproof and the micky mouse covers with holes in them will allow water to reach them. I should soon know, because each time I removed my hood, which is habit after a static, the headphones immediately fell out and were submersed before I could retrieve them.

The cheesy silicone covers with ribs means its really difficult/impossible to get the ear buds very far into the ears and very likely they won’t be placed even and will probably change position during use. This means getting the volume level is almost impossible! On land in an indoor pool during children swim team practice, I had to really strain to hear anything. Breathing up with the head out for static or dynamic and trying to hear the thing was more distracting than not having.

When I would submerse the volume would increase and in some instances sound good, but this was not consistent. Some times I would get blasted out on one side when the water pressure would position one earbud just right, etc..

The MP3 and waterproof case are pretty good, especially considering the price. It would be possible to cut the wires to the headphones and then solder and shrink tube the wires to a different set of headphones, but I don’t know how well any non-amplified headphones are going to work. H2Oaudio uses an amplifier in their underwater case to power their headphones that sit on top of the ears rather than in them. New SwiMP3 http://www.waterproofmusic.com/swimp3.html is another new waterproof MP3 player that uses uses bone conduction behind the ear rather than a headphone speaker.

I’m going to experiment with H2Oman since I already have it, but I couldn’t recommend it to anyone. I think eventually there will be reasonably priced underwater MP3 players that work.
don
:(
 
I know it's been pretty much a year since th elast post but I just stumbled over this post and decided to have a search myself.

Most of the links still went to the old pages and the mp3 players were still expensive, however I did find one good link. I'm not sure if I have to do any html stuff here but so i hope you get this link.

https://secure7.nexternal.com/share...usType=BtoC&Count1=360378444&Count2=277518868

It's a link to the latest iRiver waterproof flash mp3 players which are a lot cheaper than the other I saw plus it looks alot cooler because that one that attaches itself to the goggles so it looks like you have some crazy head aparatus on you, I just could wear that in a pool where there were other people.

So yeah just thought you people might like to know.

[edit] Just did i bit more research on it and found the H2O Audio website

http://www.h2oaudio.com/products/index.php

It seems they've made casings that allow you to take the ipod mini, ipod 3rd generation and ipod 4th generation into the water. Unfortuantely they're not too cheap (about $150) and only go to 10 feet but it's still a pretty cool idea.

I think i've finally found a use for whale music. :)
 
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I used to use music as an aid to competition in a very intense, high adrenelin sport, in which I held world and national records and national champion status. The pre activity mental rehearsal would be accompanied by 'ambient' vibes and immediately before the event I'd 'pump it up' with something 'full on'. IMO music can play a very important role in defining 'mood' in the mental preparation phase and pre activity circumstance and I suspect that in static apnea it's use would be a distinct advantage as an accompanying 'tool'...
 
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i recently stumbled upon some divers using ipods underwater with these new waterproof ipod cases with underwater earphones? anyone know about them and how effective they are, nvm how deep they can go, both the case and the earphones? just the thought of having an underwater working ipod makes me wish i had one since music helps keep me in the right mood for freediving and other sports.

heres a link http://www.razorreef.com/webapp/wcs...ctId=21801&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=14151
 
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