Heard a young diver say 'no one uses hardwire comms anymore' and it hit me

I was at a shop in San Diego last week picking up some o-rings and this kid, probably mid 20s, was talking about how he only uses wireless intercoms. Made me think about all those years I spent cutting my teeth on a KMB 18B with that clunky hardwire setup off the Louisiana coast in 2007. Sure, wireless is nice and all, but I still carry a backup hardwire reel just in case. Anyone else keep old gear around for peace of mind?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_alex11d ago

Man that really hits home, I still have my old KMB 18 rigged up in the garage just in case.

stella12111d ago

My buddy Tim still fires up his granddad's KMB 18 every deer season...

simonk9811d ago

Still have my KMB 18 rigged up in the garage" - that's exactly why I'm always torn on these old units. Your mileage may vary, but I've noticed people forget those things were built for a totally different era of ammo. The powder blends we use now burn way cleaner, and those old leaky oil buffers just don't handle the pressure curve the same way. I borrowed a buddy's KMB once and it jammed on every third round with modern Hornady loads.