DIY Hip Mount... What do you think?

[ArmyDiver]

After reading through the threads on here, that I could find, (my search skills must not be the best). I decided to go ahead and spend a few minutes trying to build myself a hip mount. 14 dollars later I had this...

Going off the descriptions from other threads that I found, I pretty much copied FL Bill's set up.
Marked and drilled the holes...

Drilled holes in the belt then melted the excess to clean it up. Popped in the plastic screws with washers...

Then bolted it all together...

I secured the wire at the bottom and wrapped the rest around the shaft. I used two velcro wraps, that will release before tearing out of the main unit, to secure the cable by the grip and left enough play to move freely in any position that I will need to, without getting in the way of what I'm doing. Added a finds/trash bag and voila!

Final Product...

Any tips on things to improve or fix? There's a thunderstorm right now so I can't really test it out. I'll probably go out and mess around tomorrow morning. I'm still waiting on my scoop to show up so we'll see how that goes. I will be cleaning up the ends and trimming them down to fit better. Slap some paint on there and it should be good to go. I fitted it and walked around and practiced swinging to make sure I didn't have any issues. Good to go so far. I'm all ears/eyes for suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Montauk3]

Please understand this.

I definitely do not consider you a newbie!

You have, in very few posts, contributed more then many others.

The ability to do and think on your own is refreshing to many of us I'm sure.

Welcome.

Ralph

 

[FloridaBill]

excellent job I would sooner or later get a better finds pouch, would that will seal with Velcro at the top and had a place where the public cant see the jewelry and another bigger pouch with mesh so they can see all the junk you find and carry out....

 

[excal/pirate]

After reading through the threads on here, that I could find, (my search skills must not be the best). I decided to go ahead and spend a few minutes trying to build myself a hip mount. 14 dollars later I had this...

Going off the descriptions from other threads that I found, I pretty much copied FL Bill's set up.
Marked and drilled the holes...

Drilled holes in the belt then melted the excess to clean it up. Popped in the plastic screws with washers...

Then bolted it all together...

I secured the wire at the bottom and wrapped the rest around the shaft. I used two velcro wraps, that will release before tearing out of the main unit, to secure the cable by the grip and left enough play to move freely in any position that I will need to, without getting in the way of what I'm doing. Added a finds/trash bag and voila!

Final Product...

Any tips on things to improve or fix? There's a thunderstorm right now so I can't really test it out. I'll probably go out and mess around tomorrow morning. I'm still waiting on my scoop to show up so we'll see how that goes. I will be cleaning up the ends and trimming them down to fit better. Slap some paint on there and it should be good to go. I fitted it and walked around and practiced swinging to make sure I didn't have any issues. Good to go so far. I'm all ears/eyes for suggestions. Thanks in advance!

first i would drill a hole at the end of the pvc where your coil cable comes out zip tie snug this is a cable relief point so you dont have a direct pull on it also you need to zip tie cable from coil at the bottom then rap around once about 6 inches away from first zip tie do this 5 times this will help the cable from moving and having falsing problems i myself use the pistol type as ive tried both and this is the most useful place controls at my fingers tip you should also install knob guard if you intend to wear unit in front of you as rough waves could knock your scoop into the knobs breaking them and get youself a sraight shaft as the s one is hard to use in the water have fun good luck ps if you do wear in front be very careful not o hit the headphone conector it will be right in your way

 

[FISHEYE]

Armydiver,

You should also make a short stick for the coil.Its kinda hard to wave around a 4 foot stick underwater.Make the short stick 18 inches,get a motorcycle or bicycle soft grip for the handle.Also you can do away with the headphones too,just make a bone phone out of a small speaker and pot it with epoxy.

 

[ArmyDiver]

Montauk (Ralph),
Thanks for the kind words.

Florida Bill,
The pouch I have on there now has a zipper section at the top that can hold rings and smaller jewelry. I added velcro to the large flap area. Inside that area is an additional two pockets that can hold larger goodies as well as trash. I'll post up pics a little later. Would this be acceptable or do you have a suggestion on another bag?

Excal/Pirate
I have the cord above the coil just long enough to change angles without tugging then it is zip tied to the shaft about every 6 inches. Will this cause falsing or is that an acceptable amount of play? The top sections I used velcro wrap so that they would pull off and relieve any tension before adding enough pressure to tear the cord from the main unit. I'll add a hole to the mount for a zip tie anchor at the base of the unit. The way I have it set up now is almost like a holster. It's at enough of an angle not to interfere with my swing and the headphones make a straight shot to my head. I tried with it directly in front and the cables for the coil and everything just seemed too chaotic. I'll mess around and find a comfortable spot for them once I get a chance to get it on the beach. I was thinking about possibly mounting it vertically. (Kind of like a drop leg holster) Thoughts on that one? I'll certainly look into getting the knob guards put on there. I don't need this thing getting broken!

FISHEYE,
My Excal came with an 18 inch dive shaft. My next step is to figure out a comfortable mount that I can use while diving. I may just adjust this one a bit and wear it above my weight belt. As far as the headphones, can you elaborate on the bone phone? I did some searches on here and couldn't really find much and everything that comes up on google isn't really MD related. I'm certainly planning on using it in the water and hopefully diving with it but, will swapping out the headphones void the warranty? Also, would I be able to make a quick connect/disconnect to put the regular headphones on for beach detecting?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!! I greatly appreciate it. I'll get the ones you mentioned worked up tomorrow and post some new pics for evaluation. Hopefully I'll be able to get this thing tested tomorrow as well. Thanks again and keep them comming if you can think of more. I'm going to try to add a scoop hook to the opposite side so I can attach it to the belt instead of carrying or using it as a walking stick. Ideas on that would be greatly appreciated as well!

 

[FISHEYE]

Armydiver,

Check out this pdf from aquapulse,they have the option to plus in a bonephone.You may have to buy one from them and then get some waterproof potted connectors then cut off your headphones and hook up the bonephone,im sure this will void your warranty.


see the section of AQUAPULSE 1B SYSTEM PARTS & ACCESSORIES
www.aquascan.co.uk/AQUAPULSE 1B_Issue7.pdf

 

[nudels]

I made an impromptu hip mount out of an army canteen/mess pouch, and I use a standard mil web belt to hold it with some other hip mounted trinkets (mesh bag, small pouch for digger, etc). I'm pretty sure if you look there is an original military pouch that will hold your gear as is or with slight modifications. Well, maybe not the excal, it's a unique beast.

 

[OD_hunt]

Nice work on the hip mount, and the comments are just as helpful. I recently figured out I also need to move the pod off my swing-shaft for better ergonomics. But I want to do a 'sling' type belt that hangs diagonally over my chest. I have seen this online somewhere... Then to make sure the pod stays on your chest and not slide down to your hip, you could 'anchor' the belt with a clip (crocodile clip of some sort) to your pants behind you, almost like a suspender.

Different strokes for different folks. Hope your rig works! HH, OD

 

[FloridaBill]

since you modified that bag it should work great nice job on everything and good luck....