Halcyon Multifunction Compensator, Owner'S Manual

Page: 13 / 20

13
Weighting your MC System
The Halcyon Multifunction Compensator provides for quick and easy adjustment of your ballast.
Once properly fitted, your Secure Harness can be used with any of the Pioneer single cylinder
wings or Explorer double cylinder wings, with only minor adjustments of the harness to account
for different exposure suits and by the selection of the appropriate weighting system. The
goal of any SCUBA configuration is to create a system that allows a diver control at both the
beginning and end of a dive.
Proper weighting involves balancing a number of factors, including: increased surface buoyancy
(particularly in a neoprene suit before compression), the weight of your breathing supply
(reduced as the dive continues) and the need to remain neutral at 10’ (3m) assuming an empty
cylinder (or cylinders). Typically, more than 80% of the weight a diver wears to sink a neoprene
suit is needed only within the first atmosphere. At depth, compression of the material forces the
diver to offset the reduction in lift with additional buoyancy. Furthermore, divers must ensure
sufficient weight to counteract empty cylinders near the surface where the neoprene suit is not
compressed and will begin to exert additional lift.
Halcyon’s MC system has the flexibility to allow divers a range of weighting options to achieve
proper balance; these options include the Active Control Ballast™ (ACB) system (Figures 18,
19), canister lights, v-weights (placed beneath the back plate on doubles), weighted single tank
adapters, backplates in stainless or aluminum, Halcyon Trim Weights (placed on the back of a
single tank), and/or the use of a traditional weight belt.
For example, a Pioneer wing might be configured with a combination of releasable and fixed
ballast. Six pounds (3 kg) of fixed ballast are accounted for with the Halcyon stainless steel
backplate. You may also adjust non-releasable weighting by choosing Halcyon’s aluminum
backplate or the weighted Halcyon Single Tank Adapter (6 lb/2.7 kg) (Figure 20). Between two
and ten additional pounds (1-4 kg) can be positioned directly on your tank as part of Halcyon’s
Trim Weight Kit (Figures 21, 22). When properly configured and tested, tank trim weighting may
assist in facilitating a heads-up position while at the surface. However, you should not consider
their MC system as a replacement for a life jacket; it is not designed to function in this capacity.
Proper placement of tank mounted Halcyon Trim Weights also promotes stable and consistent
horizontal trim during the dive. The remainder of the necessary weighting can be fine-tuned
through the use of Halcyon’s Active Control Ballast system, configurable with up to 30 pounds
Fig 18: ACB pocket, mounted on Secure
Harness waist belt
Fig 19: ACB pocket