VR3-Meg handset bracket

Also available are brackets to mount the HS Explorer and the Cochran computers to Meg and HH (gen one) handsets.

About a year ago I started looking at a solution to the pain of having my meg handset on one arm and my VR3 on the other. If I was taking along a camera, had to hang on a line, or do anything with my hands, torch etc, it sucked to have to keep watch on two arms, especially if there were sharks around who might take one with them in a hungry pass. YIKES!

Anyway, I started playing with a piece of ABS plastic and some cutting tools and some heat and actually found a way to make it work. Now Im not going to give up all my secrets, but there are some funky measurements on the back of the VR3. The Meg is pretty straightforward. So just recently I finally got my design finalized and got it to a local fabricator and they lasered out a few of these for me and then I went and had them powder coated a low gloss black marine finish. The result is actually nicer than I had originally imagined. Every Meg-VR3 diver who has seen one has reached for their wallet. I guess it’s a hit. So, If you like the idea and have a need, drop me a line or a phone call, or just paypal me $50usd and $6 for shipping if in the US or $12 if in the UK and I will get one out to you. Make sure you provide the correct shipping address, I ship via USPS Priority or Global Priority mail and it usually takes 2-6 days to get out to ya. Photos and instructions for mounting are below, take a gander.

NEW ADDITIONS as of November 07, the meg-Vr3 brackets are now made from aluminum and hard black anodized, the powder coating was not holding up over the long haul, so we made the move to aluminum. We have also added a support that drops down to the cable gland and is affixed to the cable with a large zip tie to help the cable support the extra weight of the VR3 hanging there. All these improvements and no increase in cost, the unit is still a cheap $50usd + shipping.

For the Cochran or HS Explorer computers, the instructions below are the same, except the computer attaches to the bracket with 4 small zip ties that thread through the pins on the computer that the existing wrist strap threaded through.

READ THIS FIRST, IT COULD SAVE YOU $1,000

That could be the price to repair your handset if it floods, it will only flood if you do not follow these simple instructions. Read on…

Since ISC has begun building rebreathers, the only handsets that have ever flooded have been ones that were taken apart by the user. So there must be something that ISC knows that some others do not. What is it? Simple, there is a proscribed torque setting when installing the face screws, which are stainless steel, into a much softer material, plastic. Once the O ring is compressed, additional torque on the screw heads only strips the plastic threads and ruin them.

Thank you for your purchase of the TMIShop.com Meg-VR3 mounting bracket, we hope you enjoy the use of it.

PLEASE READ THIS THROUGH, BEFORE YOU PICK UP A TOOL, once you understand the process, then come back and follow the directions for real.

The Bracket comes with a security torx bit, and a stainless steel cotter pin, plus a Zip tie. Installation should take about 10 minutes, but this is not a race! Tools you will need include a screwdriver with removable bits, a very small bit of elbow grease and that protoplasmic glob between your ears. NOTICE: there was no mention of any type of power driven tool here!!

There are two ways to install this bracket, one is to use the existing threaded SS pin that currently holds your VR3 wrist strap on, it is removable by using a fine tip flat screwdriver and turning it counterclockwise until you can pull it out by hand. The other way is to use the supplied cotter pin. The advantage of the cotter pin, is, that you can take the VR3 on and off the bracket, without disturbing the screws on the handset. The threaded screw comes in from a direction that prohibits its installation with the bracket mounted on the Meg handset. Take a couple minutes and see why this is so. You may damage your Meg handset by frequently removing and reinstalling the screws that hold the bracket on. If you don’t think you will need to remove the VR3 from the handset ever, fine, use the screw. Reasons to remove the VR3 include: using it to dive open circuit, taking it off the head to down load it some where warm and dry, loaning it to a buddy, or, sending it out for service, etc. If you decide to use the threaded pin, mount the VR3 onto the bracket BEFORE you attach the bracket to the Meg handset.

OK, now that that is over with, take your screwdriver and insert the appropriate bit, either the security torx we provided or the standard #2 Phillips (ONLY!). The older handsets have Phillips screws, the newer ones use the security tip. Now remove, by twisting counterclockwise, the four center screws shown here. ONLY THESE FOUR, NOT ALL EIGHT!!

Position the bracket over the handset with the bent part at the left bottom.

Now insert the 4 screws you removed into the holes on the bracket and get them started about half way down. Be sure you put them in straight and do not force them, thread gently, if you are doing it correctly, it will go easily.

Tighten the screws in the order shown below,

What you are looking for when you tighten these screws back in is to just compress the o ring and snug the screw. Tighter beyond this point is BAD! See the photo below.

Tighten just enough so that the gaps between the screw and bracket and between the clear face and handset body are gone. AND NO MORE!

Once you have the 4 screws back in and snugged up, you are ready to attach the VR3 to the bracket.

You will need to remove the wrist strap from the VR3, there are more than one type of strap, so you must decide how best to remove it. I had to cut mine off, but you can cut it in such a way that with a fastex buckle you can reattach it if you need to use it for OC or to loan to a buddy.

Next turn the handset bracket assembly over and slide the bent part of the bracket into the 45degree slot the VR3’s wrist strap came out of. This should go smoothly in, if not, sandpaper the edges of the bent tab. Do not force the flat part down! A little file work goes a long way. Every bracket was hand fitted to my VR3, but there may be manufacturing tolerances in the VR3 that will make some units a thousandth or so tighter. Repeat, don’t force the fit. There is not a whole lot of metal in that casting and its possible to break the slot apart. The bracket will not suffer if the powdercoat is removed, its 316 L marine SS underneath. (note: brackets delivered after Nov 07 are anodized aluminum and will not suffer from a bit of filing for fit)

The flat tab will lie down in the milled slot of the VR3.

Then slide in the cotter pin, and,

Give it a bit of bend on the end. NOTE: you may want to remove this at some point, so don’t make the end of the cotter pin look like a pretzel. This is all the bending you need to insure it won’t come out.

The hole In the end of the bracket allows its use as a pendant rather than attached to the wrist, this is nice for us old guys who cannot read the displays while on our wrist. The bracket can also be attached to the secondary handset by rotating it 180 degrees and mounting the VR3 upside down with the buttons at the top. You will, of course have to rotate the screen on the VR3, see the manual for the how to on this.

The happy family!!

I highly recommend a lanyard, I’m not buying you a new VR3 if you lose this one, a lanyard is a nice bit of cheap insurance.

On the new brackets, there is a tab that drops down under the VR-3 to about the level of the cable heading into the handset. I have provided a Zip tie to secure the bracket to the cable, this directs some of the extra weight you have added to the handset, away from the gland and onto the cable itself. Although this was not a design change that is completely necessary, I thought it a bit of extra insurance.

OK, so now the job is done, but here are a couple notes. There is an effect called dissimilar metal corrosion and it is a fact of life and chemistry. Your VR3 face is held on by stainless steel screws threaded into an aluminum housing, they are corroding as we speak; there is not much you can do about it. The cotter pin holding your bracket and VR3 together is stainless steel also and it will eventually corrode. You can, if you have some, lube the cotter pin with some Dow Corning 111 di-electric grease, this will slow the process. Keep an eye on it and replace it if it appears to be weakening, take it out occasionally and inspect it. Lots of white powder is a sign of corrosion. If you never do inspect or replace it, and it breaks during a dive, at least you had the lanyard. You did put on a lanyard didn’t you? I used a short piece of cave line. Remember, I will not buy you a new VR3 if you lose this one, you have been warned. The bracket is manufactured out of 316 grade Stainless steel, de-burred, bead blasted, and then subjected to a baked on marine grade powder coat and it should last a very long time. Have a great dive!! (note: brackets delivered after Nov 07 are anodized aluminum)