Halcyon Contour BC User manual

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Halcyon
OWNER’S MANUAL
Contour™BC

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
WARNINGS, CAUTIONS, AND NOTES 3
CONTACTING HALCYON 3
GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AND WARNINGS 4
HALCYON CONTOUR™ COMPONENTS 6
PRE-DIVE BC SYSTEM INSPECTION 8
BC SYSTEM CARE AND MAINTENANCE 9
APPENDIX 10

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HALCYON BUOYANCY COMPENSATOR OWNER’S MANUAL
Trademark Notice
Halcyon®and BC Keel®are registered trademarks of Halcyon Manufacturing, Inc. Halcyon’s BC Keel™and Trim
Weight systems are protected by U.S. Patents #5855454 and 6530725b1. The Halcyon Cinch is a patent-pending
design protected by U.S. and European law. Halcyon trademarks and pending patents include: Mulfuncon
Compensator™, Cinch™, Pioneer™, Pioneer 30 Traveler™, Eclipse™wings, Explorer™wings, Evolve™wings, BC Storage
Pak™, Acve Control, Ballast™, Diver’s Life Ra™, Surf Shule™, No-Lock Connector™, Helios™ lighng system, Proteus™
lighng system, Apollo™ lighng system, Scout Light™, Pathnder™reels, Defender™spools, and RB80™rebreather.
WARNINGS, CAUTIONS, AND NOTES
Pay special aenon to informaon provided in warnings, cauons, and notes accompanied by these icons:
A WARNING indicates a procedure or situation that, if not avoided, could result in serious
injury or death to the user.
A CAUTION indicates any situation or technique that could cause damage to the product
and could subsequently result in injury to the user.
WARNING: This manual provides essenal instrucons for the proper ng, adjustment, inspecon, and care of
your new Buoyancy Compensator (BC). It is very important to take the me to read these instrucons in order to
understand and fully enjoy the features that are unique to your specic model. Improper use of your BC could
result in serious injury or death.
Copyright Notice
This owner’s manual is copyrighted, all rights reserved. It may not, in whole or in part,
be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or
machine-readable form without prior consent in writing from Halcyon Manufacturing, Inc.
©2013 Halcyon Manufacturing, Inc.
CONTACTING HALCYON
Halcyon Manufacturing
24587 NW 178th Place
High Springs, FL 32643 USA
386.454.0811
800.Halcyon
386.454.0815 (fax)
[e-mail]
www.Halcyon.net

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GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AND WARNINGS
• Before using this Buoyancy Compensator (BC), you must receive instrucon and cercaon in SCUBA diving
and buoyancy control from a recognized training agency. Use of SCUBA equipment by uncered or untrained
persons is dangerous and can result in serious injury or death.
• Read this owner’s manual completely before aempng to use your BC, and become familiar with it rst
in a controlled environment, such as a swimming pool, in order to weight yourself properly and to become
comfortable with using its many features and adjustments.
• Before every dive, perform a complete pre-dive inspecon according to the procedure prescribed in this manual
to ensure that all components are funconing properly and that no signs of damage or leaks are present. If your
BC is not funconing properly or is damaged, remove it from service unl it can be repaired by an authorized
Halcyon Dealer.
• Before every dive, as part of your pre-dive inspecon, ensure that all components of your BC system are
securely connected.
• Your BC is not a li bag. DO NOT use it to bring heavy objects to the surface. Doing so may cause permanent
damage to the BC and could also result in an uncontrolled ascent.
• DO NOT overinate your BC. Control all ascents. A rapid, uncontrolled ascent may cause arterial gas embolism
or decompression sickness and could lead to serious injury or death.
• In the event of an uncontrolled ascent, it is important to immediately begin venng air from the BC. Connue
venng air to slow your ascent rate if neutral buoyancy cannot be re-established.
• In an emergency such as an out-of-air situaon or uncontrolled descent, it is important to remove and jeson
weight immediately. DO NOT depend solely on using your BC’s power inator to li you to the surface.
• DO NOT inhale from your oral inator. The BC may contain harmful contaminants or gasses, which could cause
suocaon, serious injury, or infecon of the lungs.
• Disassembly, repair, or lubricaon must not be aempted by persons who are not factory-trained and authorized
by Halcyon. Unauthorized service will render the warranty null and void.
•Factory-prescribed service for this BC should be performed at least once annually by an authorized Halcyon
Dealer.
• Annual service consists of a complete overhaul of the power inator and a general air leak inspecon of the
bladder and valve connecons.
WARNING: Your Buoyancy Compensator (BC) is NOT a lifejacket; it does not guarantee a head-
up posion of the wearer at the surface. It does not meet U.S. Coast Guard regulaons for a life
preserver or personal otaon device (PFD). If you become unconscious in the water without a
buddy present to immediately assist you, you may suer serious injury or death from drowning.

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Your Buoyancy Compensator is primarily designed to help you maintain neutral buoyancy while in a comfortably
balanced, face-down swimming posion underwater. It is also designed to provide you with otaon so that you
can rest on the surface, but it is not designed to funcon as a life preserver or personal otaon device (PFD). In
order to meet U.S. Coast Guard regulaons, a PFD must be designed so that it automacally rights you to a face-
up posion and holds your head out of the water on the surface. The design characteriscs of a personal otaon
device are therefore dierent from those of a Buoyancy Compensator. The ability of any otaon device to oat
you in a face-up posion can also be aected by other diving equipment you wear, including a cylinder or exposure
suit, and whether it can be inated before you lose consciousness.
For this reason, it is important to always dive with a buddy and to maintain close proximity with him or her at
all mes. Do not depend on any otaon device to hold your face above the surface in the event that you are
rendered unconscious in the water while diving.
WARNING: While this manual provides some basic guidelines for certain buoyancy control
techniques, it is not a substute for training from a professional diving instructor. Failure to
weight yourself properly may create a hazardous condion that could lead to serious injury or
death. If you are unsure how to weight yourself in order to achieve opmum buoyancy
underwater and on the surface, do not dive unl you have obtained the necessary instrucon
from your diving instructor or an authorized Halcyon Dealer.
If you have any quesons regarding your Buoyancy Compensator or these instrucons, contact your Halcyon
Dealer or Halcyon at: [phone].

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HALCYON CONTOUR™ COMPONENTS
FittingYour Halcyon Contour™
The Halcyon Contour™provides superior buoyancy control and
trim adjustment for divers in any underwater environment.
Each component of the system works together to provide you
with safe, ecient control of your gear while under water and
on the surface. The harness system provides a precision t by
adjusng to t most body types.
To properly t your Halcyon Contour™, begin by suing up
with the same thermal protecon that you will use with your
BC. If you plan to dive with a drysuit, make sure to include all
undergarments. In addion to the thickness of the drysuit, a
full set of thermal undergarments can add considerable bulk
and have a dramac impact on the sizing of the harness.
You can adjust the Halcyon Contour™without the use of
special tools by using the triglide fasteners on the top of the
shoulders and on the crotch strap. To adjust the shoulder
straps, loosen the triglide fasteners where the webbing feeds
through the slots (gures 1 and 2). Using equal amounts of
webbing from the top shoulder aachment, adjust the straps
so the belt sits at waist level. Adjust the chest D-rings to suit
your equipment needs.
The crotch strap and waist buckle should be
ed as snugly as is comfortable. Do not over-
ghten the waist belt so much as to restrict
breathing. When adjusng the waist belt,
make sure to set the buckle so that it is o to
your right side. With the buckle in this posion,
the crotch strap is unable to accidentally open
the buckle.
Be sure to adjust the top pull dump as needed
to compensate for the diver’s size. Aer the
system is ed, you will be able to idenfy the
appropriate length of the protecon sheath for
the top OPV string. Remove the pull dump and the string, cut the plasc protecon sheath, re-thread the pull
string, and aach the pull dongle.
The side bungee straps should hold the tank valves level with the side of the diver. You can lengthen or shorten the
bungee loops by releasing the knot and adjusng as needed. Tuck the remaining tail into the protecve sheath in
order to reduce abrasion and entanglement.
To adjust the crotch strap, buckle the waist strap without running it through the crotch strap. Now pull the crotch
strap up to the waist belt. Set the length so the top of the crotch strap loop extends one half inch (12mm) over the
top of the waist belt. Aer sizing the strap, you should adjust the top D-ring on the crotch strap assembly as shown
in gures 3 and 4 (next page).
Figure 1 Figure 2

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On land, your harness should be snug but not uncomfortably ght. In the water, your harness should be snug
enough to prevent notable moon of the cylinders as you change orientaon, but not so ght as to bind or restrict
your movement.
WeightingYour Halcyon Contour™
The Halcyon Contour™ provides for quick and
easy adjustment of your ballast. Your system
includes two weight pockets (gure 5) that can
be congured near the shoulders or near the
lower back.
Divers can also purchase addional weight pockets and use both
locaons. Each pocket holds 5lbs (2kg), allowing up to 20lbs (9kg)
of ballast. You may x these pockets at the upper (gure 6) and/or
lower (gure 7) part of your Halcyon Contour™.
In order to adjust this posion, you
may remove the corresponding
bolts (gure 8) and reghten in the
preferred locaon.
When considering the total weight,
bear in mind that the goal of any
SCUBA conguraon is to create a
system that allows diver control at
both the beginning and the end of
a dive. Proper weighng involves
balancing a number of factors,
including: increased surface
buoyancy (parcularly in a neoprene
suit before compression); the weight of your breathing supply (reduced
as the dive connues); 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
rst atmosphere. At depth, compression of the material forces the diver
to oset the reducon in li with addional buoyancy. Furthermore,
divers must ensure sucient weight to counteract empty cylinders near
the surface where the neoprene suit is not compressed and will begin to
exert addional li.
Accessories
Your Halcyon Contour™ is designed to oer notable exibility with respect to conguraon of a primary light and/or
argon boles. Many sidemount divers will likely prefer to use the Halcyon EOS™ cordless light, but some applicaons
Figure 5
Figure 6 Figure 7
Figure 3 Figure 4
Figure 8

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will require the use of a corded light. In this case, divers may wish to use the included D-rings to aach a primary
light as in gure 9. A bungee loop can be added for addional security. Oponal mounng straps can be purchased
which allow an argon bole or primary light to be ed to the boom of the Contour™ (gure 10).
CAUTION: It is important not to overweight the diving rig with too much xed weight; this
conguraon may not allow sucient removable weight, prevenng the diver from “ditching”
the weight and swimming to the surface during an emergency.
CAUTION: You should be certain, through in-water tesng prior to a dive, that without any air in
your buoyancy compensator you are capable of swimming against the weight of your
conguraon with full tanks and all weight in place. You need to verify that you are able to
manage your scuba conguraon in the event of a buoyancy compensator failure.
PRE-DIVE BC SYSTEM INSPECTION
Before each use, the BC must be given a thorough visual inspecon and funconal test. Never dive with a BC
that shows signs of damage unl it has received a complete inspecon and service from an Authorized Halcyon
Dealer. Periodically, it is advised to check the buoyancy compensator OPV for damage or corrosion and the harness
webbing for signs of wear. If your harness shows signicant wear, replace the webbing before diving.
Inspection Checklist
1. Connect the wing’s power inator to a clean air source via the LP quick-disconnect hose. Depress and release the
inator buon intermiently to ensure that the airow is unobstructed, and that the airow stops completely
when the buon is released.
2. Manually operate the overpressure (OP) valve by pulling on the aached string to test spring and valve integrity.
Fully inate the buoyancy wing unl the OP valve opens. Regular inspecon of the OP valve for corrosion or
damage is recommended.
3. Examine the operaon of the OP valve by repeatedly inang the wing to ensure that the valve opens to relieve
excess pressure, yet closes immediately aerward to allow the bladder to remain taut and fully inated.
4. Check the funcon of the oral inator buon, rapid-exhaust valve, and overpressure/manual dump valve to
ensure a rapid and unobstructed exhaust from each valve. Listen closely for any leakage with the wing fully
inated but not connected to a low-pressure air source. If there is any suspicion of leak, submerge and
— once
equalized to depth
— check for connued bubbling.
5. Check that all weight is secure and verify that pockets are in proper posion.
6. Make a nal check of tension of bungee straps holding your SCUBA cylinders to ensure that they have not
loosened due to stretching. Ensure there is no damage on these straps.
Figure 9 Figure 10

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WARNING: Loss of the weight system pockets can occur if they are not secured properly.
Unintenonal release of weight pockets underwater may lead to an uncontrolled ascent, and
could result in serious injury or death.
WARNING: If any leakage can be heard, or if the bladder begins to deate within 5-10 minutes,
DO NOT aempt to use the BC unl it has received factory-prescribed service from an Authorized
Halcyon Dealer.
BC SYSTEM CARE AND MAINTENANCE
With proper care, your Halcyon Contour™ will provide many years of reliable service. The following preventave
maintenance must be performed to extend the life of your BC.
Preventative Maintenance
Avoid repeated or prolonged use in heavily chlorinated water. Prolonged exposure to chemically treated water can
damage the BC’s material. Do not allow the BC’s wing to chafe against any sharp objects or rough surfaces that
could abrade or puncture the bladder. Do not set or drop heavy objects, such as block weights, on the BC’s wing.
Store the wing parally inated to reduce the possibility of puncture. Avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight
and extreme heat. Nylon fabric may fade when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, and extreme heat may damage
the integrity of the BC’s welded seams. Avoid any contact with oil, gasoline, or other solvents or contaminants.
CAUTION: Recommended working pressure of the Halcyon BC inator is 120 psi (8.3 bar) to 160
psi (11 bar).
CAUTION: Operang temperature range of the Halcyon BC system is -20 celsius (-4 fahrenheit)
to 70 celsius (158 fahrenheit). All prudent/known safeguards and procedures should be
observed when diving in near or sub-freezing temperatures on the surface and below.
Post-Dive Maintenance
To prevent permanent damage from corrosion, salt crystals, or chlorine, thoroughly rinse the BC inside and out
with fresh water aer every day of use, using the following procedure:
1. Pressurize the power inator with low-pressure air via the quick-disconnect hose.
2. Using a garden hose or other fresh water source, direct water through the oral inator to ush the interior of the
bladder, and then thoroughly rinse the exterior of the BC and harness.
CAUTION: Before rinsing, ensure that the power inator is pressurized with air. This will prevent
foreign parcles and contaminants from entering the valve mechanism in the event that the
inator buon is accidentally depressed.
3. Completely drain the bladder of water, either through the oral inator or through the overpressure valve, being
careful to avoid operang the power inator.
4. Inate the BC and allow it to dry inside and out before storing. Store the BC parally inated, away from direct
sunlight, and in a cool, dry, clean area.

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APPENDIX
Warranty Information
All warranty requests must be accompanied by proof of original purchase from an Authorized Halcyon Dealer. Be
sure to save your sales receipt, and present it whenever returning your Contour™for warranty service. Halcyon
warrants, to the original purchaser only, that the Halcyon Contour™ will be free of defects in materials and/or
crasmanship under normal diving use for one year from the date of purchase, provided proper care is performed
on all materials as described within this manual. Should your Halcyon Contour™ prove to be defecve for any reason
(other than those listed in the limitaons secon below) it will be repaired or replaced (at Halcyon’s discreon)
free of charge excluding shipping and handling charges. All correspondence concerning this warranty must be
accompanied by a copy of the original sales receipt. Repair or replacement is Halcyon’s only responsibility and your
only remedy under this warranty.
WARNING: It is dangerous for untrained and uncered persons to use the equipment covered
by this warranty. Therefore, use of these products by an untrained person renders any and all
warranes null and void. Use of SCUBA equipment by anyone who is not a cered diver, or
who is not receiving training through a recognized cercaon agency, shall render void all
warranes, expressed or implied.
ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO A PERIOD ENDING ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF
PURCHASE. Some states in the U.S. and certain foreign countries do not allow limitaons on the duraon of implied
warranes, so this may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specic legal rights. You may have rights that vary
from state to state and country to country.
HALCYON MANUFACTURING DISCLAIMS AND EXCLUDES ANY LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES. SOME STATES IN THE U.S. AND CERTAIN FOREIGN COUNTRIES DO NOT ALLOW EXCLUSIONS OR
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
The following restrictions apply to this warranty.
1. This warranty extends to all power inator parts and to the seams of the BC wing bladder.
2. This warranty does not extend to abrasion, punctures, or tears of the bladder, or seam separaon caused by
chemical aack, including prolonged exposure to chlorine.
3. This warranty does not extend to damages caused by improper use, improper maintenance, neglect, unauthorized
repairs, modicaons, accidents, re, or casualty.
4. Cosmec damage, such as scratches, fraying, and nicks are not covered by this warranty.
5. This warranty does not extend to equipment used for rental, commercial, governmental, or military purposes.
6 . This warranty covers products purchased in the United States. For warranes that may apply elsewhere, please
contact your local representave.
7. Failure to meet any of the above requirements will render the warranty null and void.

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Halcyon Dive Systems
24587 NW 178th Place
High Springs, FL 32643
800.HALCYON
[email protected]
Halcyon.net