******************************************************************* *** PSUBS STANDARD or GUIDELINE PROPOSAL FORM *** ******************************************************************* ------------------------------------------------------------------- *** I N S T R U C T I O N S *** ------------------------------------------------------------------- Use this form to submit a proposal for a new, modification, or deletion of a standard or guideline that pertains to personal submersibles. Note that items 4, 5, 6 and 7 have sample text included to help you better understand the context of information we need to turn your proposal into an RFC (Request for Comment) that can be distributed to community members. Remove the sample text and replace it with text appropriate for the proposal you are making. When you are finished, email this entire form to standards@psubs.org with a subject line of "Guideline Proposal" ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Your Name. 2. Your business or organization (optional). 3. Which manual are you proposing a change to? [ ] Design Guidelines for Personal Submersibles. [ ] Construction Guidelines for Personal Submersibles. [ ] Operating Guidelines for Personal Submersibles. 4. Enter the purpose for your proposal. This should be a short one or two sentence synopsis that describes what your proposal does, or tries to accomplish. EXAMPLE-TEXT To standardize the radio equipment used for communication between support personnel and submersible pilots while the submersible is in water, but surfaced. 5. Enter a detailed description of your proposal. This should include a reference to the problem or issue your proposal is attempting to resolve. Remember that you are attempting to convince the PSUBS community that your proposal is in THEIR best interest. EXAMPLE-TEXT Surface communication with submersibles is an important safety element that helps both the sub-pilot and ship/shore support personnel coordinate pre-dive and post-dive activities. This is particularly true in cases where multiple submersibles are within close quarters of each other and participating in an organized event such as the PSUBS convention. The 2006 and 2007 PSUBS conventions hosted dive operations with multiple submersibles of varying types and capabilities. Managing these events in the interests of safety proved to be difficult due to differences in equipment, and in some cases, no communication equipment at all. It is to the benefit of everyone involved if a standardized means of communication can be implemented for future events. 6. Enter the text for a NEW or MODIFIED standard or guideline. This should be written exactly as you suggest it be published in the guideline manuals. Leave this field blank if your proposal is to REMOVE a particular standard or guideline. EXAMPLE-TEXT A) Marine Band (VHF) radios shall be the standard radio device used for communications when a submersible is surfaced upon any body of water. B) As part of the pre-dive planning, the specific channel used for communications shall be determined and agreed upon by all parties. C) Use of such radios shall be in accordance with laws and regulations within the jurisdiction of the dive site. 7. Enter the justification for your proposal. This should include any supporting reasons/documentation for its adoption. Remember that you are attempting to convince the PSUBS community that your proposal is in THEIR best interest. EXAMPLE-TEXT A) Marine Band (VHF) radios are reasonably priced units that are accepted as standard equipment on most surface vessels throughout the world. B) Marine Band (VHF) radios include frequencies that allow access to weather reports. This can be important information for diving operations. C) Marine Band (VHF) radios include a specific emergency channel (16) that is monitored by all seagoing traffic not involved in any ship-to-ship or ship-to-shore communication, and the US Coast Guard within the United States coastal waters. D) Marine Band (VHF) radios are available as either base units or hand-held units which allows sub-owners flexibility when incorporating the radio into their existing submersible or designing their submersible. E) Marine Band (VHF) radios can be operated directly off of internal power within the submersible, or from independent batteries or internal power in the case of hand-held units. F) Marine Band (VHF) radios have transmission power that exceeds most other non-license type communication devices, thereby fostering clear communications. 8. If your proposal has requirements upon anything else to make it effective (licensing, training, etc), describe those requirements here. 9. If your proposal has dependencies upon something else to make it effective (availability of another product, certain fabrication technique), describe those dependencies here.