146 ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATIONS 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



Communications from swimmer to habitat are necessary on some sorties. This need was 

 amply demonstrated on Sealab 11. The sonic type has an obvious advantage over the wire type, 

 particularly on long-range sorties. Since the Aquasonic is the only long-range communicator 

 readily available at this time, testing is needed to determine what causes the garbled trans- 

 mission from the swimmer at the 200- ft depth. A better strap design is needed to ensure that 

 the Bioengionics mask seals gas tight to the swimmer's face. A redesigned mask might be 

 necessary to alleviate this problem. 



In the future, a sonic communicator compatible with helium speech should be developed. 

 This commimicator should be much smaller than the Aquasonic and more reliable. 



The swimmer intercom should be investigated to determine the source of distortion. A 

 smaller unit with two-way capabilities is desirable and well within the present state of the art. 

 A different type of microphone might be necessary 



Improvement in helium speech unscrambling techniques is needed. 



