Inviting the #Fediverse to join another #Jabber / #XMPP channel I co-moderate - the Personal Protective Equipment channel. #PPE

Protect yourself from hazardous substances, #pollution, diseases ( #CovidIsNotOver !), #surveillance, police repression, and other threats. Or maybe just look cool and #cyberpunk.

Discuss cloth #masks, surgical masks, filtering facepiece (FFP) #respirators, reusable #elastomeric respirators (half-face or full-face), source control, powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), and more.

Discussion of #EyeProtection, #HearingProtection, #HeadProtection and similar also welcome.

You can join without a client or an account. Just visit chat.queer-spark.org/#/[email protected]

But for the best experience, I recommend using a proper client. The easiest way is to install Quicksy or Prāv on your phone, if you don’t mind using your phone number.

Otherwise, install one or more of the following clients, and use them to register an account on the conversations.im server (see providers.xmpp.net or compliance.conversations.im/old for more server recommendations) -

• Movim or ConverseJS - web clients, for those who don’t fancy installing anything
• Monocles Chat, Cheogram, or Conversations on modern Android devices. They’re paid on app stores, and free of cost on F-Droid.
• Yaxim or Bruno on old/low-end Android devices
• Monal or Siskin on iOS
• Gajim on Linux, Windows, and Mac
• Monal on Mac
• Poezio or Profanity in the terminal
• Convo on KaiOS/JioPhone

…once you’re set up, open this link to join the channel - invite.joinjabber.org/#[email protected]?join (or join [email protected] from your client)

If you’re new to Jabber/XMPP (e.g. coming from #WhatsApp #Matrix #IRC #Signal #Telegram #Discord etc), The Quick and Easy Guide to Jabber/XMPP explains why it’s the best communications platform we have, why it’s important that we push for it, and helps new users get started.

#BoostsAppreciated #Privacy #Federated #FreedomRespecting #Libre #OpenSource #FOSS

Just tried putting on the 3M 6502QL. First impressions?

I like that the top buckles are placed on the head cradle. That makes both fastening and unfastening easier. On the 6000 series, the buckles are so close to the facepiece that it was always a bit awkward to unfasten them, especially with large filters like the 3M P100 2091.

The Quick Latch works well and brings the facepiece down well below my chin. I can doff the mask without removing any head wear (like my hat), and I can eat without risk of getting the mask dirty. In comparison, while you can try the same thing with the 6000 series, in my experience the mask never went below my chin and there was always danger of food going into the mask. And of course, the 6000 series doesn’t offer such an easy one-handed operation.

Update - the reason the Quick Latch brought the facepiece down below the chin was because I had the head cradle too far back on my head. With (what I think is) the correct cradle position, the facepiece goes down around the chin - so it’s about the same situation as the 6000 series, except it’s a bit faster with the Quick Latch.

A downside of the Quick Latch design is that the straps somewhat impede your vision. Your point of view in the mask slightly resembles being in the cockpit of a dune buggy. It may be possible to fix this by adjusting the head cradle…I’ll investigate.

#respirator #mask #elastomeric #contraPPE

@reinhilde @jon_giraffe I think anything that is reusable will have cleaning requirements.

That said… I went the #Elastomeric route because the idea of generating a mountain of plastic waste from single-use masks did not sit well with me.

As an asthmatic, I also found unvented masks really gave me breathing difficulties. A vented mask worked better, and while there are single-use #N95 masks with vents, typically the vent is unfiltered and can't be easily retrofitted with a filter.

I went a Honeywell/North RU6500M (#FullFaceElastomeric) at first because I saw one going cheap … and it's been good, but it is a bulky option, so managed to find a Honeywell 7700 (#HalfFaceElastomeric) which uses the same filters (I have both #N95 / #P2 and #N100 / #P3 filters) but is less vulnerable to scratches.

Both I was able to reversibly modify to add an exhaust filter: typically I use disinfectant wipes to wipe down the mask inside and out… and if I fold one of those wipes three times over and cut it to size… it makes a passable exhaust filter.

At the moment I'm mostly masking during the winter months when cases are at their worst and the inconvenience is at its lowest. (Yes, I know COVID-19 is not seasonal, however behaviour and the immune system load from seasonal infection in winter months, raises the risks at that time.)

My #Elastomeric #mask of choice is the 6501QL / 49488 Rugged comfort - quick latch half facepiece (small) by #3M. The numbers above may change slightly if you need a Medium or Large size, so the key words to look for is #QuickLatch.

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