iPod's in Skydiving

[killa_k 0]

I am still new to this sport but I was just wondering how good or bad of an idea it would be for someone with more experience than me to skydive with an iPod (MP3 Player). If you have an opinon on this topic please let me know.
Blue Skies
Kenny

Blue Skies and Happy Landings
Kenny

[IanHarrop 42]

Check out this thread:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1427082#1427082

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[Silverchic 0]

Why would you want to? I mean I'm pretty wired for my music but I wouldn't have even considered it....

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[mr2mk1g 10]

Worst case scenarios:

You'll fuck your hearing because you'll need it that loud.
You'll cause a canopy collision because you didn't hear the warning shouts.
You'll do something else wrong because you're concentrating on it/fiddling with buttons when you should by concentrating on not dieing.
If it has a hard drive it won't work at altitude and you run the risk of killing it permanently just by turning it on at altitude.

Course it'd probably work out just fine most of the time... I don't like counting on "probably" my self but each to their own.

[darkwing 5]

I think it is an unbelieveably bad idea. Even with the hearing issues (although there are good, safe, deaf skydivers), you have the distraction issue.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[karenmeal 0]

I tried it the other week and loved it.

My mp3 player doesn't go very loud, so I could only hear it while I was on the hill and the music faded back in as soon I pitched my pilot chute.

As far as not hearing someone who is about to hit me under canopy... Well.. I use other collision avoidance measures which I feel are more effective. So that was no concern.

My only concern was that the insert earphones might come lose and start beating me in the face in freefall, but my helmet is tight, and it was all good.

I don't think I will make a regular activity of it, but that one jump just brightened my whole day. It would certainly be an awesome thing to enjoy on one of those high altitude sun-set hop and pops with a beer.

I hadn't felt that relaxed and skydived so gracefully in a long time. It was soo good.. Oh and it was Phish. Beautiful.


-Karen

But I wouldn't reccomend it to people with low jump numbers. The distraction issue and all..


Edited to add: Oh, and I had a money swoop too. Nice long, slow carving harness turn, and running it out was graceful and then I started dancing. It's amazing what happens when you're truly relaxed.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[MrBrant 0]

from a PURELY technical point of view, it wouldn't be a good idea either.

Hard drives (all Ipods except for Nano, and Shuffle) generally don't do well at high altitudes under normal conditions.

Now, ad in jostling, bumping, opening shock, etc. your ipod might not last long before the HD craps out...

[Ron 10]

Quote

You'll fuck your hearing because you'll need it that loud.
You'll cause a canopy collision because you didn't hear the warning shouts.
You'll do something else wrong because you're concentrating on it/fiddling with buttons when you should by concentrating on not dieing.
If it has a hard drive it won't work at altitude and you run the risk of killing it permanently just by turning it on at altitude.

Course it'd probably work out just fine most of the time... I don't like counting on "probably" my self but each to their own.

100% agree its a bad idea.

Some claim to be able to function just fine. Avoiding problems using "Other methods"....But why remove a very good method that may save your life?

CRW folks...Whats the number ONE thing to have in a wrap?

Communication. And if you do run into someone its really hard to talk when you have an iPod in your ear.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[kirrz 0]

Quote

Hard drives (all Ipods except for Nano, and Shuffle) generally don't do well at high altitudes under normal conditions.

I am not disagreeing, I am just curious. If this is true, does that mean every time you use a laptop or a hard-drive based iPod when on a flight, it is doing something bad to the device? And if so, what is it doing exactly (feel free to be as technical as you want).

Cheers!

[Andy9o8 2]

I'm going to throw my hat in with the "bad idea" posts. Even in a hi-altitude h & P in APPARENTLY clear airspace, you've still got the diminished hearing factor, which even at, say, 6,000 feet is an issue because it makes you less able to hear a powered aircraft in your airspace, thereby potentially reducing your reaction time for evasive maneuvers. I know that there are many extremely capable deaf skydivers, but the simple fact is that lack of or diminished hearing under canopy, at any altitude, is a factor that requires active compensation. Also, a person who's been deaf most of his life will be more accustomed to using that compensation than a hearing person might. When I'm under canopy on a high h&p, I sometimes hear the faint sound of an aircraft engine off in the distance, and I immediately look to try to identify where the sound's coming from. I have a deaf cousin who's a decent driver, but he does miss important audio cues such as horns beeping, sirens, motorcylcle engines, etc., and that definitely places him at a slight disadvantage. Still, he's been deaf his whole life, so when he drives, his head is constantly on a swivel, much more so than the average "hearing" driver is. So even aside from the distraction factor (which I think is a huge reason not to do it), I don't think it's a great idea.

[mattjw916 2]

No, a commercial airliner is pressurized to ~6000ft and climate controlled. That's a far cry from 13k and low temps +/- humidity, etc. Someone could always whip out their iPod manual and check the operating ranges but I'm willing to guess that doing it often will lead to premature iPod failure. While cold won't hurt electronics (generally) humidity and temp changes can lead to condensation, which is a killer.

edit: I might listen to my iPod on the ride to alt, but there's no way I'd jump with it. I like to hear my audibles... even using it in the plane still has drawbacks imho.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[mr2mk1g 10]

The important figure is generally cited as 10,000ft. Commercial air liners don't register a pressure change of more than about 6,000ft (IIRC) in the cabin.

The reason it will break your nice expensive hard drive containing gizmo is hard drives are a spinning disk on which a reader head floats (kinda like a record player).

The reader head floats on few molecules of air. Above 10,000ft there simply aren't enough air molecules around to keep the head floating and it hits the disk. Sometimes this just causes failure but the potential for causing permanent and fatal damage is also very real.

There's loads of info on the topic in the camera forum if you're interested or a google search will through up more than you'd ever need to know.

[aftermid 0]

Quote

I am not disagreeing, I am just curious. If this is true, does that mean every time you use a laptop or a hard-drive based iPod when on a flight, it is doing something bad to the device? And if so, what is it doing exactly (feel free to be as technical as you want).

Cheers!

On a commercial airline the cabin is pressurized, so there is no effect on the hard drives.

I don’t know the impact of altitude in an unpressurized jump plane. I do IT for a living, and I’ve never read or heard of any such warnings. Hard drives function best in cold dry environments. I’ve put hard drives in the freezer to recover data and it actually worked quite well.

I've thought about listening to my iPod in the ride to altitude, but never while jumping. It always seemed like there was enough stuff to do with my numbers.

[kirrz 0]

Of course!! Commercial planes are pressurized!! It completely evaded my mind!

Thanks!

[mattjw916 2]

Quote

I do IT for a living

Quote

I’ve put hard drives in the freezer to recover data and it actually worked quite well.

...then you should know why that is a bad idea; leave data recovery to the professionals.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/245/1

edit: bad markup...

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[aftermid 0]

Quote

...then you should know why that is a bad idea; leave data recovery to the professionals.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/245/1
edit: bad markup...

Fair enough. I've never done it in a situation where it was critical data, more as an experiment. Obviously when there is critical data it's prudent to pay for professional recovery. When your trying to get the most you can without shelling out a ton of cash the freezer can get you a few more kb sometimes.

What's your oppinion about the effect of altitude on hardrives? I just read a forum where someone mention heads prone to crashing over 8,500 feet because "there is not enough air to properly float the heads."

My boss and I were talking about it and he suggested that the change in weight could have an effect on the forcre required to spin the disk at the requisite speed. It's definitely got my inner geek thinking.

[mattjw916 2]

ipod specs:

* Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
* Non operating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
* Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
* Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

HP ProLiant DL380G4 server specs: (a very well-engineered/tested server)

Operating 10° to 35°C at sea level with an altitude derating of 1.0°C per every 300m (1000ft) above sea level to a maximum of 3000m (10,000ft), no direct sustained sunlight. Maximum rate of change is 10°C/Hr.

Storage -30° to 60°C - Maximum rate of change is 20°C/Hr.

While hard drives are not constrained by a "rate of change" like a whole server is, the hard drive itself is useless unless the whole computer works...

As for the "head crash" thingy, that sounds like BS to me or we'd have a higher percentage rate of failure in the mountains of Colorado then in sunny SoCal. I've never heard anyone cite that statistic anywhere before personally. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen though. I just never heard of it before.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[Andy_Copland 0]

Umm, if your jumping from 30k and have a wingsuit i could see some point, but one min of music? lol

Although you have got me thinking about taking an Ipod on the lift up and maybe leave it on the plane.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[Tenshi 0]

In theory I think it would totally rock. Do a sunset jump and put on your fav. chill-out song.

Sure you may hit a fellow jumper and kill the both of you. But think of the added atmosphere.

[DZ_EPHESUS_TR 0]

I tried HP 6340 PDA phone as an MP3 player in a Turbo Caravan. I jumped solo with it from 13500.I had the earphones which has support (clips) behind the ear.
I didn't hear anything other than my protack till the main opened.
Frankly speaking our DZ is not a crowded one so there is no heavy traffic and not many students.
If one loves skydiving and also loves music, why shouldn't they be together.I believe most of us ( maybe all of us) are clever enough to figure out potential negatives and take the necessary precautions.

Personally I loved listening my favorite songs while doing my favorite hobby.

BTW I also listen music when I snowboard

[shropshire 0]

I guess that you would hear too much in freefall and why would you need extra stimuli? And, once under canopy.... would you be able to hear some shouted warning, if you had your fav' vibes bang in your ears?...... doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[brits17 0]

Devil's advocate here... I do it. Only because I want to be cool like TJ Langdren ;)

But I have limits. I don't do it with other canopies in the air. Only on hop n' pops, and I do a lot of those. I put on the trance or fav tunes and really enjoy being in 'the zone' under canopy. But wouldn't recommend for use under normal circumstances or fairly low jump numbers because then it can be a distraction. For me its not a distraction, its enhancing the experience and relaxing without losing the focus.

_______________________
aerialkinetics.com

[SBS 0]

I will preface this by saying the following...I don't recommend it for anyone who is not already an expert.

I believe that it makes me MORE focused, and love it, especially for technical flying like filming skysurfing. I skydive better with music, without a doubt. There are lots of things in skydiving that add risk...wingsuits, boards, cameras, high performance canopies, etc. We have measured those risks and weighed them with the benefits...for me, this is a benefit. I have never had any problem with it in hundreds of jumps with music, and nobody that I have jumped with has ever taken issue.

-S

_____________
I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

[diverds 0]

I use my iPod on the way to altitude all the time and have never had an issue with the hard drive. That said, I also have the 3 year extended warranty.

Skydive Radio

[SBS 0]

I have an IPod so I can use it...when I want to, where I want to. This is the number one place that I enjoy listening to music, so I accept the risks involved.

-S

_____________
I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...