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Lots of good ones out there. For general purpose you really need no more then 3.1 or 4MP, if your planning on only blowing up to no more then 8x10. If you want bigger then you will need higher MP to get it to work. I have had a couple f HP units but the last one I had had a button go bad after the warranty let out so it does not work well now as it delets a pic every time it is taken. There is a great Nikon 3.1 MP with a Nikkor lens that I bought my wife and she is very happy with it. Compact and comes with a decent zoom. Lots of different modes including movie. Only cost $199 or so. Also uses SD cards which is prettu common. I saw a 512mb SD card at Costco the other day for $45.. Good luck, lots of good choices but for general use stay with a name you know and a common format for storage. Stick to the 3-4MP size for pics for general use and you should be good at about $200 Scott C. Found this review of the camera I got after a quick search... http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/nikon3200.html "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Try Freefall Accessories. They have an awesome customer service and do custom faces. Alti might a well but I kow for sure the service you will get from David at Freefall Accessories is outstanding... www.freefallaccessories.com/Homepage.htm Scott C. PS I dont work for them at all, Just love my altimeter from them, even though it has no numbers at all "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

ALTIMETER The stainless steel version is 6.5oz and is slightly heavier then the Altimaster III at 5.8oz. I did not notice any difference weight wise on the ground after having it on for a little bit nor did I notice it in freefall at all. The extra weight did give it a feel of durability. Separate from the weight of my new altimeter, it has a couple of things that stood out right away; accuracy and the very smooth feel of the movement. I compared the altimeter reading numerous times to the altimeter in the jump plane. Each time the altitude was crossed, it was spot on. The other test I did was to start a sea level and drive up to the dropzone, about 460’. The drive starts at 0’ and through basically one big hill climbs to the DZ elevation. Along the way I could see the reading smoothly go up as I went up the hill. When I arrived the altimeter was again spot on for altitude. Though not a definitive test it did show me a high level of accuracy. The second big thing I noted was the movement, and it is extremely smooth. When adjusting the altimeter to “0” it does not have any rough feel or sticking at all. It is notably smooth in its movement both when manually adjusting the altimeter and visually during in the plane ride up (the plane ride down as well in one case last weekend) and during the freefall. SERVICE The level of service I received even before ordering the altimeter made me feel very comfortable with FFA as a company. They were extremely responsive to my E-mails and answered all of my questions fully. I decided to get my Evolution Stainless with a personalized face. David, the owner, promised that I would get exactly what I wanted before they shipped the altimeter. We talked about what I wanted for the face and within a day they had a few choices for me look at via E-mail. I wanted to have some more tweaks and they did it again within a day. In total we went back and forth three or four times with changes. They held true to the promise that they would not build and send me the altimeter until I was completely happy with the design. Once the final face settled they shipped it and it was at my door within 3 days with the promise that if I was not happy they would change it. That option was not needed since the face was exactly as I wanted it to look. The service was great to say the least, and I was very impressed. CONCLUSION: The weight, the accuracy and the smooth feel of the movement give the altimeter an extremely durable feel. The ability to get a personalized face is a very nice option but that seems to only be a bonus when you look at the quality these altimeters carry. A couple of other nice features the altimeters have are a Standard field replaceable lens and a Lifetime transferable warranty. Other items are noted on the web page. In short I am extremely pleased with the Evolution Altimeter I purchased and if you are in the process of looking for an altimeter I highly recommend that this is one that you should consider.

A Married couple is driving along a highway doing a steady forty miles per hour. The wife is behind the wheel. Her husband suddenly looks across at her and speaks in a clear voice "I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce." The wife says nothing, keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases her speed to 45mph. The husband speaks again. "I don't want you to try and talk me out of it," he says, "because I've been having an affair with your best friend, and she's a far better lover than you are." Again the wife stays quiet, but grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 55. He pushes his luck. "I want the house," he says insistently. Up to 60. "I want the car, too," he continues. 65 mph. "And," he says, "I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!" The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge. This makes him nervous, so he asks her: "Isn't there anything you want?" The wife at last replies-in a quiet and controlled voice. "No, I've got everything I need," she says. "Oh, really," he inquires, "so what have you got?" Just before they slam into the wall at 65 mph, the wife turns to him and smiles. "The airbag." Moral of the Story: Women are clever bitches. Don't mess with them Scott C.

that was funny Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

I found a awesome buy on an HC40 from B & H video a little while back... They were very fast on delivery and outstanding service... Cant complain at all about them! http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Sorry guys - If I gave away five I'd be left with a very small and oddly shaped big screen Unfortunately, they're not mine to give away. I'm working on a government contract at the moment and they specified dual monitors for the control systems that I'm installing. It's a new construction and there are no doors or locks as of yet so I have to keep them sitting here in my home office until I get all of the wiring done and the facility is secure. Tempting as it may be, I some how I get the feeling I'd be used for target practice should I decide to keep them for myself Peace, Z I tell ya what, I will help store one of them,, Keep the packaging i my office and when you need it back give me a hollar, I will be happy to send it back (maybe). I hate to think of them going to waste in storage till you need them.... just trying to help.......... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

The only draw back to the BH D-box for the HC-20/30/40 is that the longer life batteries wont fit, disscused in another thread. I need to get another -50 battery as a backup and I end up using the -70 as a dubbing battery.... Overall Love the D-box and camera, separate from the battery issue. I also tape the zoom to wide to be sure it is not adjusted with the box closed... The WA lens is a sony 0.6X. With the strap still on the side of the camera (no easy way to remove) the box needed to be "adjusted" (read as dremmel action) to get the right fit and shot angle.. Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

There are some nice helmets out there! Here is my contribution...... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

There are a few ways to do this. I have suggested to people looking at rigs to let the seller know that your interested and that you want to try and work something out to see the rig for fit and inspection. Personally I have in the past talked with the seller and offered to cover shipping to have the item shipped to the DZ. I've offered this since a DZ is an established business and can be looked up or called for verification. Also sometimes the seller or buyer can offer/request a refundable deposit for the rig and have it sent for inspection. It should be accepted that the shipping should be covered buy the prospective buyer. For ease, sometimes the seller will pay for its delivery and after it arrives one of two things happen: It works for the buyer and they pay the agreed price plus the shipping cost for the inspection. -OR- It does not work and the buyer sends the rig back and covers the shipping along with a check for the cost of shipping to him if the seller covered it. I like this way since the seller is in a position where he can’t show it to anybody else. He should not cover any of the shipping. It also has to stated upfront the amount of time that the inspection will be until a decision is made and it will be sent back or paid for after it arrives by the prospective buyer. Also only ship it insured and in a way that it is traceable with a signature on delivery. This is to protect both parties. Trust on the Internet is tough sometimes when trying to sell equipment you have to take some risk. Send to an established DZ to reduce the risk on both sides. Have a time line established for payment or return. And have a good level of communication before hand to hammer out all of the details… This has worked well for me in the past and is only a suggestion. Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Are you looking to call him "Sunny's Personal Jack Hammer"???? Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

It is VERY SLIGHTLY bigger. I have a HC 40 and have been very happy with it. BoneHead now makes a box for the HC20/30/40 and it works great.... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

I picked up a brand new Stroboframe off of E-bay at a great price. Came new in packaging and I saved some $ compared to looking at some other online sellers. Take a look there before you buy, I love mine BTW... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

I was working last week in Montana and took this pic with my HC40 using the photo button while driving up the highway... The other pic was also snapped while driving. Beautiful place.... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

the Curse id LIFTED!! I am not a Sox fan per say but I am happy for them..... Go SOX!!! Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Good question, I had cut the main away before the reserve was all the way out. Figured it would be like a canopy transfer but the reserve risers had risenup a bit and I had integrety (reversed) risers. As a result as the 3 ring began to release the middle ring could not unfold through the big ring as it was cought by the raised reserve riser. Basically the reversed riser rings were pinched off by the reserve riser giving me a "cut away main BiPlane" I was flying straight with a BiPlane above me and a cut away handle in my hand at 600-700 feet going towards the woods. Did not want to turn thinking that shifting my weight might cause one side to release and really putting me into a world of hurt with a main reserve entanglement. If I did not turn I was going into the tall trees... End result I got rid of the main and had enough time to make a turn back to an open area and a 90 degree turn to flare... Short reserve ride and a, in complete respect to what could have happened, very easy but well learned lesson. Dont pull low and if your jumping Reversed risers you had better beaware of an added consiquence in procedures.... Hope that helps ScottC. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Have one and am very happy with it. It is specific for the 20, 30 or 40. Traveling for work this week but will get a picture later to post..... Only issue is that you cant put a bigger battery on the camera in the box. Another thread is talking about that now..... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Mine is the same way.. I have the BH D-box for my HC40 and it fits great, had to dremmel slightly for the wide angle Sony .6 X but not a big deal. Regarding the battery, I am limited to the "50" battry that comes standard with the camera. I have a "70" but it will not fit w/o cutting a notch out of the back of the box.... As result I am looking at getting a couple more of the smaller bateries but would prefer to use the bigger battery. I like the fit and dont want to cut so unless there is a fix I am going to get more of the smaller capacity batteries...... If you hear someting from BH, please post it! Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Did ya have hard housings in the risers that were on the cut away.... I am curious to know how they either did not help or would have helped.... If they were there then it is somethng for everyone to remember on a cutaway from a twisted canopy, PULL FORCE CAN BE HIGH EVEN WITH THEM. If they were not there did you put them in later and on subsquent chops did it make a difference and if so how much of one.... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Most I have done in a day packig for myself is 14..... Busy day and tired at end of weekend as did another 11 the next day Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

nice vid, love the canopy in reverse. Looks like a fun time all around! great work... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Simple answer, yes and resulted in a two out..... Lesson learned from that and have not had a similar or remotely similar problem in close to 10 years now.. Jumping from 14K all weekend for 4-way traning.. Clouds roll in and decide to go get one more jump. Just run to plane and dont take anythig but rig. Decided to do a two way and ended up exiting at ~2300-2400 ft. After a number of points the other person dumped in front of me and first thought was "SH#T" ground wass BIG and even w/o alti I knew I was low. Moved to side to get out from under other deploying jumper and pitched. Small eliptical 116 Batwing that had a slow opening. Just after main opened something felt funny I looked over my shoulder to see the freebag going to line stretch and my first thought was "shit" so I cut the main away before the reserve was open, thinking canopy transfer. All good right!!! Wrong, a second later found myself looking up at a "Cut Away Main Main/Reserve Bi-Plane" with the cut away handle in my hand and cables dangling. Second thought: "WTF, this is not what I was expecting!" Cant really turn well given a good asymetric load could release a riser that iwas trapped by the reserve risers, Did I mention these wre integrety risers. Additionally I was flying away from a possible landing area on the edge of the airport to wards the woods and I could not turn. Life sucked at this point. The long and short is that I fired my Cypress from a low pull and was cursing myself a good amount. The Integetry risers gave an unexpected twist to the situation and luckely i did the right things to save my arse.. I freely admit I was a lucky camper from the opening low issue all the way through the cut away main biplane to landing under my reserve alone. It all sucked and from that day on I have been a huge proponent for altitude awareness for all of my students and myself... If you dont learn from mistakes and make adjustments in this sport it will bite you back.... Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Love My Sam "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

Nice shot, did ya get the pot o gold at least? Scott C. "He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"