mattjw916

Code 10 is usually a driver problem. I would try: 1. Download Driver Cleaner Pro, latest nForce3, and nVidia display drivers 2. Remove ALL nVidia drivers through control panel 3. Boot into safe mode 4. Run Driver Cleaner Pro 5. Reboot 6. Hit cancel when you get the "found new hardware" wizard popups 7. Install nForce3 drivers, reboot 8. Install display drivers, reboot 9. Try again. This will eliminate nVidia drivers as a possible cause. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I have not experienced any fogging problems with that lens. In fact, it is an excellent lens IMO. It's big, lets lot of light in, and has no visible distortion. All in all not bad for ~$40. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

FedEx is still the best by _far_ in my experience. Are they perfect, nope. I'd rather deal with FedEx when I have a problem than UPS that's for sure. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Among the printers you listed the two HPs will have the same image quality between each other and due to the 6-color inks better color reproduction faithfulness than the Canon. The only reason I'd go with the 550 over the 8250 is if I was going to be printing _tons_ of photos. As for the resolution, I'm willing to be you won't be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. I've always had awesome results from all the Epson and HP photo printers I have used over the years. Plus, their ink cartridges are very easy to come by and can be purchased in bulk if necessary. My past experiences with Canon printers have been less than perfect. They are just not in the same league as Epson and HP IMO. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Well, if you have eliminated the cable and the camera as possible sources of the error that leaves you with either bad or disabled firewire ports on the motherboard or a Windows problem. Are your IEEE1394 ports enabled in the BIOS? Are your ports listed in device manager? Does "msinfo32" list an IRQ assigned to them under hardware resources? No drivers should be necessary for WinXP btw. If it was a driver issue, when you plug in the camera you'd get the "dingdong" sound and then it would prompt you for an action, i.e. search for drivers, etc. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I never look, and since I jump a fully-elliptical canopy, I'd rather keep my eyes on the horizon and my body symmetrical. If I lean one way or the other my canopy will open in a diving turn. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Yes it does, _if_ they are using it as a crutch... which many people are, based on conversations I have had. This is another incorrect assumption IMO. Whether or not an AAD or RSL is present doesn't make your skydive safer. In fact, up until the point you have utterly failed to pull that little silver handle and are mere moments from death, they serve only as yet another device that can fail, or lead to an unforeseen consequence. The principle of "keep it simple, stupid" would probably save more skydivers than all the skyhooks in the world, i.e. deploy a canopy. The problem is the people that pimp these devices with a mindset of, "Don't worry, if you fuck up, your will save you." This is not a good concept to teach new skydivers. Everyone needs to save themselves, every time, without exception. If you think you _need_ your reserve to skydive, maybe you should reevaluate your packing. ;) Being confident is only one aspect of having a successful skydive. Combine it with good training, well-maintained gear, and good judgement; you have all the components of a successful skydive. Airtec's website has a great list of all the people that failed to meet at least two of those above criteria who cutaway, got stable, made no further attempt to deploy a reserve and simply waited until their Cypres fired. That's a prime example of poor training plus poor judgement. By the same token, those people that cutaway and would not have pulled silver because they assumed their RSL would function perfectly also manifested the same flaws with the exception being there is no proof after the fact (e.g. an expended cutter after an AAD fire). The fact there is a thread in the other forum about someone with 40-something jumps that thinks he can chop at 100ft with a Skyhook because some retard, who didn't know how a "slider down" or "slider off" deployment differs from a proper reserve packjob, told him so is _really_ scary and yet another indication we, as skydivers, are using the advances in gear technology to replace proper judgement and training. In that case the better concept to teach that jumper would have been, respect and adhere to your hard-deck... which should be waaaay above 100ft. Maybe they should ask Todd from Airspeed what happens when you dump your reserve at under 500ft (regardless of why). You impact during inflation and break basically everything... he actually recovered amazingly, but would everyone be so lucky? Once again, I am all for AADs and RSLs, when used for the right reasons and under the right circumstances. For example: if I was competing in the CPC (under a highly loaded canopy): RSL off, AAD off. Doing CReW: RSL off, AAD optional. Video: RSL off, AAD on. RW/FF: RSL optional, AAD on. That's just my opinion. In the quest to keep it simple though, I removed my RSL and always use an AAD because I know there is no way on earth I can hit activation speeds under my canopy. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

It's not that I didn't agree with you, but after perusing the Vigil manual quickly there are about a dozen big warnings regarding decent in a pressurized aircraft, decent below takeoff altitude (which a Vigil might percieve due to "overpressurization"), and many others. If "some" fired or a "few" fired I'd be concerned. Since they "all" fired, I am less concerned if you get my drift. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Based on what? Rapid pressurization to a computer can mean a high rate of decent... if decent rate >78mph then "fire". Isn't that what an AAD is supposed to do? NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

That was basically my take on it as well. I'm sure both the Cypres 1s and Vigils "saw" the pressure changes and reacted to them in the manner they were programmed to do, i.e. fire or shutdown. The fact that each type of AAD reacted in the same way is a _good_ thing to me. That means the activation parameters will be easily duplicated on the bench. Considering their "issues", if you could even call them that, were caused by aircraft pressurization, something the vast majority of skydivers would never encounter, this really is far from cause for concern to the average Cypres 1 or Vigil owner. I'd hardly stop using my Cypres 1 because of any of this. And to add I doubt any of my friends that have Vigils are going to stop using them either. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I completely disagree, and after almost a decade in the Army spent mostly in combat-arms units, I have seen how a lack of confidence leads to hesitation and a failure to perform under stress. This is exactly why just about every bit of training from Basic through AIT and up to PLDC and BNCOC is done in a high-stress environment combined with sleep-deprivation. At least that's the way it was done when I was a soldier. For the record I am not for or against them... I just think people should make an _informed_ decision and not just slap every gadget on their rig as a prerequisite for making a jump. Some of the people that I know that changed their tune regarding jumping with or without those _backup_ devices did so after they amassed enough jumps to build their confidence level up. It is very apparent in my discussions with all levels of skydivers over the years that confidence plays a _huge_ part in their decision-making process. In the end, I am generally pro-AAD and RSL but there is no way I'd ever support mandating either of them under any circumstances. Countries and organizations that do so are doing skydivers a disservice. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

There is no way on earth that any literate person could draw that conclusion from _anything_ that Ron wrote here. Quit arguing for the sake of arguing and go skydive instead. Those of us that jump a lot encounter many many people that WON'T jump without an AAD or an RSL, period, under any circumstances. THOSE are the people that Ron and many others take issue with because they either lack the confidence in their abilities, or the training, to maintain altitude awareness, deploy a canopy, or pull both handles in the event of a mal prior to impact. I personally know of several people that WON'T jump without those additional devices on something as simple as a solo H&P to demo a canopy. What are the odds that you need either of those devices on a solo? Infinitesimal I'd wager, yet people, due to pure device dependancy, won't do it. Anyone can screw up with or without those devices and they may be saved or killed by them. The choice to use or not use them is not as clear as some represent it as being and should be evaluated by each skydiver after careful consideration of the facts. If anyone thinks they NEED an RSL or AAD to skydive, they really should reevaluate their choice in hobbies. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

A skydiving logbook is not a legal document by any stretch of the imagination. If you can't find it just start a new book, fill in what you remember (then make up the rest), and have a licensed skydiver sign off the jumps. The only one you would hurt by "forging" a logbook is yourself anyway. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Thats right, I forgot you have been in the sport for like 5 minutes but you know everything about me and the history of the manufacturers in this sport. You know it's funny, I rarely ever post in gear and rigging and almost every time I have, you have been there to challenge me. I just want to say thanks for being here. We need people like you around. As you can see from what I quoted above your posts are very informative. WTF? Maybe you should take a deep breath and figure out why you feel like I "challenged you". This isn't a "mine's bigger than yours" issue. The issue I have is that people in this sport demonstrate a continued propensity to blindly play follow the leader, and often don't take the time to demo canopies made by people other than PD, because it was beat into their head by some equally uninformed person than PD is the end-all-be-all of canopy construction. Sorry but they aren't. There are plenty of kickass canopies out there that PD didn't build. I hate to burst your bubble, but the idea that I am somehow e-stalking you is preposterous. If I disagreed with you before I probably had a reason. Maybe you shouldn't take disagreement as a personal attack on you, because it isn't. As for the above mentioned reserves, I'd happily pack any of them into my rig. The R-Max does not have much in common with it's older Raven bretheren, in fact the spanwise reinforcement on it is said to be exceptional. As for Tempos, dash Ms, and old Ravens... I'll pass. Do I think they should all be burned, thrown away or that they are death-traps? Nope. People jumped them for years successfully despite their minor (or not, depending on your opinion) issues. Of course, maybe people that had issues with their Ravens should have payed attention to the placarded max exit weight listed on the canopy. The fact that a large portion of skydivers don't do any gear research or even read those big orange labels is a problem in this sport and people that reinforce that behavior by saying, "if you don't jump canopy X you're gunna die" certainly isn't helping anyone. If you disagree with me, great... that's the point of a forum, to hear other people's points of view and experiences. If you'd actually ready any of my posts, it's obvious I have more than _5_ minutes in this sport so I don't know what the point of that comment was other than an attempt to flex your skygod muscle on a new-er skydiver. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

seconded... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I have to give the PC1000 a nod for best image quality as well. There definately is a difference when put side by side with pretty much everything I have seen so far. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just so everyone's clear, I wasn't endorsing it, or not endorsing it... I was just throwing out ideas. As for who else could deploy your main... a lot of stuff can happen in freefall, on climb-out, on exit, or just randomly occur. Proper gear maintenance will prevent a lot but you there is always the unknown. There are no guarantees in this sport, that's why there are waivers (obviously). I have seen numerous premature main and reserve deployments though. In fact, I just put together a compilation video of scary skydives for personal amusement. As for Dave's idea to check for snags before cutting away, yes I can see the benefit of doing that. But, what if your risers are crossed in front of your face obscuring your view or crossed behind your head preventing you from looking up to checK? What if you have canopy collision while videoing leading to a wrap or entanglement, because you didn't see someone, since you were too focused on getting a particluar shot? Sure you _could_ just disconnect it, but that little tab may be hard to find in the confusion... To me, it's just easier to live without an RSL than to have one. I have one set of EPs regardless of what I'm doing or what rig I wearing... breakaway, hopefully cleanly, and deploy reserve. If I fail to pull all my handles before earth greets me, I have no one to blame but myself. I definately respect Bill Booth's opinion and the Skyhook is definately an impressive device, but I don't think it belongs on a vidiot's rig regardless of what his Skyhook promo-video implies. Just my $0.02. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

You are still assuming best-case IMO. What if you aren't the one that deploys your main? What if you have a premature during a transition and that causes the entanglement? The possible scenarios are endless. I jump an elliptical with video, as do tons of other people successfully. Others jump x-brace with video, no biggie... as long as the canopy has consistent and relatively slow openings they are fine for flying camera with IMO. One of my friends jumps a Velo 79 with all kinds of stuff on his head... not saying _I_ would, but he jumps waaaay more than me and is still alive after over 5000 jumps. Regardless of how smooth your setup is, shit can still happen regardless of the size of main or its degree of taper. Thinking you can avoid having a mal just because you have a big square canopy is not realistic IMO. Malfunctions can happen on anything. Use an RSL or don't, it's your choice. Like I said earlier _none_ of the camera flyers I know use one. In fact I have only met one camera flyer _ever_ that had one and he really didn't have a good explanation as to why. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I don't think that is what Ron meant though. I believe he was trying to indicate an RSL is only really useful when you _fail_ to pull silver. If you pulled it, you didn't need the RSL. If you perform your EPs properly the time an RSL nets you is inconsequential. RSLs do have their place, but they are not fool-proof and can and have caused problems, and that is really the spirit of Ron's comment as I understand them. edit: kant spel NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just ignore Zoter... I do. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

The risk of an RSL deploying any part of the reserve or its deployment system into a partially cutaway main that is in tow due to being snagged on any part of the camera helmet is a risk that outweighs the "safety" of having one. Camera flyers should not be sucking it down anyway and hopefully will have a little more time to pull both handles. Bottom-line is that you don't _need_ an RSL to deploy your reserve, but you do _need_ to have your main cutaway cleanly in order to reduce the chance of a reserve malfunction due to entanglement. If worse comes to worse, and my helmet is snagged and I can't clear it or get my helmet off, I'm still dumping my reserve anyway because if you are going to land under a ball of shit, it better be a big one. I can't believe we really needed yet another thread about this?!! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Oh yeah, I _highly_ recommend buying only genuine Minolta lenses for it. For general shooting you should be able to pick up a used 50mm f/1.8 for near-nothing, I regretted selling mine, it was a sharp lens. Other than that lens, I would stick to zooms since prime lenses mostly just weigh down your gear bag in the long run. Don't be tempted to cheap out and buy third-party stuff, the Minolta lenses are very good and you will be able to see the difference if you plan on printing any 8x10s. Cheers! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I would NEVER use an RSL when flying a camera helmet regardless of the design. None of the camera flyers I know use one either and recommend against them as well. The reasons have been beat to death all over this forum so there is no need to rehash it for the billionth time. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Cool!!! I have put 1000s of rolls of film through a Minolta X-700. Mine is still around somewhere... they tend to have problems with the manual film advance lever when they get old just so you know. I had mine repaired twice and finally added a motor drive which I also ran into the ground eventually. Actually they are very good entry-level manual focus cameras. With a compatible lens installed, when used in "P" mode, all you have to do is focus and shoot and the metering system will select the optimal f-stop and shutter speed for you. Alternatively you can use it in full manual mode or aperture priority mode "A" IIRC. Hopefully the lens you have will work with the P mode. This is usually denoted by the min aperture (18 or 22) setting being color-coded with a green number. This usually means that the lens has the additional camera interface to have the aperture mechanically adjusted on the fly by the body. If you have any more questions I'll try and remember how the thing works. Have fun with your new toy. Remember, it's not the camera that makes good photos, it's the photographer. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

ROFL at Fandango... (flatline) "See ya in hell Johnny!!!" NSCR-2376, SCR-15080