gowlerk

I don't know what the theory is. The b/c on my 20u also has the pigtail. Sometimes I use it, and sometimes not. It doesn't seem to matter much. Using it does add a little to the bottom tension though. I would guess that it's supposed to keep the bottom thread centered during the extreme right left swing of the needle when doing a wide zigzig. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Yes, the straight pin and the rest of the reserve ripcord assembly are all TSO'd parts. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Here is a pic of it. I sure don't see filter threads. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

That's all nice. Except that the cx760 has a list price of $1500. You can find it at B&H now for that price. FREE shipping. (USA) Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Hi Wendy, I don't know what is causing your problem. But you should know that "sports mode" is designed to freeze action. That's is why it boosted the ISO and the put the shutter speed so high. It probably also opened the aperture up all the way. Of course noise is usually caused by high ISOs, but not 400. You won't be able to choose shutter speed in sports mode. Most settings are taken away from you when you use the "special" modes, they are designed for people who can't be bothered to learn how to use their camera. Pics being cutoff partway through the dive could be a card problem, try a different card, maybe take out card two and try it. Your Tokina may be having auto focus problems. It could be stopping while it hunts for focus. If you are using auto focus try manual, it will speed up the frame rate. I see you are using AF-C, this should work if you are pointed at what you want to shoot when you start, but AF-A may work better. The AF system is pretty smart. You are best off to start off using the P mode. These are daylight shots, and your camera should handle them no problem at whatever ISO you choose, or auto ISO if you choose. Read here for tons of info on this camera. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d7000/users-guide/index.htm This guy goes on and on about Nikon stuff. But it is a well layed out website. Lastly, there is always the possibility that there is an intermittent electrical problem inside the camera. Try cleaning the lens contacts. Good luck Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

One characteristic of all ultrawides is fast focusing. Everything is always nearly in focus anyway. Personally, I would manual focus it and leave it at the wide end. The DoF is huge. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You may have been taught that silicon bumpers are a bad idea. However if you consult the PD manual you will find that they supply and require that you use them if using number 4 Rapide links, also supplied with the canopy. The manual also shows how to tie them down properly. As always READ THE MANUAL. Was this a PDR? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Wellll..... if you decide to jump with it you should consider getting the unbelievable cheap and good 18-55 basic kit lens, just because it is about half the size and you can buy it for $100 or even less used. I almost never take my 18-200 off. It does nearly everything, but I wouldn't jump with it. It's too large and unnecessary. For jumping, the Canon you are already using is likely all you need. That's why you were happy last week. Better cameras don't make better pictures. They are just easier to use and give you more creative control. But you can't really use that control when you bolt the camera to your head. The real advantage to the d7000 is ease of use, I've never had a camera that just gets out of the way and makes great shots like this one. Also many people find the exposure meter, and ADR (auto dynamic range) in the Nikon help them get nicer shots. Nikon and Canon both make great cameras and lenses. I'm sure the 7d will make great pics as well, but I've never used one. As you know, the skydiving world is almost exclusively Canon for stills, so you would be walking outside the mainstream if you switched. Even getting a simple thing like a tongue switch will become a hassle, but not impossible. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Don't keep it too long. You won't want to part with it. The lens sells for about $250 used. That is a sweet deal. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Hi, I have a D7000, but I've decided it's too valuable to take jumping and get beat up. I'm using an old D70s instead. 6.1 megapixels is good enough for this stuff, and it's strictly daylight shooting so you don't need the low light capabilities of the d7000. I do have a tongue switch that works with it, I got it from someone in Slovakia who was selling them in the classifieds. It plugs into the gps slot. If you search Ebay for E3F-DC2M you will find an adapter to use a 2.5 mm stereo plug switch as well. The D7000 is an awesome camera, probably the best you can get for a DSLR short of going full frame. Used ones in good shape with complete packaging ect sell for at least $1100 right now. New ones a a little hard to come by, they are made in Thailand, and the factory was damaged in last year's floods. I've ordered a 10-24mm wide angle and I can't wait to get in the air with it. What lens did you get with it? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

"E" is a federal government size designation for thread. It is equivalent to Tex 70 or size 69. It is not a Mil spec at all, just a size. You can make the same size thread from cotton and still call it "E" size thread. Although in practice I've never seen anything other than bonded nylon thread referred to by this system of sizing. I'm guesing it is largely outdated. The MIL spec for nylon bonded thread for use in parachute manufacturing is Federal Standard V-T-295 Class A, Type 2. Superseded by A-A-59826. This is from the D.J. associates website where you can order real approved thread. In sizes including E, FF, 3 cord, and 5 cord. http://djassociates.thomasnet.com/viewitems/thread-nylon-thread/thread?&bc=100|1016 Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Check out his feedback score. He has none. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

As you can see people have some strong opinions about this stuff. My opinion is that TSOed one pin and two pin, and internal and external all have been proven in the field for many years. People will argue about this stuff in the same way that theologians once argued about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Like many preferences, belief in the System can become almost a faith. Bottom line for me is simple. If it has two pins it needs two cutters. Almost no one buys two pin containers anymore, mostly for this reason. If you don't believe me just look around the DZ and count them up. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Packrat, Aviacom is no longer able to produce the Argus because their cutter supplier will no longer supply them. That is the bottom line. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

FYI, 2007 Argus just sold on ebay for $159.50. It was a 7 day auction, 6 bidders and 16 total bids. Pretty cheap, but the unit is due for service. Not definitive by any means, but it does give an idea of what the market place values them at. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm glad there is some support. What you have said does clear up some of the questions in my mind. However, I'm wondering about the continued existence of Aviacom. I must confess, I know nothing about this company. Perhaps they have other products and other reasons to exist. But a Google search turned up nothing at all about Aviacom except references to "supplier of skydiver information systems" Given it's history, I find it unlikely that the principles will be able or willing to provide much in the way of support. And I can see no good prospect for this company to continue to function. Perhaps someone will swoop in and salvage something from the wreckage, but wreckage is all I see at the moment. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I can't imagine paying anywhere near full price for one of these. Even if it's allowed, and you believe it is effective, which are both in at least some question. It is an orphan, with very limited support, a dwindling supply of cutters, and only the most simple basic testing available. Anyone buying one of these at anywhere near retail is being taken advantage of. Buyer beware. I must say that I'm very disappointed by the failure of this unit to succeed. It just goes to show the difficulty of launching and sustaining such a critical product in such a small market. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Many people would say zero. We've all seen them for sale at various asking prices. I'm not looking for one or selling one, but I am curious to know if there is any market for them at all. I've seen a couple on ebay at fixed prices, but someone just put one up for auction. The result of that may give us an idea what they can sell for. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

People starting out typically end up paying between $2500 and $3000 here in Manitoba. The lower end of that usually involves an AAD that is almost ready to retire. In other words a 10 or 11 YO Cypres. Don't buy anything unless you have a good relationship with someone you trust who can advise you. Preferably a local instructor and or rigger who has nothing to gain from the sale. It's not so much that you will be cheated, although that is possible. It's more that you don't know yet what you need without some help. I have found that if you have the cash in hand you can often get a decent price. There are a lot of people looking for gear that really can't afford to buy it. So sellers will often ask too much, but end up taking what they can in the end. Old reserves are ok up to a point. It is complicated and that's why you need an adviser. Usually the best person to ask for help is whoever you think will be the rigger packing and maintaining it for you. If they feel you will become an on going customer they will likely be willing to spend at least some time helping you out. And remember, advice given in online forums like this is free. And it can sometimes be worth every penny you pay. Good luck Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I see it here: http://www.wingstore.aero/150-mars 803.86 euros, compared to 1090.98 for Cypres and 1052.65 for Vigil. Finally, real competition. I'm looking forward to being able to have this choice. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I've only seen those black bands a few times. I'd love to know where to get them. Anyone? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Simply put. Trust, but verify. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I had to deal with the firmware problem on a couple of these units. Both made this spring, with consecutive serial numbers. I contacted Vigil USA by email, and I had a reply within an hour. After a short, and very professional conversation, They agreed to immediately ship new control units. They arrived at my house 48 hours later. I am in Canada, so this was an international shipment. I can only praise the level of service and understanding of my problem displayed by the people I dealt with. This should not be surprising to anyone who realizes just who the North American distributor of this product is. All I can say is that good companies keep good company. And that I believe that any reasonable person can deal with confidence with these people. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

So.....that picture is not that good, but it seems to show two RSLs, one on each riser, with two separate pins, in two separate loops, correct? If so, I wonder how well the various AAD cutters work on that? I wonder if the pins can interfere with each other? Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease, but I'll never be a rig designer, just a mere question asker! Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I know, these are all just electronic back up units made by people, for use by people. But the level of emotion and frustration I`ve seen around these devices is just amazing to me. My guess is that it`s because of the fact that no one can really check it and be sure that it will work when needed. It`s just an electronic box with wires and batteries. You can`t test it, or check it other than observing the read out during it`s POST. It just goes against human nature to trust such a device, and then some authority may just decide that you must have one to jump. And oh, by the way, we may decide that the one you own is no good here anymore. Depending of course where the cutter is mounted, or maybe not depending on how the management of the DZ feels, or of course your National Association! I think I`ve just answered my own question about the emotions and frustrations. I hope the M2 is available soon. I want to be an early adopter so everyone can tell me how crazy I am to be a test jumper! Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.