indyz

Whew, tough question. Lot's of interesting edge cases, and the manual certainly leaves some room for interpretation. First, I should point out that I am only Sigma rated, have never jumper any other tandem system, and only have ~100 tandems. My answer assumes a that Sigma tandem system is being used. First, the simple form of my answer: When I received my rating, I was trained to always cut away unless I couldn't throw the drogue or there was a drogue or bridle entanglement. So since the drogue had been set, I would cut away first. Now, the answer where I do some thinking and justifying: On a Sigma, assuming the drogue inflated in the first place (which the instructor should be checking after drogue deployment), it will only collapse and give the "trap door" feeling if the container has opened, whether it remains attached to the bag or not. Therefore, if I have set the drogue, pulled both handles, and felt the trap door, I feel confident in assuming that the container is open and I would cut away before deploying the reserve. If I didn't feel the trap door, I would still cut away first because I am from the school of thought that a PC-in-tow should be cut away (and that is a whole other debate).

My current editing workflow is 100% digital (DV -> Vegas -> DVD), and I don't plan on changing. I'm just not sure if there's any advantage to shooting in HD, when there is a major disadvantage in that AVCHD will probably choke my laptop.

Has anybody tested this camera in standard def mode? I'd like to go solid state but I do a lot of working video jumps and would prefer if I could shoot SD to avoid a conversion step (not to mention it should save disk space and use a lot less CPU horsepower during editing). Also, does it have a tally light so I can build an old-skool photocell recording indicator? Also also, is there anywhere I can grab a gig or two of AVCHD footage to see how my computer handles the load?

What kind of editing are you doing? For most of the stuff fun jumpers edit (tandem videos, short films), a single fast dual core processor, 2GB RAM, and a dedicated fast SATA drive for the video files is plenty. The graphics card doesn't really affect much. You probably won't notice a difference between whatever $100 GeForce or Radeon Best Buy has on the shelf and a $400 top-of-the-line card. And forget about RAID; the disk is almost never the bottleneck. I would take the money saved on quad processors and RAID and invest it in as much RAM as you can cram in and at least one really nice monitor (I prefer 2x21.5" Dell LCDs, myself). My desktop with an Core 2 Duo E6400 and 2GB RAM still renders at better than 2x realtime with most projects (no complicated compositing or effects). It isn't a hot machine, but it's no slouch either. I am assuming that you will be editing standard definition video. HD really requires some serious horsepower, but I'm still trying to get my hands on a few gigs of AVCHD sample footage to see how my machine handles it, so I can't offer any opinion on that.

The same day. People who wait a long time to pie people, or find out that somebody wasn't pied a long time ago and pie them, are dicks.

Where is "over here"? But yeah, skydiving happens year round in a lot of places. I did 100 jumps between November and March last year in Wisconsin.

N sounds are written as H-like characters in the Cyrillic alphabet. http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/reference/cyrillic.html

You might also try [url "http://handbrake.m0k.org/"]Handbrake[url].

I've had a roll of neon orange for about 6 months now. Not a single inch has been stolen, and most people think that orange is ugly enough that they don't even ask to borrow any.

Firefly - website here

I can never figure out what to do with the bottom arm. Under the neck just isn't comfortable for me, and I presume isn't comfortable for the little spoon either, especially considering how much I squirm.

I had the same problem starting out. I can't really think on my feet when I'm doing the interview, and I'd get myself into a corner and just sort of stop. Very awkward. You will eventually get a good repetoire of questions that you can use, and as you get more comfortable you will get better at improvising. The only other advice I have is that most people don't like hearing themselves talk. If the interview is a little short they won't care.

Wissota is a club DZ. They aren't in it for a profit, and they don't fly turbines, and they do static line, so they can keep the costs way down. (Full disclosure: I'm not a regular jumper at Wissota, but I've been there twice and really liked the place. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet and they know how to throw a party to boot. I have no financial interest blah blah blah.)

Do you want RSL shackles so that you can release the wing if you pull your PC through the wing? If so, I think that is a bad idea. My personal opinion: If you end up with the PC through the wing, treat it like the horseshoe that it is and get your reserve out. This is a high speed malfunction, there is no time to waste.

UPNP is worth a shot. It doesn't work with my Linksys WRT54G (hacked firmware). It did work with the router in my apartment this summer, though. Edit: I should also add that enabling UPNP is a security risk. It allows any program running on any computer behind your router/firewall to punch a hole in the firewall.

Jesus, people. It's not like it's some conspiracy to rip you off. The terms are right there, in plain English. If you don't like the rules, don't submit your pictures. (Before anybody makes the accusation, I am not an Apple fan. I don't own anything made by them, not even an iPod).

ahhh haa. that makes a lot more sense. thanks for the pics. the same problem still remains. i can't get to the flat portion of the outside of the helmet from the inside. thanks for the reply's marty Sorry, I couldn't find the helmet to take pictures of it this weekend. You are either going to have to use longer bolts that go all of the way through (which probably won't be as much of a comfort issue as you think, my helmet has tons of bolts and cables and shit between the pads and shell), or get busy with the Dremel. Really, this seems like a helmet issue and not a box issue. I don't see how any other box would be any easier to install.

You will probably just have to use longer bolts. It might also be possible to re-drill the box to make those holes match the pre-tapped holes on the helmet. I personally know one person who has the same box sidemounted on a Hawkeye. I'm not sure how he did it, but it can be done. Tommorrow I'll try to find his helmet at the DZ and take some pictures.

I've got a couple of decent ones.

#1) Skydiving altimeters are never especially accurate. 40-70 feet over the entire course of the ride to altitude is really good. Analog altimeters are much worse, they will never show the same altitude, and often disagree by as much as several hundred feet. For #2 and #3, the Skytronic and Neptune probably use a different formula to determine when your freefall ends. This isn't a problem, just a design decision.

As Ove said, it looks like it should fit, and you can always widen the whole with a Dremel tool. I used a similar Kenko .5 lens, but without the wide flange on the end, without modifying my box at all. On my setup, the box is actually snug against the .5 when closed. If that ends up being the case for you too, I might recommend widening the hole a bit to prevent contact between the lens and the box; use foam or something with some give to fill the gap if you want. My camera has developed a slight wiggle in the lens mount which I think was probably caused by repeatedly being opened and closed in the box.

Yes, the back of the box is partially open so that you can access the mode switch, record button, and viewfinder. I forgot to mention in my first post that I also have a PC105, so I am talking about the exact same box you would be ordering, barring any changes since I ordered mine in early 2004 (man, time flies).

I've got over 400 jumps on my Cookie box and it is still going strong. Great quality, very fast shipping considering it came from around the world, absolutely no complaints. I haven't even had to change the bungee cord yet. Removing the camera is pretty quick, just one thumb screw and disconnect the cameye cable.

The Sigma has a proper focus ring, which, even if the glass wasn't any better, would be enough to sell me.

Para Concepts (located at Skydive Chicago) is an official Icarus service center. Their website lists a Crossfire lineset for $195 + $73 optional installation.