new alti

[nzdan 0]

Viso2 or N3, pros and cons etc
I could only find one review for the n3 and none for the Viso 2

Thanks in advance

nzdan

Children in the dark cause accidents, accidents in the dark cause children.

[ast4711 0]

I don`t know about the Visio (other than common knowlege) cause I don`t own one, but I used a N3 for about a year and 250 jumps now:

What made me mistrust first was the way the N3 is mounted: Imagine a velcro strap with fingerring and some silicone sleeve threaded thru the strap. The N3 is simply sled into the sleeve. At the first glance I thought this is something that will not hold very long....
After a year and many jumps, mostly tandems where I needed to get ready in small aircrafts (you know it`s going to be tight there...) sleeve and the strap are looking like new! No problem at all!

Second, the N3 body is made of aluminium, and the display cover is now glass. This combination is not only rock solid, due to the new "clicky" Buttons - everybody who used a Neptune knows what I mean... :-) it is also very useful and lot more easier to operate.

Third, the N3 uses a USB rechargeable battery, which lasts long enough (sorry, I don`t have data but every now and then I connect it to my computer and transfer the logs and at that time it also recharges....). I did not have one jump where the battery was indicated below 50% and I remember only 3 or 4 times this year I connected the thing to a computer... So in my opinion no problem at all! And you can find a USB port on every DZ nowadays :-) Ah and USB is so much easier than IrDA, no more hassels with this trash-technology!!

All in all I had exactly not one problem with the N3 since I used it. It accurately logged every jump (shot delays, speed and of course all usual dives like tandem or video of course. I did not do any wingsuit jumps this year...)
With my older Neptune 2 I was usually challenged with empty batteries, corroded or misaligned battery contacts, or weird readings, which I got used to handle so also no big deal.... but not once with the N3.

I may somehow be biased because I`m Alti-2 AFS but I strongly belief they did everything right with the N3!
If they could add native Macintosh Support for their "Neptune Maintainance Unit" - called NMU - I would not know what else to ask for... :-)

alex

PS: Did I mention Paralog on Mac? I works perfectly, due to the USB-Port of the N3...!

--
www.tandemmaster.net
www.skydivegear.de

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

I also am a fan of N3 (but I have no experience with the Visio2).

In addition to the above, I have found Alti-2's customer service to be excellent!

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[Mr.B 0]

Can't say anything about N3, but I was using N2 until I broke the LCD eariler this season. I quickly needed and alti so I decided to try and bought a Viso2. IMO in terms of product quality Neptune beats Viso hands down. I was very dissapointed when I got the Viso (I haven't seen it before, but I heard a lot of good things about the unit). First thing I noticed when I unpacked L&B alti, was the display, which is about 30% smaller than the one on the N2 (despite the fact, that both of these alti's are similar in size - N2 being a tiny bit bigger). Viso display also has quite poor viewing angles, if you look at the altimeter at a wrong angle, instead of your altitude you'll only see 888 (like in cheap calculator displays). I also think that N2 has better (more readable) "font" - for instance it's easier to mistake 0 for 8 (or vice versa) on Viso, when quickly glancing on the alti during a jump. Looking at my videos, I noticed, that now it takes me a bit longer on a jump to read an altitude from Viso, than it was when I was jumping Neptune (dunno, maybe because I used N2 first, for a longer period of time, I got more used to the way it displays informations). But what really pisses me off with Viso is it's "user interface". Navigating through or changing device options is like painting a house through a doors keyhole. Both of these altimeters have 3 buttons, and on Neptune they are put into an excellent use - you got a nice readable menu, that you can navigate with ease. On Viso you need to know some "secret" key sequences (like push some button for X seconds, then another for Y seconds, until some icon dissapears, etc.) in order to change/view unit settings. You will probably quickly learn some of the "combos" to access most frequent settings, but once in a while you'll need/want to change/enable something not so common, and if you won't have a user manual with you then, you'll be screwed. With N2 you can just throw away the manual as the unit is so easy to use and set up.
Other than LCD and ease of use, I don't have any complains about Viso2. Both of these altimeters seem to be very reliable when it comes to the most important task - measuring current altitude. What can be a very important point in case of Viso is a user support and service that L&B provides - which from what I heard is absolutely unmatched. I know people that had their Protracks washed in a washer or broke LCDs in their units, and L&B just exchanged these units for a new ones, with no additional costs! I broke my LCD in N2 during one of the jumps, and it seems, that repairing that, will cost me 65$ + shipping. So now I'm considering selling my Viso, and buying an N3 instead (which from what I know is much tougher device)
cheers,
Bart

[nzdan 0]

Thanks for the replies, although I love L&B it sounds like the N3 is the better option.

Cheers
nzdan

Children in the dark cause accidents, accidents in the dark cause children.