Argus

On February 21, 2011 while wingsuiting at skydive san marcos my argus fired and did not cut through the closing loop compleatly. I didn't become aware of this until 5 hours later as my rig was being repacked. Thats after a rough landing and a drop of the unpacked rig from about shoulder height. It's a good thing I didn't need it or I would have been D.R.T.=Dead Right There. Or I could have been sucked out the plane wraped around the tail if it hadn't finally broke the remaining strands of the closing loop as the main bag was being inserted into the container. In other words it could have killed a planeload of people as well as myself. I deployed at roughly 2300 feet but my pilot chute got caught in my burble and at second 4 I reached for my reserve and cut away handles , at second number 5 I dropped a shoulder as I started to pull my reserve handle and felt my pilot chute start pulling my main bag out of the container stopping me from pulling my reserve ripcord. After 3 more seconds I felt the familiar jerk of a fully inflated canopy above my head. If it had completely severed the closing loop I would have now been the recipiant of a "2 out" at roughly 1000 feet AGL.

Argus came to texas and downloaded info from the unit. I never recieved a copy of that data as Skydive san marcos told me they would take care of dealing with argus on my behalf as I would be accused of tampering with the unit if I were to take the unit with me. SSM would act as a fair and impartial observer "On my behalf" during the ensuing investigation of the argus firing but not servering the closing loop but they weren't present during the examination of the cutter area when argus and their rigger opened up the cutter and determined that a "steel shot pellet" had interfeared with the cutter and prevented it from severing the closing loop compleately. After checking with my rigger who had done my last three reserve repacks I learned his weight bags used during the reserve repack process contain lead shot pellets,,, not steel. So where did the steel shot pellet come from?

I was told tha argus fired in the upper 75% of its tolerance range. It was set on novice. It fired and didn't completely sever the closing loop. It's a good thing that my life didn't depend on my argus operating correctly because if it had I would have died that day. At 11:30 that night I realized February 21 was my fathers birthday. He passed away December 2003 and because of all the excitement surrounding this incedent I had almost forgotten his birthday.
Argus sent me a brand new unit to replace my old one. I had already put a cypress 2 in my mirage to replace the argus. My other rig, a brand new vector 3, I had ordered with a new vigil installed. I also own a vector 2 which used to have a cypress 2 in it but now is without an AAD, A racer w/no AAD and A javalin with no AAD. I don't know what to do with my argus but I don't feel like putting it in any of my rigs.

One of my passions in the sport is to jump with AFF students and other low-timers to try to contribute to the growth of the sport, at least on the microscale of my dz.

Because of frequent jumps with newbies, I have an AAD in all my rigs, and however much I may like the Argus unit, I cannot use it in any of my containers. On top, I know of at least one major dropzone that banned the use of Argus regardless of the container manufacturer.

I read the letter on the front page of http://www.argus-aad.com/ and I completely understand the frustration. However, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this request, it would be great to know what Aviacom's plan of addressing the issue is. Should I keep the unit and wait for recall or some type of action that would convince container manufacturers to re-open the use of Arguses? Or should I shelve it and go for something else?

Thank you for your advice!

I just my first Argus after using cypress. Much better in the argus it goes through a check list and lets you know what it check. really hard to turn off, but it turns itself off after 12 hours. the four modes are nice as well, even if I will never use them. the batteries are found at bestbuy, cvs, and radio shack.

I bought my first 4 Argus's in 2007 for our personal rigs. I wanted to test the product prior to using them in the student fleet. We used the AADs for a whole season and decided the Argus was a very good unit. The batteries are cheap to replace and it does not have a 12 year life span. The argus goes in for re certification every four years, and then back into your rig. Argus is not promising it will last forever, but that it will last as long or longer than the 12 year cycle. I ordered more Argus's in 2008 to put in all of my student gear, and our 4 way team started using them as well. In total over 25 units at the DZ that year. Still no problems at all. The multi function is great. I pull a unit out of any rig on the DZ and can sell it to a junior, or a swooper. I like having the flexibility of moving the AAD around to suit the DZs needs. I like the swoop mode because it turns off once you have a good canopy. This way when your going big you don't have to worry about it firing. It is also Water Resistant like the other AADs, but don't be fooled by claims that other AADs are water Proof! water can get in all of the AADs on the market if using them out side the manufatures recommendations. Argus also fires a bit higher which is good, and if you go head down for the entire skydive it will add a few feet to the opening altitude to help insure you get a canopy before bouncing. The new Ruggedizing kit is great, and the button is better for those with sausage fingers. I feel that Argus is a more modern unit with the end user more in mind than a few other AADs we've used in the past. The customer service is great as long as when you call it is between regular working hours in Belgium. How ever Karel has answered the phone very late in the evening for me, and claims if he hears the phone ring at night he answers it. I have heard a few complaints about Battery issues, but when I ask the users who have had the issues with there batteries how often they change them they say "when they die, or when ever the rigger changes them". I would suggest changing them every repack if you jump allot, and every year if you jump only a few times a month. You can buy the batteries bulk for just a few dollars each. Remember that An Argus is not a Cypress so there not going to have the same batt lives etc. But that in the end Argus still comes in a bit cheaper and offers something different. Hope this was helpful

I have an Argus AAD which has worked well for a while, but once "sensor error" message küldte.A company replaced with great difficulty, I sent it does not work, the temperature measurement function. The email do not respond, not responding to anything.
I do not trust the device, which is what it is malfunctioning.
The company likes to take the money and then turn sight.
Is not a reliable company!
I would not recommend to anyone!

I love my Argus. I have had trouble with other AAD units and I decided to give the Argus a try. I was completely surprised to see how small the unit is when I packed it into my rig! I like it! I've had no problems with it. My only concern is where the control panel sits on my Javelin. It seems vulnerable to a door strike and it looks fragile. My friend had one that cracked a few years ago, so i'm really careful with mine.
I like the multi-function ability and the field replaceable batteries.
The colors are great too! (it matches my rig).

I had never heard of the Argus until recently, when someone on one of my jumps had his fire due to a low opening on his main. About that time my 12-year old Cypres was about to expire, so I decided to research the three major AAD's, at least as much as possible.
As far as I have been able to tell, all three of the major AAD's on the market (Cypres, Argus, Vigil) are functionally equivalent. The differences are in the details. For one thing the Argus has selectable modes: Tandem, Novice, Standard and Swoop.
I think the Swoop Mode is a great idea, although I will never use it myself.
In Standard ModeThe Argus fires at a slightly higher altitude (820 ft)than my Cypres, which I personally like.
The Argus has had a few service bulletins with recalls, but so have the other AAD's, so I don't see Argus as being any better or worse in that area.
The one I bought has a DOM of March 2008, and is in compliance with all service bulletins.
The Argus is compatible with most containers on the market, but you should check with the manufacturer of your container system before buying an Argus. I was able to get a link directly to R.I.'s approval statement from the Argus website. Installation is the same as the Cypres, at least in the Talon 2, which is what I have.
I don't consider the lack of an expiration date a plus. As an electronic specialist, I consider 12 years to be quite a long time for a piece of electronically controlled life-saving equipment to last. On the other hand, I think we'll have to wait and see if not having to send the unit to the factory for a periodic check is a good thing. The Agus does have a periodic check required that they say can be done by a local rigger; only time will how that works out.
Like the Cypress, it also turns itself off in 14 hours, or you can turn it off manually.
My one complaint is that I had trouble turning the unit on (and off), and one of my friends who has one said he had the same problem. However, the instructions do say to press the button when the logo flashes, but this is not emphasized, and when I tried not pressing the button until the logo went off and the screen went dark, it seemed to work okay. If this is the correct way, it should be worded differently and emphasized in the instructions.
The Argus takes two CR123 batteries, which are available from Newark Electronics and others for about 5 bucks each. Argus recommends replacing them once a year.
The Argus doesn't have the track record of the Cypres, but according to the owner's manual, the Argus' "multi-sensor concept is the result of 14 years of intense Research & Development."
You can check out their websit at www.argus-aad.com

I have spent alot of time checking out AAD's and researching them. The Argus is one of the best out there. I am very happy with the Argus and love the functions and flexibility of it. I work with other AAD's in the military and am always happy to get back to my rig and use my Argus. In my research I did however find out that people can be very prone to completly lie about an AAD without knowing anything about it at all. I have had multiple times where riggers would lie about the Argus just so I wouldnt buy it. When confronted they backed down admiting that they really knew nothing about it. If someone tells you something negative about this AAD ask for hard proof. Chances are they are full of crap.

I bought one last year, used it for tandems and until now have not had any bad surpises. The tech application service is cool. Look`s great.

i was given a demonstration of this product recently and feel that with time it will be a great asset to our skydiving comunity with added value of easy replacement batteries
and more cost effective pricing and also real service program non cloak and dagger which its longest founded opposition has in place great to see opposition to a long held monopoly