jmidgley

Ah, I thought the settings were just to allow you to distinguish jump types in the log book software. But then I haven't read the manual in 7 years. I'll try the 'SLO' mode next time. I'm not too worried about the 119 seconds just yet. Cheers John

Hi On my first and only flight on my new PF Phantom my venerable old Protrack logged my opening at 11,000'. That's not going to be very helpful. So I came here to see what the word was on audibles. Unless I'm misunderstanding, this seems to be a problem with all of them (fooling them into thinking that you've deployed). Is there a 'least worst' solution? Phantom=nice WS, by the way! John

For sheer, drawn out bloody horror that clip's hard to beat. Any idea what went wrong at the outset - was the tube attached to his left hand somehow, or did he just not want to let go? J

Hi I made mine out of plain white cotton drill, tie-dyed (of course!). It's the kind of weight you might make a bean bag out of. It's worn very well. John

Or in the rigging section on ukskydiver.co.uk. Go on, ask me a question; I'm an expert now that I've done it once! John

I'm getting old too; that's why I ride a Triumph Tiger 1050! It means getting where you're going without your back and arms hurting - and being able to take a good look over your shoulder, which is nice.

No. No, no no. Sit down, take a deep breath and have a word with yourself. No good can come of this; only tassels, chaps and self-loathing.

The same thought occured to me, too, but I've checked and they're right. Anyway, I decided to set everything back to 'default' and work my way through the service manual. There were a few things out - the needle wasn't centred properly, and the swing was unequal either side. The feed dogs were set to rise too high. I'm pleased to say it sews perfectly now, and rather quieter than before. I might treat it to a new hook, and I'd certainly like a straight stitch plate and foot. Many thanks for your help. John

Well. Good news and bad news. Now all the right hand 'zags' pick up perfectly - but it occasionally misses the left hand ones! The odd thing is that if I set the timing up correctly with a straight stitch, using the timing marks on the needle bar, then the needle just hits the bottom of the scarf when the needle is far left. By tweaking the hook round clockwise a fraction, it makes this worse, of course, as the needle has risen another 0.5 mm by the time the hook arrives. Judging from where the hook passes through the scarf when the needle is far *right*, it looks as though I could just drop the needle bar 2-3mm and that would fix the problem, but then that would mean the timing marks are wrong. Fun, isn't it? John

Hi I have a Singer 20u that I'm just starting to use. I find that it occasionally fails to hook the thread, always on the right hand side - more often on wider zig-zags. I have the service manual, and I've checked as best I can the hook - needle position at each end of the swing. Although I have a wide variety of measuring implements I haven't got any means of checking the small vertical distances between needle eye and hook. The gap between the back of the needle and front of the hook is right (ie 0 to tiny). Do I need to persist in improvising some way of checking the hook position, or are there other things I need to check first? Cheers John

Breaking all the rules; Algarve, 2007. That's the coastline in the background. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q91/6105-8110/IMG_0800.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q91/6105-8110/IMG_0801.jpg John

Or consider a 'vacuum switch' I blagged a couple by phoning a distributor and explaining what I was trying to do - they sent a couple as 'samples'. They're small enough to fit inside the lining of my helmet and the only bit that goes in my mouth is a bit of replaceable tubing. John

Ooh! Ooh! I care! 'Spinnaker Release', AKA 'Snap Shackle' John

Hi there The plate comes with both 1/4" and 3/8" screws. All stills and video cameras that I've come across use the 1/4" screw which has 20 threads per inch. (Which makes it a 1/4" B.S.W. - kneel before the mighty Whitworth!) It's obviously a 'special' because of the thin head (which has to fit between the plate and the mount) and the narrow shoulder (which goes in the slot in the plate). If you can't find the screw and don't want to buy a new plate, I have this mount and can offer you the following options: A. If you can find a engineering outfit where you are, they'll probably make you one for the price of a beer - I'll do a dimensioned drawing if required. B. In the worst case, if you're really stuck, I'll make you one and post it! Cheers John

Wade wanted to see some photos of my helmet, showing how I attached the mount. There's an add-on flat top moulding to which the mount attaches. See here There are short screws which fix from inside the flat top bit, into threaded holes in the mount. The screws are just short enough that they don't interfere with the other half of the mount (that fixes to the camera) the screw ends are just visible in this photo here. They're the randomly scattered shiny bits. My patented idea is to put a piece of that very thin rubber they make swimming hats out of, between the mount and the helmet. It stops the mount from moving around. The bad news is that I think I've put the camera-bit of the mount down in here somewhere. Maybe here. If anyone can see it, perhaps they'd mark the photo with a red 'X'. Cheers John

Marinho - there's a lot of great service info in there, but nothing about oiling. DENNISA - the 20U pdf on that site seems to be the same as the one on Singerco.com - one of the line drawings doesn't seem to have survived the scanning process. TonyJ - that's great, thanks - I can see that just fine! Regards John

Hi The only scan of a manual for the 20u that I've ever seen online is of such poor quality that the oiling chart is unreadable. The one in here is the one I keep seeing. Does anyone know of a fair copy, or would someone with an original be so kind as to scan the oiling pages and stick them up somewhere? Thanks John

My view is - you can delegate the *job* - you can't delegate the responsibility. Learn as much as you can about how all the components work, what pathologies and failure modes they're prone to, what you can do to avoid them. Having someone for the coroner to blame after the event isn't nearly as good as avoiding the event in the first place. Regards John

It's just a 1/4", 20 threads per inch screw. Anything called 1/4" BSW or British Standard Whitworth will fit. John

I had *exactly* the same thing last time I went Cryin'air to Empuriabrava. Flight out from Stansted, no problem. Girona airport, they weighed my rig and it was 11kg. 11Kg! Nope, no way they said. Luckily, my 'real' luggage was under 10Kg, so we swapped. But really, 1Kg over! Recently went Squeezyjet to Faro - no weight restrictions on hand luggage! Hurrah! John

Hi I have a 394. I cut the protruding bubble-level off, then drilled and tapped a number of M4 holes - it's only aluminium, but it's reasonable thick. I put it on the flat bit on my helmet, and marked through the holes with a pointy thing and drilled clearance holes. The plate is then screwed to the flat bit from inside the helmet with dome-head screws - penny washers help spread the load on the helmet. I haven't got it in front of me, but I'm pretty sure that a simple riser strike can't release the plate. The lever goes one way and the button on the lever (that you need to press to release the lever) goes the other way. In any event, it's under the edge of the camera on my setup. There isn't a millimetre of movement of the plate - it's held by wedges and a cam on the lever. Very solid. Regards John

Hi It's the 'cruising along the runway' bit that gives away the answer to your question. You can find thermal-induced turbulence over any surface if there's a breeze blowing, because the trigger for the thermal may have been some distance away. After the initial bubble of hot air 'pops off', the moving air mass will continue to carry it along, merrily sucking air in from below, wherever below happens to be. In the right conditions, and with a reliable thermal source, this can produce those characteristic 'cloud streets' beloved of the other type of free flyer. It may also be responsible for the characteristic gust-lull wind conditions that accompany these kinds of days. The 'right conditions' are usually, but not always, a significant difference between the coldest night-time temp and the warmest day-time temp. I must get one of those little 'beep-only' varios to attach to my helmet... Regards John

Minimal investment is required - find a sewing machine shop, and make it plain that you're looking for a basic, used zig-zag machine in working order. Also speak to friends and family who may have something in the back of a cupboard. I picked up a small Pfaff 1471 a few years ago, one of their early efforts in 'electronics'. Despite its small size, it will push a #18 needle and 'E' thread through a ridiculous amount of cloth. It needed a bit of assistance with 6 layers of denim-weight material, but who wouldn't? FWIW, I subsequently got a Bernina 830, based on its reputation. I found that 'E' thread would jump out of the tension disks for some reason - there were no problems with the more usual size thread, but since I want to use 'E' thread, that was a bit of a deal breaker. Put the word out that you're looking for a machine - they can show up from the most unlikely sources. Regards John

Well I think you'll find that Vans are the thinking unicyclists shoe of choice. Sure, you get your 661 types, but mostly Vans all the way. John