sundevil777

Alti-2 shouldn't be telling us/implying in their ads their batteries will last 10 years. They use this number in their marketing about how you'll be enviro friendly and save a certain amount of money, and that all consumer type lithium batteries are good for 10 years as long as you don't recharge them so dang much...Very flawed marketing in my opinion. Don't tell people you're doing the environment a favor and then predict the disposal of the whole darn thing after 10 years, that's not consistent. The battery for the Neptune 2 is $4 and available everywhere (opposite of the L&B batteries). Disposable batteries can be considered an advantage if the batteries are cheap and available. If you could get months of use from a $20 or whatever cost battery for your gopro, but you couldn't recharge it, I think many would consider that at some cost/time combination, a disposable battery is a plus. Perhaps Alti-2 is admitting the truth about batteries losing capacity over their lifetime, and the 10 year figure is where some certain % remains. It might mean the battery indicator gets low after half the time or number of jumps, whatever, it is still likely going to be quite usable for many years, and is dependent on overall charging habits. They shouldn't be implying a 10 year lifetime.

I think jumpers tend not to "glance" at their analog altimeters, they stare at them for a long time. I think their brain uses that time to process the image into a number before looking away. Just a theory of mine.

Here is a comparison of dimensions, rounded to whole mm. I'm interested in the Skylife products so the Vega which seems like a bargain is included:

Many are convinced an analog alti will result in less time wasted staring at it compared to a digital alti. I can understand that it seems logical to make that conclusion. I think it is usually incorrect.If you're looking at your alti only long enough to realize it is a long way from breakoff time, you should have been able to tell that from the ground. If you're wanting to know if it is 6 or 5k, it takes longer than people usually want to admit to themselves.I have noticed some videos recently where people spend an awful lot of time staring at their analog alti each time they "glance" at it. Real people in freefall might not match up with what seems intuitive.

What advantages does a Viso/Ares have over the Neptune/N3/Atlas? Let's disregard price for now. Only after 30 years jumping did I consider a digital visual altimeter. A Viso II seemed not so easy to see, but an old Neptune II was much nicer. I've stuck with them since, and think there are many reasons why the Alti-2 product line is superior to the Ares/Viso. The L&B audibles are more competitive I think, but not the visual altis. I'm not just a "fanboy" of Alti-2. I think they could have done much better with their new products. I am also surprised the only competition to the VOG requires an earbud. Everyone raves about the VOG when they try it, and I doubt my experience will be different, but how long does it take to get one?

This would imply we can go much higher than 41k.

I thought the UK allowed jumping through clouds. Is this correct? Does it require being located where VFR isn't allowed or something like that?

Is there guidance for pilots? USPA says we ought to use a partial pressure suit above 40k, I remember you saying something about a military jumper limit is/was 43k. What about pilots?

This is not true, even with the best oxygen delivery system. Even you said it was at the edge of what is possible, because it isn't possible for us to expect to be coherent at those altitudes, even pilots.

I understand that, but it has been shown that nobody should count on being coherent at 41k, no matter what type of oxygen system is available. I'm asking what pilot guidance there is for unpressurized flight.

The altitude when pressurized isn't important to this discussion. I have repeatedly brought this up because the description of the incident jump sounded like the pilot was impaired, which is not a surprise at that altitude.

Is there a limitation? Seems as though pilots know it can't be defended.

Thread bump. The Skylife Vega/Sirius/Orion have been sold by Rock Sky Market at CSC for quite some time now, which is quite an advantage to have a brick and mortar store to help if there is trouble. They seem to well designed/built and have all the important features at a great price, but aren't popular. Why? They didn't catch on even before the Ukraine war.

399 is less than 429, but what else is better about an Ares? The use of the 7-segment display is especially pathetic on an updated, more expensive than the Viso redesign. The curved, narrower aspect ratio font of even the oldest Neptune/N3/Atlas is much better. Doesn't the Ares still show the useless blur of the tens digit in freefall? How could they not have that on their list of things to improve? Did the user interface of the Ares improve over the Viso? Has anyone seen a Jade/Crimson audible? Their printed cases are likely an indication of how rugged the Juno will be. How can they not be targeting the VOG as a competitor? New L&B and Alti-2 products aren't impressive compared to their previous generations. Perhaps the most meaningful improvement has been durability, but that should have been there from the beginning - not offered in the next gen at increased cost.

I haven't had any second thoughts in the 3 years or so I've been doing it, but that is a real possibility, and why I asked. I've never failed to push the button properly, and don't understand why so many don't trust it to turn on. I don't like being asked by others to confirm their light is blinking. I suppose the motivation for my idea is largely to stop people from bothering me when I am concentrating, and wishing they wouldn't be distracted by their lack of confidence in the camera to turn on. The camera can be confirmed to be on by looking at the display, so it can be confirmed in the rare scenario where I might not push the button cleanly,

If you're considering used, then again I'll say you should consider lots of other possibilities. The Safire 3 is newer and more glamorous than the Pilot, but why those 2 options? Realize the trusted instructors, riggers, and other sources of expert advice can all be trusted to give you advice and it will not agree. Assume everyone is biased and are prone to biased assertions of good and bad this or that Ford vs Chevy stuff. Keyboard warriors such as us can help sort it out with time, at least you can get a multitude of opinions, you will learn, and it helps kill time. I've been using a Pilot 210 for the last 12 of my 42 years jumping, now at 1.1 WL. At such docile loading, there are a lot of good options that you'd like. Read all the marketing you can, that way you'll learn some and be reassured, because they'll all tell you their stuff is the best, so you can't go wrong eh?

My idea is to promote the practice of setting gopro cameras so the red light doesn't flash when recording. Better to just press it firmly and quickly - not bothering anyone with a camera check, not using a small mirror. Cameras are enough distraction, this would help in my opinion. Plus, people look silly trying to mime their flashing light check request before the camera even had enough time to start flashing! I've been doing this for the few years I've been jumping a camera. What do you think?

Quite right. It will be interesting to see and feel them for real. We are still left wondering which is the better choice if durability of case and screen is the goal.

Correct, I wasn't thinking right, corrected in a follow up post.

Their website says it is not injection molded plastic, "The machined metal case is crafted from aircraft aluminum." Some aspects of the Juno case appear to be printed, but those very consistent grooves around the perimeter - I would not have thought a printer could do that, but they are ordinary for a injection mold.

We should be open to the possible benefit of a non-metal case if it can be clearly shown they are tougher. Plenty of plastics and composites can be quite tough - good at absorbing energy without damage. Of course a metal case might look sturdy but actually be too thin to resist dents, and the plastic/composite might be more likely to fracture than dent. Maybe the manufacturers are reluctant to highlight in terms of data regarding how fragile older designs have been, as all the manufacturers have made general claims about new designs being tougher without meaningful data. We are left wondering whether the Altas 2 or Atlas Juno are tougher.

How sure are you it is printed? The texture looks like an etched pattern from a mold rather than printing, and the very slight but very consistent groove that goes around the perimeter of the outer face makes me think it is a mold. That's just my quick observation as someone with a lot of plastic injection parts experience but not so much printing.

Sorry for being so wrong about the type of power connection, I wasn't thinking right, the N3 doesn't use USB-C.

The N3, which predated the Atlas, had applied the USB-C as an improvement over the original Neptune. No change there. The buttons on the N3 and Atlas already had a good tactile click feel to them, even with gloves. No improvement needed, so very little value to improving something already good.

https://alti-2.com/product-category/sports/ I understand the Juno version, a little cheaper. For the Atlas II, they don't make it clear what has changed. Perhaps buttons with even greater tactile feel, and perhaps a better battery? They might have had to redesign it due to components becoming unavailable.