sundevil777

I understand the existing limitations put on the batteries, 500 jumps or 2 years or when the code comes up on the control unit. Of course the limitations are not because they turn into a pumpkin at the prescribed date or jump. The 2 year limit may have partially been to prevent leakage of the batteries, (especially when not used often?) What I really want to know is: Are the new batteries a different technology? It would appear so, as I mentioned in earlier posts, the 2 year limit is gone. I would expect this to be the case only if the concerns related to the batteries sitting in the unit for 2 years are no longer a concern. I don't know how this would be true unless the batteries used a different technology. Even if they were isolated/sealed from the rest of the internal electronics, I would not have expected the 2 year limit to go away unless the technology was different. Perhaps the battery technology is new (can't leak) and the electronics are so efficient that they will last 4 years regarless of usage. It is just too bad if the cost or size (power vs. size) of the new battery technology is what prevents their use with the old version (assuming the batteries are a different technology). Probably enough speculation for now, the answer will come with time I suppose. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Hurumph, Hurumph! People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The old Cypres batteries had to be replaced every two years regardless of usage. If the new batteries were similar technology, just a different size/less demand put on them by more efficient electronics, then it would seem that the two year life would still apply. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Double zipper suits are unique in that they can be put on over clothes and shoes without inserting your legs through like pants - your pants don't get pulled up as you insert your legs. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Some assembly required Read and follow label directions Consult a physician People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Me thinks you protest too much. Seems like you are concluding that Bill is a racist because he opposes what he sees as a harmful influence from celebrities that have great influence on the youth of America. Let's argue about what Bill O. advocates, not what you conclude to be his motivation Popular culture has always been a threat to parents. Why is Bill's position so unique to be called racist. I watch his show often, please point out what I missed. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I think it is a real shame if the new - 4year batteries can't be used in the old version. Just because battery technology advances should not have to mean a different package size. Or is the unit just more efficient? This shouldn't be it since the old version's batteries are supposed to be changed in 2 years regardless of how much it is used. Can anyone confirm the batteries can't be shared, or know of reasons why they couldn't be? People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Hard cones are the metal conical shaped piece with the hole in it that your ripcord pin goes through. A bent pin with hard cones = total malfunction. Soft cones means using a modern style closing loop instead. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

That sure looks like a low jump run for students. Viking, Be real careful with the those hard cones. Might want to consider converting it to soft cones, but I know you probably want to keep it in the original configuration. Also, have an old rigger check out the slop in the capewell pivot, the rivets can require a touch with a hammer to be sure they can rotate under a side load, such as when both sides don't get released at the same time. You should also consider not looking at the ground when landing, the chances of pulling up your feet too early are quite real. Your dad is probably already making sure of all of this. I can picture it now, looking over the para-gear catalog in the early '70's, thinking, "I gotta get me one of those mini system rigs, it's so tiny, everyone else at the DZ will wish they had one!" People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

It definitely has happened. Can't remember which mfg. had a very large number of cars with this issue. I think there may have been a class action law suit about it. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I would think this practice is extremely common. What should also be common is neatly laying out your main and risers (maybe covered with R/L labeled shot bags or something like that) while the reserve is packed. If you mark your toggles and/or risers R/L in some out of the way location, you can easily check. I guess doing a canopy transfer in this situation would be...interesting. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I believe that for a while there was only the one pin version. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I think that if SIM explained the two guidelines together as you have then there is no contradiction. If you must think of this scenario (hop & pop) yourself, then I think there clearly is a contradiction. Also, 3.5 seconds is all you need to fall 200 ft assuming no drag from air or snivelling parachute. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The cargo hold-all of it, is definitely pressurized. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Take a look at a picture of any 4 or 8 way team, and their legs will be at about a 90 degree angle to each other. This is a lot more than shoulder width I think. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Assuming that it is firing right away-out the door, I would say that is bad, if before significant vertical velocity is achieved. If I'm getting out at '1000, I'm going for the reserve anyway, but that is a separate thread. I would not be worrying about my Cypress firing first. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Yes, of course being able to turn it off is an Astra advantage, although again I say the process could be made more accident resistant and be quick/easy enough. I don't see Cyrpes II or Mpaad as being able to turn off under canopy any differently than available now, given the location of their control units. For me, someone else being able to turn it off in a plane is OK for accessability, and I like the control unit being tucked up out of the way much better than NEEDING to have the control unit in easy grasp. Just another thing that will not snag a line or canopy, etc. Absolutely! In a perfect world we could decide our own threshold speed. I think mine would be slower than the existing expert model, because if I'm descending that fast under my PD210, I need help, and the student model is too slow. I want the speed that is "just right". The hot swoopers could make it 100 mph if needed. Unfortunately, I think that adjustability might raise the price a lot. Competition will breed innovation. I'll bet the folks at L&B are executing a plan to do better than the Neptune by Alti-2. FXC should have been able to do a much better job. They had a clear target to beat. In my opinion they failed in every way except that they put it in a real case. I hope for competition's sake that the we can learn more about the innards of the Mpaad so we can gauge its value vs. price. More to come on AAD alternatives... People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The Astra has a higher speed threshold, so you could say it is better in that respect for REALLY FAST swoopers. (edit-clarity) People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Another point, the Astra can't be adjusted for a different airport vs. DZ altitude. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The type of earplugs that filter out damaging sound levels might work well. They are available at any department store that sells hunting stuff. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

What is really lousy is the claim that the rule was not in an obvious place on their website, and that after getting info on the DZ by phone, it was not even mentioned (Oh, did I forget to tell you that little insignificant detail about our DZ?). That would make me very angry. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Good example. I talked to the guys dad, and the Astra DID have all the latest modifications. Unfortunately, not true. The FXC-astra website hasn't posted any "news" since '97, and doesn't say anything about this feature. If only the Cypres was as rugged as the Astra, we would have the best of both worlds. If you do a search at rec.skydiving (remember they came out in the mid 90's), you will read of many first hand and eyewitness accounts of misfires, and other problems. I know this because I also hoped that it was a viable alternative to the Cypres when I bought new gear last summer-I quickly realized why they actually do have a bad reputation. Consider this, the unit can be reset/recalibrated at whatever altitude that an intermittent circuit (power)/glitch/switch movement/whatever happens. However, the Cypress will shut itself off if it had an interruption of power-you would have to go through all the button pushes to turn it back on, and then it would fail/not calibrate itself while climbing. FXC actually claims the lack of a "time consuming" on-off procedure as an advantage! I think it is simply a dumb engineering decision to have a switch so obviously vulnerable to inadvertent actuation. I think it likely the misfire at 10K mentioned earlier was due to the unit somehow being turned off and then on at 9K. The cypress simply can't suffer this failure because of the "time consuming" on-off procedure-it has a purpose! Also, the ability to easily field test the astra in a chamber is not worth very much. I suggest reading more about the tests that are done to the Cypres during the 4 & 8 year checks. The Cypres is put through a whole lot more testing than just a "fire/no-fire" test at some approximate descent rate in a chamber. I won't be happy when I have to send mine in for the check, but I understand that it is worth doing and can't be accomplished in a simple chamber at your local DZ. The 12 year life is also unfortunate, but I wonder if the Astra has the type of capacitors and other electronic devices that are known to predictably degrade and fail over time. If you want to consider alternatives, we have a lot left to know about the new Mpaad. I think it also benefits/suffers from the advantage/disadvantage of not being thoroughly checked at the factory periodically. I also think it might be uncomfortable against the back and may be more vulnerable to damage from tossing your rig down on the floor. The popularity of the Astra did not suffer because of brand loyalty or snobbery or unfounded rumors. At the time of its introduction, there was a lot of hope that the Astra would be all that it promised. The marketplace decided the fate of the Astra for reasons that should not be ignored. Maybe we should exert our collective clout and lobby Airtec to stop charging for the maintenance. At least when your car needs scheduled maintenance, it is possible to do it yourself for free (except for parts and special tools). (edit-spelling) People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Yes it does, and so did the staging loop on my old Stewart Sweethog, held the flaps closed until extension of the bridle. I don't think using the main riser covers as a staging mechanism is the best method of achieving what might not even be a good effect. I now realize that both Infinity and Vector 3's have the clever reserve side flap extensions that result in less need for such big main riser covers. Of course the Infinity is even more clever because Kelly does it without an extra seam. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

If the in-tow clears/container opens due to opening shock, cutting away first or not doesn't matter because the main is opening behind you. If the in-tow clears/container opens because of reduced tension as the reserve lifts, I believe it is not at all so certain that you are better off to have your main pulled past the deploying reserve. A departing main can pull the reserve slider up, etc... What is certain is that when I had an R3 on one side release on a funneled exit, I should have released the other side and deployed the main, then gone for my reserve. The thought of that riser and hardware piece trying to grap my undiapered 26 navy conical at terminal is unsettling. Then the oscillations threw me down backwards on my back with that big main still there at the bottom of my back (ouch!) No reason I should not have gotten rid of it. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Have any lofts considered using humidifiers when needed to make reserve packing easier? Might seem silly at first, but if effective... People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am