huckfinn

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  1. If some of you actually make it out of the chair you're sitting in, and drive to the dz, you'll see people swooping, everyday..... Why is it so hard to believe that my 84, is my everyday canopy, That gets swooped every jump(almost). It said Petra lite, not student Petra
  2. Terry was also my first save, wonder how many of those he had
  3. ....anyways, not sure why you (Jeff) posted this in the skydiving forum, why not put it over on the BASE one?
  4. I wanted to start a new thread, as the other V3 thread is mostly posters talking back and forth at each other, not much substance. After receiving my V3 and noticing all the changes from the V2, I thought I'd put some of it out there for those wondering or waiting. FYI, I have no affiliation with PF or any other gear company. First thing I noticed as I looked it over on the couch was the same quality we all expect from PF. I could not find a stitch out of place. As I checked the new features, some of which I had no idea how they would function, I could see so many tiny details. There is obviously some real brain work that went into the V3. I spent some time peering into every tiny nook of the suit and became more and more impressed. I've owned and checked out many suits, but I think the V3 is head and shoulders above anything I've seen in terms of design and attention to detail. The most obvious new feature has to be the change from a lace up rig system, to the over the shoulder zippers. It took me about 2 minutes to hook a rig up to the suit the first time, a big improvement. For those with suits using zipper systems, you know what I mean. The new placement of the wing cut away cables on the arm instead of the body seems clean and well thought out. Just check out the tiny channels built to fit the cable, everything seems to fit without slop or binding. I like the streamlined covers over the zippers, lace up loops and handles, just another detail to admire. This is the first Robi suit I've worn that felt a bit different in the fit to me. His other suits felt to me a bit more snug in the body, more like a jump suit with wings. This one felt a big looser in the chest/torso area the first time I put it on without a rig. I was wondering if there was a small error in my measurements, but once hooked up to a rig, the suit became smooth and it was obvious to me the fit was by design. It seems to me that by utilizing the over the shoulder hook up system, it allowed the wing design to be a more integrated part of the suit. The overall effect is a much more streamlined look to the front, and on the back the wing seems to start from the jumpers back, not the side of the body. A nice benefit of this new design is I can wear a warmer layer on my torso with no real change in fit, while in the V2 I felt a bit stuffed if I added layers. The wings are of course much larger than the V2 and they appear more shaped to my eyes. The foam in the leading edge of the arm wing makes a wrinkle free shape naturally and the proper flying position seems to be built in. The new ram air style inlets on the bottom skin of the arm wings look like a better placement than the top of the shoulders design of the V2. I saw one jumper who's body shape caused his V2 inlets to almost close when he rolled his shoulders forward, I couldn't get the inlets on the V3 to change shape at all no matter what position I moved my arms. The leg wing of the V3 is way wider that the V2 and the fit in length is a bit tighter than the V2. Robi assured me the tight length is also by design, so don't get mad if your V3 seems a bit tight in it's length, it's all part of the plan. As a side note, the new bootie/lower leg cut is much more formed and streamlined. It does make donning the booties a bit more time consuming as you need to work the bootie a bit to get it over boots, but once on it fits way better than the V2. There is no problem with knee/shin guards if you use them, they still fit under just fine. If you use the PC pouch on your suit, you will notice the change in the location from the V2 right away. The pouch is more on the butt/back of thigh, instead of the side of the thigh like the V2. Once geared up, the handle is once again right at your fingertips as it was with the V2, just moved back a tiny bit, no big deal. What is worth noticing is how the exact location of the pouch allows the huge wing and wing root to perfectly clear the way in the relative wind allowing for a clear handle grab. The old location would not allow a clean pull with this wing. There was some obvious RnD that went into this pouch location. One very strange piece of fabric caught my eye early on in my inspection of the suit. There is a loose piece of material sewn onto the side of the PC pouch that appears to just hang there not performing any function, but don't go cutting it off as I was thinking of doing! This little dangling piece has a very important function if you use the PC pouch. One thing that happened to my V2, and others I've seen, is a slight wearing on the wing fabric and stitching from rubbing on the rough velcro of the PC pouch after unzipping the arms after deployment. The wing would flap behind the jumper during canopy flight, and over time, possibly cause a bit of wear to the area of the wing making contact with the exposed PC pouch velcro. Well, this new little bit of loose fabric fixes that. Another nice detail of the V3. Of course there's many more changes to the suit from the V2. In fact, this suit does not seem to me to be a V3 in the way the V2 was to the V1 (make sense?). While the V2 was an improvement over the V1, this suit feels like an entirely new design. The name V3 does not to me do it justice. I know some people who didn't upgrade their V1, as they felt the changes were not significant enough to warrant the purchase. Well, if you are one of those wondering if you should make the jump to the V3, to me there is no question, you should. And if you don't want to take some anonymous posts advice, go check one out when you can, you will come away impressed. I didn't want this post to come off as an ad for PF, but the suit really is that well designed. Does anyone else have some thoughts on their new V3's?
  5. Ok, so I was just a bit quick on the draw. I just figured it out. I needed to uncheck a box in preferences to ignore 3rd party codecs, and I'm not even sure what a codec is. I did that and it works fine. So I guess a codec is a magical device that can determine your editing fate. I was going to edit this post out, but I'll just leave it here in case it helps someone out doing a search one day.
  6. So I downloaded Vegas Movie Studio 9 and am having trouble seeing my camera's video in the capture window. I messed with it last night for quite awhile, and after one of many restarts, there it was, working fine and showing the video! I captured about 15 minutes and burned a dvd just to test things out. It worked well, but there was one hang up and an audio drop in the final dvd. Anyway, I am back at it today, and I am having the same problem as yesterday. When I plug my camera in (HC5) the computer recognizes it just fine, but the video capture window is green and sometimes a bit pixelated instead of showing the video. I have done many restarts and checked every setting, everything should work. The video will show up in the project media window fine if I just capture while the capture screen is green as if there is no problem, but doing it this way is a pain since I have to watch my cameras lcd. I have been through every help option and checked forums on the web, I have yet to see this problem mentioned. Do any of you have any idea what's going on or have you seen this before? It's the trial version if that matters. What is so maddening is I had it working fine last night, seems like some sort of glitch. Any help is appreciated, I posted this as a last resort. Thanks. By the way, after struggling a bit with Premiere Pro, Vegas seems way more intuitive for me and the tutorial help is very nice. I tried it out after reading many positive things about it here.
  7. Thanks Costyn and Saskia. I'll try a few different set ups and see what I like best, EIS on and off. Costyn, I have never left auto focus on and gotten anything close to a good result. Maybe things are different with this camera... I purchased a Century .55 low profile lens so I'm pretty sure I need to fix focus to use it, maybe you were talking about shooting without the wide angle. Nice to get some real answers.
  8. Thanks Saskia. I have learned a few things from you, including not using an SD lens on my HD camera! I thought that with the HC5, it was best to leave the anti shake on, as it is not optical? I think I remember DSE even saying this. Have you had bad experiences with it on? I take it the regular Premium tapes are fine for HD then, I can't find anything about AME II on any of their specs online. DME? Thanks for your time.
  9. First off, I did many searches and can't seem to come up with anything solid. I thought I had seen something posted by DSE, possibly a link to one of his pages? I just got an HC5 and was wondering if I could pick your brains as to what you think are some basic settings to use to start, as well as some more advanced things to think about. For background, I have over 2000 jumps with camera, but it was all PC series and I never did anything other than set focus and possibly use beach-n-ski mode for overcast days. One last question; do Sony DVM60PRR tapes (regular premium tapes that I have lots of) use AME II? This is what DSE posted as being required to use for HD recording. I did some google searches for this as well but to no avail. I have lurked this forum on and off for some time and have learned much, thanks. -Rob
  10. Reply to all, I guess on this forum I'm in the minority :>), but for arguments sake... if I go on a commercial fishing trip, or take skiing lessons, or get help with my bags at a hotel, I tip and I would include skydiving instruction in this group. I mean, are you saying that if you want to get into this line of work it should only be about the satisfaction of spreading the "skydive" love? Why charge at all? I know the groovy feeling that comes with introducing someone to the sport, but should that preclude a tip? I also am perplexed by tipping in general that occurs here in the U.S., but that's another discussion.
  11. I'm flabbergasted by the responses here! These people are in a service industry and they ARE working for money. TIs AFFIs, camera people that I know (and I know a few) are all very grateful for tips. I've never understood why in this particular industry it's not the standard. So it's expensive to sky dive, is that the TI's fault, I guess they're already making so much money they don't need the extra five bucks. If people work hard, are professional, and provide you with a great experience they should get some recognition.
  12. > Am I the only one who read Zegeunerleben's post! < Nope. As I read some of what Tom had to say throughout this thread, most of the exact things Zegeunerleben pointed out had crossed my mind. Then he posted them! I'm not really one to stir up shit, but come on Tom, some of us know some real history. You should quit with the passive agressive attacks on Miles and Shane and the Tahoe crew (among others). Who really wants to be known as the world greatest base jumper?? If you have something to say, just come out and say it. Am I going to be banned? I said Miles. I said Shane. What, I'm still here? Ok then, Strickland, you are a fucking pussy sheep fucker. There, that should do it.
  13. huckfinn

    Toxic PC's

    This is a response to the few posts that claimed to see a noticeable difference in deployment time with their 42 after a few second delay... I repectfully say, bullshit. The design of the Toxic and it's pie slices is supposed to reduce oscillation due to lack of deformation in the bias of the zp fabric or so I learned from Marty. I just cannot imagine that one zp pilot chute would be even fractionally faster in lifting a canopy off my back than any other zp pilot chute, given that they are both the same size and age. If the super clean design of the Toxic actually did speed up the process, it would be by such a micro fraction of a second, that I know a human in freefall would never be able to really feel the difference. I'm sure you can be so happy with your new Gucci pilot chute that you may swear it's way faster, and if it makes you feel better about your purchase, hey, who am I to bring you back to reality? Now what happens with that pack job, i.e. oscillation, is an entirely different subject. I know Marty makes some fine products, and I don't doubt that the Toxic may be the next chapter in zp pilot chutes and addressing oscillation. $175.00? I could buy two F-111's and a twelve pack. The only way I would ever pay that kind of money for a pilot chute is where it would really count and all that engineering would be put to the test, terminal jumps. I'll wait and see, the Toxic will have to be damn special to replace my F-111's.
  14. If you want to go to the "cooler", more social dz, go to Hollister. They seem to care about the people having fun more. The van ride won't bother you until you have about 50 jumps. If you want a fast plane, beatiful ocean view, and good altitude, go to Montery. The weather will be good till about june. They both have big landing areas. No matter which you choose, leave the nest and go visit the other dzs in Northern Cal. when you have a few jumps. Ginny