bwilling

Despite less than ideal weather last weekend, I managed to make 5 more jumps on the demo Pulse. First jump of the day was in way less wind than I've had so far (2-5 knots), and despite my best efforts to sabotage the landing by starting my flare too high, I still had no problem holding the canopy off long enough to land it, with pretty minimal run out. Winds picked up progressively the rest of the afternoon, so landings just got easier and easier. This is probably the easiest to land canopy that I've ever jumped. I managed to make it go back up a foot on one landing, so it seems like it's got plenty of flare power too... Had a couple of line twists on one jump (bag spun, they were below the slider and there at line stretch), and it was very ho-hum. Canopy flew straight as an arrow while I grabbed the risers and worked the twists out. Normally I'd be happy with the number of jumps I put on the Pulse demo (14 so far ) and just send it back, but I used the fact that I lost days to the weather (hey, I did!) to sucker, oops, I mean talk the kind folks at PD into extending my demo one more weekend. Really, I just didn't want to give it back. Do you think they'd notice if I hooked up my old canopy to their risers and sent it back instead. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Jump pins 13 & 14 on a standard ATX plug (the one that goes to the motherboard) to turn the power supply on... you can do it with a bent paper clip. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Probably power supply... that's the first thing I'd swap. You can buy one and test it without even mounting the thing, that way in the unlikely event that it's not the culprit, you could always return it. You could actually check the output of the supply, but even if it tests okay, it could still 'fail' under load and produce the results you're seeing... "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I wonder if some of our difference of opinion in the openings has to do with the fact that we're not jumping canopies in the same size range. I know they don't all scale linearly, and you're jumping considerably smaller canopies than I am. While I certainly agree that they fly nothing alike, my experience was that the openings were quite similar between the 230 Spectre that I owned,and the 210 Storm that I demoed. Both took about the same time to open, and had the same 'feel'. Both the Silhouette and the Pulse I've jumped opened quicker than either the Spectre or Storm in the size canopies I jump. The Silhouette is still my favorite simply because I have more jumps on it, and it's proven to be the most consistent opening and landing canopy I've jumped.. The Pulse definitely has a chance to become my new favorite, but only of I buy one (and I am seriously considering it) and put enough jumps on it to give it a chance to do that. The bottom line is that canopy choice is a very personal one, and there's a reason that all the manufactures make a range of canopies... different strokes for different folks! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I knew I was forgetting a canopy! I have demoed the Storm, and liked it also, but probably not enough to buy one. It opens a lot like the Spectre, which takes a bit long for my liking. The flare point is very deep on the Storm, and it took me quite a few jumps to dial in the landings, where I had immediate success with the Pulse. The Storm lands fine, it's just a bit different than other stuff I've jumped. Both canopies are very responsive and fun to fly, but the Pulse wins hands down on ease of packing, and oddly enough, do to the combination of a fabrics, pack volume. I had a miserable time trying to shoehorn a new 230 Storm in my container, while the Pulse 230 practically packed itself. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Sorry, I was so busy getting ready to go skiing and flying in the tunnel this week that I didn't come back and update this... I have some downtime while I wait to leave for another day of skiing though... I've owned and or demoed everything in the class of canopies that fit my needs. I have at least 15-20 jumps on Sabre 1, Sabre 2, Safire 2, Pilot, Spectre, Silhouette, and Triathlon. My favorite canopy overall, is still PD's Silhouette. I don't swoop, and I don't like canopies that take forever to open, although if they're consistent enough, I can tolerate them. I put 9 jumps on the Pulse last weekend, and hope to put that many more on it next weekend before I have to send it back, I really, really liked this canopy! It opens like I think a parachute should open. It's not fast, it's not slow, it's just nice and controlled. I'd guess about 600-700 feet on average. It flies very 'crisply', and has a nice tight feel to it. Even in the 'boat' sizes I fly (I demoed a 230), this canopy had a nice, sporty feel to it. Toggle pressure was reasonably light, but typical of big canopies trimmed flat, front riser pressure was monstrous. Landings were e-e-easy. It's not a 'swoopy' canopy, and has a very minimal plane out phase. Basically, you start the flare, wait to swing under and in front of the canopy, then finish it for a tip toe soft landing. Definitely one of the easiest to land canopies that I've jumped! I agree with PD, it's nice sporty feeling, stress free parachute. I'd buy one. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Hey, don't blame it on me, blame it on PD!!! I got my Pulse demo in yesterday, and I actually unpacked my current canopy to hook the Pulse up and pack it. I'm lazy, and never do that! They sent me a new, and I mean zero jump new canopy, which would normally mean that it's gonna suck donkey balls to pack, but not this thing! I laid it out in my living room, and it packed itself! OK, so it didn't really pack itself, but it was so easy to pack that it was damn close. My container is sized for a 210, and I've jumped a Sabre 2 210 in it, with that canopy being a very comfortable fit. The Pulse 230 is actually smaller in pack volume than the Sabre 2 210 was! It's not horribly loose or anything, but the bag is definitely not as firm with the bigger Pulse in it, and I'll tighten up my closing loop next time I pack it. I'm heading out to the DZ this afternoon to put some jumps on it, I'll write more about it later. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

You're right, I went back and reread the original post and I kind of glossed over the part where he says he thinks he wants to get into free flying. You can certainly do RW in a free fly suit... we normally do a big 'sunset' load at SDD at the end of the day Saturday (it's kind of a tradition), and we occasionally fill some of those slots with 'guest' freeflyers, most of whom don't own belly suits. The only complaint is that they don't usually have grippers either, which makes it a little more challenging at times. We usually just put 'em out late though, hell, they're used to standing on their heads! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

You've got a point, and I actually did this when I first got back into skydiving. I'm not a small person, 6' 3" 220-240 depending on time of year and beer consumption levels. I bought an FMC freefly suit (literally) with grippers... and while it worked, now that I have jumps on a suit with booties, I'd never go back. I didn't miss them back then though, because I had never jumped booties! I just think that if you're gonna plop down the kind of money they want for a custom jumpsuit these days, you should get one that's as effective as possible, and for me personally for RW, that includes booties. Honestly, my smallest suit (I have four) is easily the most responsive. My biggest suit is a huge flapping mass of fabric, and I can tell you that nothing happens very fast in that suit. Sometimes it feels like the flapping bastard is flying ME, instead of the other way around. I love it because it allows me to stay in skydives when I'm at my fattest, but I much prefer my smaller suits to that one! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I can tell you from first hand experience that a jumpsuit can have a tremendous positive affect on your skydiving! I've struggled with my weight forever, and after gaining some weight (again!) last year, I finally gave up and bought a bigger suit. It was, honestly, some of the best money I've ever spent in the sport. It's kept me in skydives I wouldn't have been in otherwise, and even though I'm working hard to lose that weight again, I have NO regrets about that purchase! You can't learn to fly your body if you're giving up all your control surfaces to just stay with the formation. You need a suit that allows you fly relative to other people in some sort of neutral position, so you have some range either way, faster or slower. A properly designed suit built for you can provide that! Tony, Bev, and Flite Suits have all been around forever, and there's a reason for that. Any of those mfg's can build you a quality suit that will make your skydiving more enjoyable. Play close attention to who does the measuring, it's a critical step. I'd start with a good RW suit. You could get a suit without booties, but the unfortunate fact is that the suits are specifically designed and tailored for the different disciplines, and if you want an optimum suit, you'll have to have a different one for each discipline. Maybe order a custom for RW, and look for a used FF suits, as the fit of those is less critical because they don't have booties, and that's usually the area on an RW suit that's hardest to fit buying used. Good Luck! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Thanks for the input guys! Several of the camera guys at my DZ have offered to help me put this together, and it sounds like the path of least resistance will be to cart all that stuff to the DZ on a weather day and let them. I'm just trying to learn as much about this stuff as I can in the process. Dave, thanks for the detailed instructions, but I'm on my own with the plate, because it's a much smaller version of BH's product, and a totally custom design. I didn't choose the path of least resistance there, because I have a 30 year background in manufacturing, and wanted to 'play'. The Rat Hat is a discontinued Bonehead product, but I've attached a picture. It doesn't need a chin cup, but that's great advice. It also doesn't have a cutaway system, but I've spent some time at home making sure I could ditch the helmet in an emergency. The front mounted single clasp enclosure makes it pretty simple to release the helmet. Although of the guys at SDD say we can retrofit a ratchet system, and use BH's cutaway system. Maybe I should have just bought a real camera helmet. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Yeah, yeah, I know I should just a buy a 'real' camera helmet, and while that's certainly a longer term possibility, I'm making due for now. I have a Bonehead 'Rat Hat' that I'm mounting a CX100 on, to shoot video for an entry level 4 way team. I built a smaller version of the universal mount in the attached picture, and need to align and attach it to the helmet. What's the easiest way to set the alignment on the top plate? I realize the 'real' camera helmets have mounting surfaces already, and that the alignment is 'fixed', presumably in a neutral position, so that the person and camera are looking the same direction. I've seen several camera helmet setups that incorporate laser pointers to help set ring sets for final sighting, and wonder if slapping a laser pointer on the mount would be a good way to align it for mounting. Or is the mounting surface position actually 'level', with your head in a neutral position, allowing the use of a liquid level of some sort to set alignment? I swear the top on the FTP looks like it's slanted 'uphill' to me, but it may just be an optical illusion. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Well, it would 'play' if you could call it that, but choppy would be a gross understatement. It was almost like watching a still slide show, with a nasty random pixel based transition between the stills. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

That seems to be somewhat codec dependent too, not just CPU power dependent. I downloaded some posted footage from the CX100 (the wingsuit base footage) that simply wouldn't play using VLC. I downloaded the ffdshow codecs and the same video plays smoothly in WMP on the same hardware. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

PD is once again taking demo requests, and my Pulse demo is scheduled! I might have been the very first person to send them a demo request when they finally put the request form back on their website. It's not like I've been checking it every freaking day since they announced that canopy... okay I have! I am a huge fan of their Silhouette canopy, and can't wait to jump the new Pulse. I've been waiting, oh so patiently. NOT! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Definitely one the best of the flavored almonds, although the Jalapeno Smokehouse doesn't suck either! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Wow! That's cool, but two words come to mind when I view that design... "Gross Overkill" I definitely agree with Billvon, that screams out for a lighter and simpler sheet metal construction! And I feel so cheap by comparison, I'm just fabricating a simple mounting plate and using a Gold member mount to secure the camera to the plate... add in a neoprene camera condom, and it's the ultimate in simplicity! I guess I am cheap though, hell, I'm mounting it to a used Rat Hat I paid $90 bucks for, and the Gold Member is used too! I am having the sheet metal mount plate laser cut here at work though. Sometimes it doesn't suck to work in a factory! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

This a great recommendation for anyone purchasing a solid state camera with both internal and external memory. Use the external memory as your primary media, because it can be replaced when it 'wears out'. The sad fact, regardless of the claims of 'lifetime warranty' by some manufacturers, is that all flash based media has a limited number of re-write cycles before it will fail. And since your camera will be writing to the media constantly when recording, it only makes sense to use the replaceable stuff as primary. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

It's not exactly cheap, but this would work rather well... Machinable foam is available in a variety of densities, and can me formed with common hand tools (think wood working tools, but much easier to work with). That and a little gaffers tape, and you'd be all set. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Windows media player needs codecs. I've found these to be the best, smoothest playing for mpg content. VLC has them built in, but I've found some larger content (full HD stuff) actually looks better in WMP using the ffdshow codecs. Edited to add... thanks for the effort Bill, nice work! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

It's not packing, and it's not body position, it's the 'chaos factor'. I've jumped all three of the Sabre2/Safire2/Pilot canopies, and the best advice is to jump all three and pick your favorite of the three (or four if PD ever starts to send out Pulse demos!) "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Many of them do have built in raid controllers these days, but to keep the cost of the board low, most of the RAID functionality is provided in software. While not inherently 'bad', software based RAID systems place a greater load on the machines CPU (those computations gotta happen somewhere), as opposed to a true hardware based solution where most of the RAID computations are done on hardware on the controller itself, not the CPU. It's unfortunately like everything else in life, where you get what you pay for. I paid $129 for the above mentioned Asus MB that includes built in RAID support, which I have running. A top of the line hardware based RAID controller will run you upwards of $300 for just the controller! It's a good thing CPU power is cheap these days! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Just an FYI, 32 bit versions of Microsoft OS's can't address more than 4gb of memory, so it's fruitless to put more than 4gb in a machine unless you're going to run a 64 bit version of the OS. That in turn opens up a whole new can of worms on the application side, as they have to be compiled to specifically support that 64 bit version of the OS. And don't ignore disk performance when putting together a box for NLE use. Raid controllers have come down considerably in price over the years, making it reasonably affordable to add a faster and more redundant (Raid 0+1, 10, 5 or 6) disk system to nearly any desktop system. You have to plan for it, because you need a case with room and adequate cooling for all those drives! I have a DVR system here at work that's running the Nvidia chipset raid controller built on the Asus M3N72-D motherboard, and honestly, for a cheap system, it's not bad! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

For those wanting to setup similar architectures for themselves, you'll get a huge performance boost by going external serial ATA (eSATA) as opposed to USB. It's supported natively on a lot of the newer motherboards, and can be added to almost any desktop system pretty inexpensively. It's a little pricier than the USB stuff, but I've got both here at work, and the performance of the eSATA drives is considerably better. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Thanks for the input guys! Sounds like it might be 'penny wise and pound foolish' to not spend the extra $40 for the pro version. And hell, I just spent $600 plus dollars on a camera, what's another $40 difference between the mini and pro version? I'm such a cheap bastard! Although, the camera fliers I talked to at my DZ told me my neck will be much happier with my decision to purchase the CX100, and not jump the TRV33 I already have. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."