sfgroschwitz

Hey there, Just moved to Boston and had my car rear-ended by a semi on the way out here - anyone wanting to give me a ride to jumptown soon and/or on a frequent basis? Maybe for the caribou this weekend? Stephan --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Not silly, but rude. Seems after eight years and 4000 posts you still haven't learned to be helpful instead of just broadcasting your ego. Geez! --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

FWIW I've recently been using an N3Audio and a set of Shure in-ear monitors to protect my hearing. I don't listen to mp3's or anything like that though. With the Shures in my ear the background noise is limited significantly, but I have no problem understanding the conversations people have on the plane. Quite to the contrary, because the sound insulation cuts out more background noise than voices, it's actually easier to understand jumpers. More importantly, I don't have to listen to the god-awfully loud beep of normal dytters. Anyone who ever listened to that noise on the ground knows how crazy loud it is. It doesn't seem that bad in the air, but the noise level (and damage to your hearing) is the same regardless. The N3A allows you to use an audible with much less damage to your hearing. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Dude, sorry if this came across as rude - first paragraph was addressed to you, second just a ramble, third to the OP. And I missed that you made the distinction between an RSL and the skyhook earlier, I only responded to the last post... Soo...peace it is. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Hm. Didn't we conclude that in your case the skyhook didn't cause the line twist? If anything, your case would be an argument against not arching when cutting away using an RSL, or an RSL in general, but not at all specifically against a skyhook. Actually, it seems the skyhook did exactly what it was supposed to do, which is disable itself if there is more pull on the pilot chute. Anyway... I just got a rig with a skyhook, after studying how it works (including the tandem incident) and concluding that in my case it offers far more advantage than possible disadvantage. I discussed it with riggers and jumpers I trust. And I have seen a few jumpers who had very strong opinions against any and all RSLs (the very manly "I want to get stable before I pull the reserve and don't need some cord to do it for me" crowd) see a skyhook in action change their minds and get one for themselves. So yes, absolutely know your gear and study how it works, because just as that will help you use your gear right and deal with the 'what if's, it will also help you cut through people's opinions. And we all know it's skydiving, where everyone has one, even though mine is the only one that's ultimately right and perfectly reasoned ;) --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Disregarding for the moment whether or not the skyhook actually deployed the reserve (I couldn't tell from the video), are you saying that a) the skyhook has a higher risk of creating line twist in the reserve when chopped spinning than a normal RSL? b) the several hundred feet in altitude you might save with a skyhook as opposed to a normal RSL (or even no RSL) are always (or just in most situations) less advantageous to survival than avoiding the chance of line twist that's associated with it? Edited for clarity --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

The battery tray is now on the back. That might help with stability. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

I guess I could try that out ... --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

I just got what appears to be a new version of the Solo as a warranty replacement directly from L&B (did I mention their service is terrific?). It came in the same packaging as the Solo, but the unit itself shows a few differences. The logo on the front face says Solo II, the buttons are red, and there's a red line around the side of the unit where the seam is between the front and the back panels. On one spot that red seam is bigger in the form of a square and encompasses a white circle. Hard to explain, I'll take a picture later. Has anyone heard what the deal is? Any other product updates in the pipeline at L&B? --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

I have one for sale. PM me if you're interested. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Hm. Chemicals on a rig? Is that really a good idea? Don't get me wrong, I'd welcome any help to keep my rig clean, but the thought of chemicals on it is just a uncomfortable. Are there any hard facts that show it's safe? --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Would you guys care to post some pictures? It's really hard to imagine what you're talking about. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Now I'm worrying about your helmet. Did you see it lately? --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

Alright... First off: thank you all for your comments so far. It helps tremendously to build on your combined intelligence! Went and saw my buddy in the hood in his welding shop today. Turns out he did a static line jump years ago and he knew quite well what I meant when I talked about riser strike and such. Tickled his imagination and dorky inventiveness. We'll be working on making a nifty aluminum l-bracket next week. If everything works out as we hope, it might actually slide right into the base of the mount, and accept the base plate of the camera. We'll also see whether we can construct a base plate for horizontal mounting that includes a carbon fiber 'filler' for that gap on the right side (similar to Bill's suggestion). I'll keep you posted. Seeing the camera or the helmet in the video by the way is no issue. I got my .5 lens today and there's no problem whatsoever. Even the royal .3 lens I have only captures a tiny bit of the still camera, which is negligible given that I can't even imagine a situation in which I would use the xti with that lens and a .3 lens on the camcorder. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell

The RRS mounts look beautiful, but are so expensive... I'm neither independently rich, nor do I see myself becoming so through stellar aerial photography - especially not since I have such stiff competition at my DZ. If I mounted the still camera vertically, would I want to do that with the flash toward the inside or the outside? Inside appears to have the advantage of leaving the battery cover exposed and eliminate the flash as a snag hazard. Regarding plug size, I believe only the one from the xti would be a problem. In the current setup the plug on the cx100 is exactly behind the screen of the xti, and would have as much space as it wants. But yes, it seems I should wait with drilling holes until that Hypeye and the bite switch have materialized. --- The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell