Grumpy

The bungee ties the two leg-straps together to prevent then sliding down toward your knees when you're in a sit. Later rigs have tabs sewn to the legstraps (check out any newish rig on your DZ) to put the bungee through but yours may not have these. They can be added easily and cheaply.

My Talon is DOM '97 and is pre-Talon2 so I expect the same as yours. The mods I've done to mine are bigger walrus teeth put on the main flap side tuck tabs on the reserve flap a bridle cover added (at the mouth of the BOC) a low profile reserve handle. The rig may not be the newest thing on the dz but it's bullet-proof. Nothing has ever opened or come lose in the last ~700 freefly jumps. PM me if you want more detail on anything. I might even be able to get pictures if you ask nicely

...and Australian...

Check the pressure plate which is attached to the inside of back door and holds the film flat when the door is closed. It usually has little dimples in it which love to trap a bit of sand etc. Every time the film winds on, it is dragged across the grit and presto! scratch along the entire length of film. Even if that's not the problem in this case a worthwhile precaution (particularly in dusty/sandy areas) is to give a quick clean around the pressure plate/film transport area area with a blower brush (available from camera stores) or compressed air everytime you load a film (point the lense towards the sky so dirt falls out of and not into the camera)

I've had a pair of Blueye for about 3 years now. I've replaced the strap once. Otherwise they're still in great shape so even though they're not that cheap they are good value. They do two frame sizes. "Caged" for fat-heads and "Zoo" for the slimmer head ! They come with two lenses - I got yellow for normal wear and clear for low light jumps but I found the yellow improves my depth perception on evening jumps (better than the naked eye!) so I never used the clear ones. http://www.blueye.com.au/index.html

Do you mean Taslan or Taslon? Both are materials with similar sounding properites. Maybe it's the same stuff. It's got a slightly 'crinkled' look. Taslon is used in jumpsuits here in Australia. I asked Michelle of RMW jumpsuits in Australia a few questions about Taslon. Here are her answers. Q.What's this taslon material A.It is the nylon material used on the front of FS suits. Q.Is it hard wearing? A.Yes, together with the lining it is probably stronger than pollycotton. It does however melt easy and hence will not take a fast sliding landing. if your in the habit of doing this parapac knees and butt are recommended. Q.Breathable? A.Not sure, people in Cairn's [hot tropical climate] have ordered it as they say it is cooler. We also line it with mesh which is supposed to have cooling properties. Q.Color-fast? Yes. Q.Can you print on it? A.No the paint will not stick to it. Q.Is it the same as supplex? A.Yes, its just the American name for it. QIs it warmer/cooler than 10 oz cotton? A.As above, cooler. Q.Does it fly a bit faster than Cotton? A.In theory it should. In practice you best ask Pete [the guy she had just made a taslan suit for] Hope this helps.

What battery does the 22 come with? Does anyone know how the battery life is better or worse than a PC 105? Can it handle 6 or 7 jumps on one charge? Thanks for the great source of in-depth information.

I personally know of one case where a (slim) freeflier had to have the chest rings removed from his (custom made) Talon because even with the chest strap cranked up tight it would slip off his shoulders. Maybe you should be approaching this by asking if there any freefliers out there who don't have chest rings but feel their rig would be better with them. I've got about 800 jumps (mainly freefly) on mine (no chest rings) and have never crossed my mind that having rings would be an improvement. What you have is a product (harness) that offers an optional feature (chest rings). This feature has a possibly serious downside (security of the rig) but the benefits that people claim of them are slight, vague (what is 'bang for the buck'?) and certainly not enough to convince me. Just my 2c. PS this also came up on the total control discussion board a while ago. http://www.totalcontrol.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Advice;action=display;num=1044861686

It's not a url, it's in an e-mail. I sent it to Lisa so she might upload it.

For any Aussies or people who have bought Talon/Voodoo containers manufactured in Australia, Parachutes Australia have advised that no ripcord pins affected by this service bulletin have been used in the manufacture of PA products. (Parachutes Australia manufactures RI containers locally for the Australian market. I guess they must source the pins locally too) I tried to attach the Product Service Bulletin from Capewell but it's too big. Anyone who wants it can PM me and I'll e-mail it to them.

Never mind - it seems to be ok again today.

When I enter www.dropzone.com in the address bar or click on the 'home' button from anywhere in the Dropzone site I end up at some microsoft help site though the address still comes up as dropzone.com. This has just begun today. The only way I can access the site now is to use the history and jump straight into the forums. Then it operates normally. Anyone else experiencing this?

Have you tried calling them on 07-5423 1159 ?

It began switching off on it's own (inside my helmet) and I did try new batteries and I did make sure no buttons were being pressed accidentally)

I had a Skytronic Pro, (model before FX) but it didn't seem to be very accurate. Anyway, it began playing up so I couldn't trust so I stopped using it. The Parasport customer service is a joke. I have a Pro Track and a Pro Dytter now. Love 'em. Trust em with my life. The Neptune will hopefully be a good piece of gear but it's as yet un-tried and unproven and it's a completely new area for Alti-2 . Teething problems are a distinct possibility. (No disrespect to Alti-2, they seem to be a great company, I'm just about to get one of their Galaxy altis) There is no other product in Skydiving that receives such universal acclaim as the ProTrack/Dytter. It's not cheap but you get what you pay for and if I were buying again today, I'd get another ProTrack.

...and at Picton, the local rule applying to you (and anyone else with up to a D licence) is that you have to have a Cypres and an RSL. (other DZ's don't make you use an RSL if you have an AAD)

Here's what we use to calculate the price in Australia. You'll have to rework it with purchase, service and battery prices for Euros but the method of calculation will be the same. Hey, how much is a jump in Ireland? I'm wondering if it's worth my while bringing my rig home with me this summer. cypres_value.pdf

I get Rory Hatchet to do ,ost of the work on my rig. His loft is in Bankstown. Call or pm me for his no. or just call the Sydney Skydivers office and ask for him. (He shares premises with them)

Isn't duct tape very slippery? Is it going to reduce the amount of force you can apply or did you just put a thin strip on it?

Tips for extending the life of your batteries - this is from the FAQ section on the L&B website. Question: I replaced the batteries, however soon after I installed the new set the unit displayed "Low Bat." again? Answer: Please remove the battery cover and wait at least 2 minutes before reinstalling the cover again. When the battery cover is removed the batteries are disconnected. When installing a new set of batteries too quickly the microprocessor may sometimes enter a wrong mode and thus display wrong information. Do also refrain from pressing any buttons for about 15 minutes after installing new batteries. You can also view the instruction book and learn how to set your Pro-Track or Pro-Dytter to economy mode. http://www.l-and-b.dk

Icarus are going to have some demo canopies at the Easter boogie in Nagambie, Victoria but that's a long way from you. I didn't demo my first canopy. Coming off student gear with 20 jumps I wouldn't have known what to look for so I chose based on advice from instructors (made the mistake of asking too many people and got too many opinions which confused me a bit) and never regretted it.

Skylark, can you please explain to me why you think I should be compelled to have an AAD? There are many people giving reasons why they shouldn't have to have one but I don't see any well considered argument as to why I should have one. I'm thinking maybe you could tell me some situations when an AAD would benefit me and how often these occur in relation to the number of jumps made each year. (lets exclude student gear which I think should be equipped with AADs) PS Where did you get the idea that people who don't use AADs think they're macho?

I know of two people who got custom built Talon harnesses (in Australia) and haven't been happy with them. One guy (small build) found it moved around too much and came off his shoulders in head-down. Don't know the details of the 2nd guy. They eventually had the harnesses rebuilt and the rings removed. PM me if you want his number. I've got an older Talon with just the hip rings and I love it. I don't see the need for the chest rings. Also, check out the thread on the total control site about this. http://www.totalcontrol.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Advice;action=display;num=1044861686

Welcome back

Regarding the short battery life, have a look at the FAQ on the L&B website http://www.l-and-b.dk/asp/faq.asp?mode=Protrack where a little gem of information is hidden. It recommends that you leave the unit with no power for 2 minutes when changing batteries. Then after installing the batteries (and this is the bit that ain't in the instructions) you should not push any buttons for 15 minutes ! My ProTrack started crying for new batteries last weekend so I'll be giving this a try.