Digital Altimeter

[mmacro 0]

Can I get some input about digital altimeters? I use a Mac at home and want to get a digital to use.

I've read a lot of posts in the gear section - some good, some bad for all the different MFGs.

I was hoping to get a feeling for what people prefer overall.

I already have a mechanical altimeter. I was just wanting to have a redundant system, and digital is a good "upgrade."

Thanks
Matt

[dragon2 2]

Ehm what does having a mac have to do with wanting a digital altimeter? You just looking for a gadget? Anyway there's been plenty written about digital altis, their suitablility for novices/wingsuiters/swoopers/... and about their compatiblility with macs too.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[tdog 0]

I am pretty nerdy when it comes to toys.

I never have had a desire to upload my alti into a computer.

I sometimes look at the last jump (especially wingsuit flight) to see speeds and stats.

I highly recommend a digital altimeter to everyone as their first altimeter, but ultimately will say, "it is personal choice and whatever you choose has disadvantages and advantages and as long as you accept those, good!" Before I get flamed, find a previous thread where I said the same thing and rehash it there, not here.

[mmacro 0]

dragon2

Your reply kind of hints at the old saying, "if you have to ask... then you just would not understand."

I have found that Apple makes a very stable computer - in the last 8+ years I have only bought two computers. One was a desktop and the other a laptop. Both run fine to this day - including the 8-year-old desktop.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Also, compared to a PC which has thousands of viruses, Mac has only a few hundred known viruses.

Software MFGs are slowly getting the message that they need to start writing software for OS X.

Neither Neptune or Pro-Track (or any other ditial I know of) has native software for OS X.

Paralog supports OS X with native software, but their newswest version (Paralog 5.0) only works on OS X 10.5.2. I would have to use a generation older version of the software.

As you can see, I would would probably want to find out what digital has what pros/cons - and who has experience with them and OS X.

And a post written a year ago is outdated.

[hackish 8]

#1 way to piss off a mac user "Gee they still make those things???"

I have an altitrack. I find it very useful as it calculates my freefall time and records the deployment altitude. I also find it very comfortable and like the fact the analog looking dial is rotated when you look at it. Also nice is the fact it scales the altitude for higher than 12k jumps - not that I can't tell the difference between 16k and 4k but still I like it. Also the self-calibrating ground level is good. I have no idea if it works with mac but I vaguely remember something about that...

-Michael