Caved and bought a dytter

[skydivingdutch 0]

the new L&B Solo.

I have normally just relied on watching my altimeter. But then I had this kick ass jump that went really well, and my jump buddy broke off when his dytter went off, and I was like oh yeah.

Kinda scared me. First time I really lost altitude awareness.

http://dropman.com

[wmw999 2,453]

Quote

Kinda scared me. First time I really lost altitude awareness.

That 'scaring you' thing is good. It should scare you.

If you use a dytter, make sure and use your altimeter and your eyes. Because someday the dytter might not work, and when it doesn't work you won't be able to tell the difference between that, and not being low enough yet. Until you hit the ground, your AAD fires, or you notice it getting closer because you looked at it or your altimeter.

I take mine out periodically just to make sure that I don't rely on it too much.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[freakydiver 0]

Forget about the dytter and start getting used to what altitudes "look" like. A dytter can crap out. An altimeter can crap out. Your eyes, if they were to crap out on a jump, you've got bigger problems to fry. Its all about the eyes.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[skydivingdutch 0]

I didnt buy it to replace my eyes or altimeter, just as an extra suplement. I don't plan on relying on it exclusively. Besides, I like gadgets

gadget_count++;

http://dropman.com

[freakydiver 0]

Just lookin out for a fellow brother. Alot of younger jumpers in the sport that I've coached really suck at gauging alti with their eyes is all - at least that's what I've noticed. Not saying you do or are.

i dig the increment lol.

(dytter < eyes) is my only point

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[OSOK 0]

if (gadget_count > mygadget_count)
{
StealGadgets(skydivingductch);
mynewgadget_count = gadget_count + mygadget_count;
}

[davelepka 4]

Good move. Make sure you set it for higher than each altitude you want to know.

It's like this, you're better off with it reminding you, 'Break off is in five seconds' than letting you know right at breakoff. It keeps you ahead of the skydive, ready for the changes. You know whats coming before it happens.

[wmw999 2,453]

That's exactly the opposite of what I do. I set it for just after I expect breakoff etc.

That way I'm warned -- you lost altitude awareness. Be more careful next time.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[MrBrant 0]

Quote

if (gadget_count > mygadget_count)
{
StealGadgets(skydivingductch);
mynewgadget_count = gadget_count + mygadget_count;
}

dude, learn to indent

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Quote

Good move. Make sure you set it for higher than each altitude you want to know.

It's like this, you're better off with it reminding you, 'Break off is in five seconds' than letting you know right at breakoff. It keeps you ahead of the skydive, ready for the changes. You know whats coming before it happens.

I think that's horribly bad advice. That kind of audible use is exactly what causes device dependency. "Skydiving until you hear the beeps" is really, really not what I want to see in the sky.

Learn to gauge the altitude with your eyes.
Look at your visual.
Use the dytter as a back-up to remind you that "hey, you fucked up, pay more attention to the altitude next time."

[davelepka 4]

Quote

"Skydiving until you hear the beeps" is really, really not what I want to see in the sky.

I never suggested that in any way.

The concept is if you should loose awareness, and skydive unitl you hear beeps, where would you want that to be?

I for one, would like to know ASAP that I've lost awareness, and certainly BEFORE an essential event like breakoff. If the guy should space out, and get wrapped up in a skydive, lets clue him in before he needs to take action.

If you set it at or below, by the time it beeps, and he responds, now he's way behind the curve. If he is 'woken up' ahead of time, he's ready to get back up to speed, and proceed with the skydive as planned. If he should be jumping with others without beepers, and they all loose awreness, now you have an entire formation going low.

Quote

Use the dytter as a back-up to remind you that "hey, you fucked up, pay more attention to the altitude next time."

Thats fucking stupid. How about preventing a fuck up, and having the skydinve move along as planned. If the beeps happen, and you weren't expecting it, you knwo you fucked up, but you're still high enough to follow the plan.

You don't need to be reminded that you fucked up, yo need to be reminded NOT to fuck up. You don't always get a next time if you fuck up in skydiving.

[freakydiver 0]

fuck

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[davelepka 4]

Quote

That way I'm warned -- you lost altitude awareness. Be more careful next time.

I know I coverd this already, but I thought of a better way to say it.

Setting the beeper for after you need to know is being REACTIVE to the problem.

Setting it for before you need to know is being PROACTIVE toward the problem.

My feeling is it's better to be ahead of the curve, and deal with problems before they occur. I'm sure your methos works well for you, but you have loads of experience without a beeper, and proven that you can keep an eye on things on your own.

I'm not syaing that the OP can't do this as well, but since we don't know that for sure, maybe my method is the better way to set up his beeper on the outset.

[wmw999 2,453]

One thing to remember is that I 98% belly fly, so I'm always looking at the ground, and always have the opportunity to train my eyes continually. I don't do serious 4-way, so I don't have team mates who'll give me a dirty look for checking my altimeter.

That said, I was surprised at how much I'd found myself waiting for the dytter to tell me when I could pull, rather than evaluating the time. Even though I had set it for the low side (i.e. I'd rather pull just before 2500, but 2300 is OK because I pack for a fast opening). So I take it out periodically just to reinforce my preferred dependence on eyes.

But I'll admit I don't take off my altimeter to reinforce that . I've a number of jumps without it, but I prefer having it.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[davelepka 4]

Quote

I was surprised at how much I'd found myself waiting for the dytter to tell me when I could pull, rather than evaluating the time

Again, here's where I'm saying if it was set above your intended pull alt., it would signal mid-track, and you would know to flare out, and dump, and by the time you did, you'd be at your pull alt.

Additionally, if the beeper fails, you'll be expecting it sooner, and you'll be missing it sooner, and moving on without it sooner. Sooner as in higher, which is always a good thing.

[tbrown 26]

I was surprised at how much I'd found myself waiting for the dytter to tell me when I could pull, rather than evaluating the time. But I'll admit I don't take off my altimeter to reinforce that . I've a number of jumps without it, but I prefer having it.

[Joellercoaster 6]

Quote

if (gadget_count > mygadget_count)
{
StealGadgets(skydivingductch);
mynewgadget_count = gadget_count + mygadget_count;
}

I think the specifier of StealGadgets is dropping the ball on return values.

You should be able to call

mygadget_count += StealGadgets(skydiving_dutch, gadget_count);

(Unless this isn't Java or Python or some other everything-is-a-reference language, and you need to call StealGadgets(&skydiving_dutch, gadget_count), because you don't really want to copy a whole skydiver into your stack frame [edit: and if you did, you'd only be stealing copies of his stuff - the original skydiving_dutch would still have the same amount of stuff as you.)

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?