Pull Alt -VS- under canopy?

[TXBLKBEAR 0]

Hi all!!

I had a great day at SDD yesterday
I have a lot of other responsibilities ( 3girls 1dog and a wife) so I don't get to jump as often as I would like, but I'm sure we would all like more air time.

O.K. here is my question.
I'm a new skydiver with only 49 jumps. I'm always asking questions and willing to learn. I just put down some serious cash on a new neptune altimaster. I used it yesterday and it's great.
I was reviewing the jump log today and found that I was not under full canopy until 2800.

I toss at 3800. With my experience level (low) that seems too low of an opening.

Am i worried about nothing or should I deploy sooner?

Your input and comments are appreciated. Thanks.

Airborne!

[BigM 2]

I was reviewing the jump log today and found that I was not under full canopy until 2800.

I toss at 3800. With my experience level (low) that seems too low of an opening.

Am i worried about nothing or should I deploy sooner?

Your input and comments are appreciated. Thanks.

[bch7773 0]

you really can't trust those things that much... I've seen lots of people who are amazed at some of the stuff audibles/neptunes make up. stuff like sitflying at 110 mph. A "deployment at 2k" when we were dumping at 3.5k. stuff like that.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[jerry81 10]

Quote

you really can't trust those things that much... I've seen lots of people who are amazed at some of the stuff audibles/neptunes make up. stuff like sitflying at 110 mph. A "deployment at 2k" when we were dumping at 3.5k. stuff like that.

Yep. Although my Neptune has so far never failed to beep at the right altitudes, it has reported some very strange data on a few occasions...a 20 second freefall on a hop&pop, deployment at 3500 when I pulled after I heard the 3300 alarm (which was, according to visual alti, right on the spot) and (on version 1.15) an almost Mach-breaking speed of 960kph logged at 6k (with max speed being 260kph).

Such bugs are getting fewer and fewer with new firmware versions, but I wouldn't worry much about the 2800' deployment altitude if it happened on just one jump. If you do a couple of jumps and the dep. altitude stays the same, I'd check it against an analog altimeter first before deciding to pull higher. And maybe ask Alti-2 about the Neptune's method of recording the deployment altitude (i.e. at what speed does freefall end)

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[EDYDO 0]

Make sure you have the latest version in software for your Neptune. As of January 5, 2004, it is version 2.0.8.

Ed

[dgskydive 0]

Here is something to think about as well. DO you actually let go of your pilot chute at 3,800 ft. or do you start your wave off at 3,800 ft. ?

Next time you pull look at your ALti and see what altitude you let go at, then look at where you are under canopy. You will see a difference in what you thought you where doing before.

Dom

[TXBLKBEAR 0]

Thanks! all you have good info. It's like having hundreds of years and thousands of jumps at your finger tips.

I'll check out all of the above when I get back to the DZ.

Airborne!

[dgskydive 0]

Dom