Freefall Communication

[Pubwoof 0]

I'm just thinking out loud here, but I was curious as to whether anyone has tried rigging up a radio system where a coach or AFF instructor could supplement hand signals with verbal instructions. I was tooling around on eBay and saw a ton of 2-way radios for people on motorcycles which are supposedly mountable inside a helmet and have a couple miles of range. The products I've looked at so far are designed for a closed-face helmet, which I presume is necessary for the microphone to work correctly without picking up too much wind noise.

Assuming the technology works, I could install a mic and earpiece in a quality full-faced helmet, and then another earpiece in the student's open face helmet. Since the student wouldn't necessarily need to talk back (except for the occasional WOO HOO! ), they wouldn't need a microphone or the full-face helmet that it would require. Actually, any system that would require the student to wear something other than the typical open-faced Paratec would be a deal-breaker for me (not safe for a student in my humble opinion).

It seems to me like it would be a good idea to try, particularly with the spinners who tend not to see as many hand signals as some other students. Before I started thinking about it more seriously, though, I figured I should fish around for reasons NOT to try something like this.

The glass isn't always half-full OR half-empty. Sometimes, the glass is just too damn big.

[Miami 0]

Something like this?

Miami

[Pubwoof 0]

Uh, yeah. But, then again, $1147 for a 1-way system seems a bit more expensive than the $200 to $300 2-way systems to which I was referring. I've no doubt the purpose-built system might outperform something meant for motorcycling, but hand signals are starting to look pretty good again.

The glass isn't always half-full OR half-empty. Sometimes, the glass is just too damn big.

[AggieDave 6]

I've heard some good reviews of those products, but I've also talked to a good handful of people that feel like the quality of the product in no way matches the price of the product. The earplug speakers break, the mic's break and the wires break, all too easily for being marketed for skydiving. Which is relatively hard on gear. Quite a few of them stated that they felt like the systems were actually worth about $350-500 for the materials and the quality of they systems.

So, don't feel bad, there's still plenty of room on this new market.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[lekstrom10k 0]

Seems to me Roger Nelson had a system like that at Ottowa before they moved to the new place on the north side of the expressway. So time wise they have been around .I am sure they will help because thats how they are. I also recall they had separate frequencies so more than one AFF could be on the same plane Hope this helps

[Fast 0]

I have been on the recieving end of a system in the tunnel. What I was told is that the majority of the cost goes into the mic. All the other parts are pretty cheap. The wind noise in freefall is pretty hard to overcome.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[cbowley 0]

I did a head down coach jump with such a system in April. The voice quality was really good and I was surprised how calm the coach sounded.

The big disadvantage was that the earplugs almost entirely masked out the beeps from my ProTrack resulting in a rushed separation and pull. If I was doing it again I'd want to try a single earpiece. At least I discovered that I can read my alti head down.