gowlerk

I disagree with attempting to defraud customs with a false claim. Not because I'm too honest to cheat the tax man. But because you can't expect the seller to be truthful with you and at the same time be willing act as a party to fraud. You can't have it both ways. An honest seller won't do that and yet you are looking for just that. Ken When shipping internationally a signed and sworn to be truthful declaration is required. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Absolutely. If it can fail before you board why can't it fail after you board? Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Interesting indeed. My wife bought a brand new one last year. DOM 04/12. Does this mean that for her $1600 she has to worry about this for 4 years? Ken Edited to add that I've just sent a message to both Airtec and SSK to let them know that the proposed solution to the problem is not acceptable here. We'll see what they say. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

That website shows that UPT has approved it. But no USA dealers are listed. What good is it if you can't buy it? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I buy used stuff from the US often. In addition to the hints already given I would add that it's much cheaper to use the Post Office than UPS. Due to international conventions they do not rip you of with broker fees. Canada Customs will process the shipment and decide if you need to pay GST/PST/HST or not. The decision seems to be somewhat random, I can't figure out how they decide, but generally shipments valued under about $200 are not taxed. Over that value and it becomes a crap shoot, sometimes they charge, sometimes not. If they do charge the PO will add a $5 charge, not the $35 that UPS will charge you. In addition, if you are not home to receive the package you can just go to the local PO where it will be waiting for you. Some shippers don't like the PO, they will say that shipments get lost. I have never had the PO lose a shipment. Hundreds coming and going, none lost or damaged. If a seller won't take Paypal find another seller. Unless you are dealing with an established business you can trust. Don't allow a seller to talk you into sending a Paypal payment as a gift. If you do so the seller will not have to pay a fee, but you will have no recourse through Paypal, the money will be gone. Generally the fee the seller pays is 2.9%, some sellers will ask you to cover it. It is worth the fee, if you don't receive the package Paypal will reimburse you and go after the seller themselves. They are very good at this. I hope this helps you, Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I just noticed that the lenses you are considering are all designed for full sized sensors. They will work on your D3100, but are larger than you need. You should look at lenses designed for DX sensors. Also a D3100 will not meter at all with manual lenses, or auto focus with non AF-s type lenses. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I own a new D600 (Nikon full frame) It's smaller and lighter than a D300, but I don't want to strap it to my head either. I use a D5000 for that. I almost always use the kit 18-55, and I usually have it set at about 22mm. It's cheap and light and works great. If I wanted an ultra wide I would definitely pick up a used 10.5 fisheye from ebay and use software to stretch out the image if needed. But an 18mm lens is pretty wide even on the DX size sensor. How close do you need to get to your subject? And who cares how fast it is? We are shooting outside in the daylight with wide lenses. The DOF is going to be huge no matter, and you are always going to be stopped down anyway. Fast lenses are for slow film indoors. Don't let the marketers sell you yesterday's equipment. The 10-20 Sigma would probably work pretty well. They sell for 300-350 used on ebay. I used to have the Nikon 10-24, it was a very good lens, but I sold it because it was also bigger and heavier than I wanted for jumping. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You are an SM addict. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Like all light garment sewing machines, E or 69, or TEX 70 nylon bonded thread is at the outside of the range for the system. But within the range. Most people with this type of machine use a 20u. Which any competent mechanic will tell you is not designed for E thread either. However, if set up properly it will be fine. If it will take a size 18 needle, it will sew E thread. Mechs don't like this because in their normal work, that size of thread is usually called upholstery thread and is mostly used in heavier walking foot machines. But even Jerry pulls E thread in his domestic Singer 401. I have sold dozens of small domestic sewing machines. I have yet to see one that won't sew E thread. That Pfaff is a good machine, but sell it if you must. How much? Ken Edited to say that I see you are a long way from me. (Canada- Norway) I don't think I'll be buying your Pfaff! Since you were asking for model options for a combo straight stitch and ZZ machine. Many people start with one of the Singer or other brand 20U machines. I like mine, but it's a compromise. It's a lot like a Pfaff 118! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

It should be able to handle E thread. Even light duty domestic machines can. What size needle are you using? If it won't sew E thread it's set up wrong. Try getting the tension right and at least a size 18 needle. (although 16s will work in very light applications) Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

If you have access to and experience with a Pfaff 118 machine and you find you need better, more even feed, then an alternating presser feed machine is the way to go. That is if it is for feeding multiple layers of heavier material and getting nicely spaced consistent stitches. You should be able to sew patches into canopies with just bottom feed. If you can't then you need more practice. (like me). Like Jerry says, a domestic type machine can do this. I use a Singer 201, but the 500 or 401 like his is good as well. The military trained riggers to patch with a 31-15 for decades. When choosing this type of machine consider how wide the feed dogs and foot are. Much of this stuff can be done on several types of machine, but you need to learn how to use and set them up for different jobs. A large loft will have many machines, some of the same type but set up differently. The challenge for us is learning to do many jobs with one or two machines. I don't know about you, but I only have so much room for sewing machines, and still have a place to pack. One of mine is on wheels to help make room. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Technically, compound feed is simply more than one feed method. There are several types of feed combinations used, especially in manufacturing. And their names will often confuse the issue. Practically for rigging work there are only three common types. Bottom feed, which is the simplest. It uses feed dogs and a presser foot only. You know this type. Second is needle feed, where the needle bar moves in time with the feed dogs to pull the material along. Almost always used as an addition to bottom feed. Ebay sellers will call this "combination" feed, which it is, hoping you will confuse this with alternating presser feed. Which is the proper name for "walking foot" You can tell an alternating presser foot machine by it's inner and outer foot. The inner foot stays down and moves in time with the feed dog and the needle bar to move the material while the outer foot raises up till the end of the cycle then lowers to hold it in place while the needle bar returns for the next stitch. Is that clear as mud? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I wouldn't go betting against the US dollar as a business strategy. It may decline in the long run against already too low Chinese and other emerging currencies, but the competition is selling in Euros, and I wouldn't want to be holding these now. No one has ever made money betting against the US economy long term. And it's just getting in gear for an energy boom that is going to radically alter the current picture. The US remains as the most vibrant, diverse, and leading economy in the world. I would love to see more AAD competition. I've been waiting two years now for the M2 here in North America. But yes, the development costs for such a small market item must be very challenging. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

My personal take on it is that Airtec is making such a good product that you could only succeed by giving people a reason to switch. Their weakness in the marketplace is price, the need for service, and life limit. You need to beat them on at least two of those points, plus be nearly completely reliable to compete. I am a Canadian, but I'd say you would have as much success by attempting flag waving as GM and Ford do. If you have a good product at a good price and a well run reputable organization, there will be a place for you. The nature of your questions seem to indicate that you are wondering if being US made would give you an advantage. The answer is no. Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Two weeks and no answer from Ralph. I interpret this as " if you phone me, I'll tell you it's a PD 210, even though it is not. But if you want me to write it down, I'll just ignore you." Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I finally heard from the seller. He claims that he contacted Western about the canopy and that they told him it was a PD 210. I haven't heard from them yet, but I sent the email on Friday night. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thanks, I couldn't find that. But I just sent him an email. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ha! I'm thinking it is near Maverick sized. Here's another clue. The slider doesn't use the usual 3" white tape. Instead it's constructed with what appears to be black 3" type IV webbing. It also has a piece of 2" velcro sewn to it for collapsing the slider. I do remember seeing that on PD mains before they figured out draw strings. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

What? you don't think I'm little enough? Only 6' 2" and 195. No sweat. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Sorry Terry, I hate to trouble your brain like that. No other panel and I couldn't see any stitch line either. I sent the seller a message asking why he described it as pd210, but no answer yet I was assuming it was a 9 cell because I know that's the only 210 they made. I am suspecting it's a 7 cell 193, but who knows? At the price I paid I'm going to keep it. I've already hooked it up to a rig I have here as a rental, but I'll need to do a couple test jumps first. If I get a good answer from the seller I may just not leave feedback, but if he doesn't have a good explanation it will hurt his record. But I haven't left anyone bad feedback before. It's made in three shades of blue. And it has non cascaded center A-B lines. With the flat braided dacron it reminds me of my old Cruiselite, but it's not big enough for that. LSTs are heavier dacron. Bartacks don't look like PD to me, but I'm not that good at IDing them. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The info from my post came from the data panel, which is the only marking on it. Yes, I will get my rigger to install it correctly, easily done because I am he. And I only paid $165 with risers ,d-bag, and pc, so I'm ok there. Call Ralph sold lots of stuff out west back then. I'm hoping one of the western riggers who have been around a while will know something about it. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I bought another Ebay item. Just can't help myself. It was advertised as a PD 210. When it arrived I got a "Western Parachute Sales" Model 210, PN P1150 00, Ser# 1393 90,DOM 01-03-93. 7 cell f-111 type, lined with flat braided dacron. The bottom skin measures about 19 ft by 9.75. The line lengths don't match up with any PD 7 cell I can find. It's low mileage for sure. It came with risers and was misrigged. On one end all the lines were attached to the rear riser. I'm not sure what effect that would have on flight, but I'm guessing it would cause a significant turn. Maybe that's why it wasn't used much. I've heard that Ralph relabeled stuff all the time. Anybody know what this canopy is? Thanks Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

This is exactly why I don't like to use those Icarus/Precision type canopies. They open in full fight with no brakes on. It's very difficult to get rid of line twists on a canopy in this flight mode. Line twists like this are no problem to fix on a canopy with deployment brakes. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

If you need an idea, that means you don't know what you are doing. The only correct idea as far as I'm concerned is to return the harness to UPT or repair. I rather hope you are joking. I don't see any rigger rating in your profile. This is a harness repair and needs to be done by a master rigger at the least. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I know of a jumper here who had a mal caused by this. Same symptom, on one side the riser cover failed to open. It was packed by a dz packer who had never seen a Wings rig before and admitted his mistake. As far as I'm concerned this is a design flaw. It's pretty obvious that people will repeatedly make this error. Tucking the riser under appears naturally to be the thing to do. The warning label helps, but won't eliminate the problem. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.