RichM

I didn't know this MicroDV issue, but I do know that Pinnacle licenced the MiniDV codec algorithm in the Sony hardware and made it available in software for true loss-less editing with their DV500 series of cards. Maybe Pinnacle have continued this relationship? Rich M

I couldn't agree more. Be happy with yourself, you're gorgeous. And spend the money jumping Rich M

Ditto, except the extra bandwidth won't make any real difference to video in it's current format as firewire already has the bandwidth for full screen capture in realtime, so USB 2.0 offers nothing extra. No reasons to swap there then. Rich M

Repeated checking of equipment reinforces the memory, both visual and spatial. Anything out of place will be much more and immediately apparent to a multiple checker than a one time only person imho. I have a routine that involves at least 2 sometimes 3 checks before exit, and more if the situation demands such as unexpected movement around the plane that may dislodge pins and handles. I think it is good practise and encourage it. Rich M

It made me laugh, sorry if you've seen it before. Please save it to your own system if you want a smooth playback. 2.5Mb big. Enjoy http://www.btinternet.com/~r.moulton/LOTRtruestory.wmv Rich M

I found a way with my PC100 which may be useful to you. Take out the miniDV tape and also ensure you have "Demo" mode turned off. My objective was infrared time lapse video and it worked fine for this, I left the computer capturing from the camera all night. Rich M

5 minutes of full resolution video takes about 1 Gb of hard drive space. USB 1.x is only rated to 12 Mb/s and can't provide the bandwidth, Firewire (IEEE1394) is rated to 400 Mb/s and is perfect for video capture. But be sure you have enough hard drive space :) Rich M

Premiere 6.5 as it's very powerful and about 1/4 the price of Avid. It does tend to be fussy/unreliable but I have fixed that by having a seperate partition just for editing with just WinXP and editing software installed. Rich M

Have they stowed the canopy by accident instead of the slider yet? Rich M

Also ensure that the source AVIs and preview files are not kept on the system disk. I'd personally keep them off the system disk ATA channel too if you are running IDE drives. I also recommend having a seperate bootable partition just for video editing, with nothing else installed on it. Make sure your hard drives have lots of space and are regularly defrag'd. Rich M

Pop down to Dixons or Tandy and buy a switchable SCART plug tyhat switches between INPUT and OUTPUT. The stock SONY Scart adapter only allows the signal out of the camera, not back in. Rich M

Thanks, thats the one I always forget to check PMs so I have it turned off rather than offend anyone by inadvertently ignoring them Rich M

There was an article I read a while back about becoming a 4way cameraman. I now have the opportunity to do just this and wanted to review the article, but I cannot find it. It was available on the home page quite a few months ago but has scrolled off the bottom. I have searched but cannot find it. I do not know who wrote it. Are the home page articles archived anywhere? (This is crossposted in Feedback and Suggestions) Rich M

There was an article I read a while back about becoming a 4way cameraman. I now have the opportunity to do just this and wanted to review the article, but I cannot find it. It was available on the home page quite a few months ago but has scrolled off the bottom. I have searched but cannot find it. I do not know who wrote it. Are the home page articles archived anywhere? Cheers Rich M

How about in water? Any idea what the glide ratio is, or is the airflow seperating from the top skin? Theyre great pictures :) Rich M

I improvised ;P Rich M

Interesting, my 200 jumps have all been on a modded xf1 and they have all been soft and extra snively (800-1000ft). Rich M

200 jumps on a Xfire1, 195 of those off heading Mine stays in the mushroom for a fairly lengthy period, and the outer 3 cells on each side inflate first causing it to hunt for a heading. Then it lurches away to one side and the centre fills from one side. Mine was on the recall list and Icarus did the trim mod. But it never spins up ala spinetto - I've even deployed it with only one brake stowed (I packed it that way) to see how it would behave, and will it went into turns they weren't radical, or scary and didn't speed up. I just fired the other brake and it was fine. I don't recommend trying this, as it is basically packing a malfunction. On the 5 on-heading openings the heading hunt was a lot a more gentle and/or at a higher frequency, so the centre just gently filled. I've tried to recreate this but it has remained elusive. One of my goals for the new season is to work on my body position at deployment using the many good recommendations in these forums as a reference. Rich M

The village idiot is usually the happiest in the village, he enjoys himself with no awareness of how silly he may look and so doesn't care, he has no high objective to fail, and no-one else has any for him either so he never fails theirs. He is often centre of attention and enjoys it, again unaware of the intentions, good or bad, of the others. How good must be the life of the village idiot Damn, I need to relax, wheres a camera Rich M

Thanks, I found it here http://www.pia.com/piapubs/archive_documents/tech_stds/PIA%20TS104-13%20Canopy%20Volume%20Study%20.html Rich M

Is the current list avilable online? Rich M

I'll double that. One of our experienced jumpers (1000 jumps) test jumped a Faqtor and hooked it into the ground, was very lucky to walk away, it looked and sounded like a double femur from where I was - about 20ft away. Mind you the guy is a dickhead - 1st attempt hooking on a canopy hes never flown was at his normal stilletto hook height - never bothered to gently investigate and learn the flight characteristics of the canopy first. He doesn't listen to anyone either, doesn't think he has anything to learn. Rich M

Do you start with palms inside risers facing out with thumbs down? I can't figure this out (too stupid) Thanks. Rich M

My understanding is that closing loop tightness is a compromise between 2 extremes (1) too loose causing premature pin release resulting in premature deployement or horseshoe malfunction, and (2) too tight resulting in pilotchute in tow malfunction and reserve deployment jeapardised by main PC. There are various elements that will affect this, these are the ones I can think of: 1) Do you freefly? Freeflyers expose the closing loop and bridle parts of the packed rig directly into a 150mph+ airstream. A good RW (flat) flyer who doesn't go unstable will have these parts of the rig in his burble on his resulting in less force on the systems and less chance of premature. An unstable RW flyer may expose the rig in the same way as a freeflyer. 2) Is you deployment system BOC, leg-strap or pull-out. How much bridle is exposed to the airflow by deployment design. 3) Is your a modern rig with much or all of the bridle covered from direct exposure to airflow. 4) How well does the main flap protect the pin, and how carefully do you move around in the aircraft. There are some 4way RW exits that have the floaters pushing their rigs against the top edge of the door. 5) What shape is you closing pin. I notice that some throw-outs have curved pins shaped like a "9" and some have the circle of the metal meeting the pin more centrally, say like a "T" with the top edge curled up to form the ring and the drop line bent one way. I suspect the latter shape is more likely to PC-in-tow if you push it all the way into the closing loop rather than the recommended 1/2 way in. My own philosphy is that it if I don't have to jump on my dbag with my knees during container closing then my loop is too loose; but I'm a freeflyer and I'm paranoid about closing loop tightness and bridle exposure. You will probably get a more informed and better qualified response from a rigger. Rich M

So I can see but I think times have moved on a little. We now don't have to learn everything the hard way as others have already been there. This is a good sport to choose to learn from the mistakes of others. However there is some risk, there will always be - we're jumping out of a perfectly normal plane for example This is also not a sport that is likely to attract the shrinking violets of society, it a sport that by it's nature attracts thrill seekers who accept a much higher level of risk than normal people would consider acceptable. Even within our community there are differences of opinion on what is an acceptable level of risk. Intelligent application of sound education is the best way I know of mitigating risk, and these forums provide a significant amount of education, although in any practical activity there is no substitute for practical education, and the higher the risk the more education should be sought. People die swooping. People die skydiving. People die driving their cars around town. People die. I see no need to restrict the actions of others or moan at them for their choices, but I do try to educate them on the risks so that they can make an informed decision. They're adults, and I respect their right to make that decision (with their psychiatric carer ). Maybe the relatively safety of skydiving now has caused the true thrill seekers to an outlet that brings back the original dangers and excitement of skydiving (pure hypothesis, I haven't been in the sport long enough to even guess). And at 600 jumps I'm a mere baby. Rich M