al@infoswx.UUCP (01/05/85)
Since the group is so quiet, I think I will start some discussion on Paralerts. I just got one and have made about 5 jumps with it. I really like it!! I got to talk to one on my friends, and he is about to get rid of his. He feels it has made him sloppy about looking at his altimeter, and cross checking with other peoples altimeters when doing relative work. What do other people have to say? Al Gettier D 5850
meyer@waltz.UUCP (01/08/85)
/**** waltz:net.rec.skydive / infoswx!al / 8:31 am Jan 5, 1985 ****/ > Since the group is so quiet, I think I will start some discussion > on Paralerts. I just got one and have made about 5 jumps with it. > I really like it!! I got to talk to one on my friends, and > he is about to get rid of his. He feels it has made him sloppy > about looking at his altimeter, and cross checking with other > peoples altimeters when doing relative work. What do other people > have to say? > Al Gettier > D 5850 (I finally figured out how to get this out -- I think). I have to agree with you Al, that this net group is really sleeping. There must be more skydivers out there that would be willing to participate. I'd be interested in hearing about some interesting skydives, gear tips/recommendations, up-coming events, etc. I have been jumping for about 6 years now (Dallas area) and have been using the Paralert for about 4 years. They are very reliable and accurate -- I've only had to change the batteries once since I bought it (probably due for a new set now though). I like it a bunch, but it certainly does cause you to get lazy about altitude awareness because it does work so well. You really do need to make an effort to keep that awareness via your eyes and your altimeter, 'cause you WILL get in trouble that one time the unit fails if you don't. I know some folks that set it at 2000' as a back-up system -- so if they accidentally get a bit low, they get warning in time to safely deploy. But really, if you think about it, you can get in the same sort of trouble just using your altimeter for altitude awareness. All mechanical/electrical stuff fails at least occasionally -- so you better use your own eyes in addition to these devices. Have you looked into a Ditter? They are a newer design, smaller, lighter, and can apparently be calibrated in the airplane at altitude (???). I hear that they are also highly recommended -- I believe that they are just a tad more expensive. So, let's go skydivers. I'd like to see some activity on this net group. Blue Skies. Dane Meyer D-8076 CCR-735 /* ---------- */
kas@hp-pcd.UUCP (kas) (01/10/85)
I'm new to this "news" stuff, so if this comes out garbled or inside-out
or something, it's because I don't know what I'm doing.
Anyway, I have to agree that we humans tend to get sloppy about things
that we can get other devices (or people) to do for us. But, on the other
hand, I think redundancy is the lesser of two evils. What I'm getting at is
this: we have only two of our five senses available to us during free-fall,
(sight and sound, for those of you who are asleep) and since our eyes are
generally watching that guy who is about to funnel the formation, it's a good
idea to put our ears to work. I'm certainly not advocating total dependence
on mechanical devices, since we all know that they sometimes fail when we need
them most, but I like the idea of having an additional reminder at pull time.
I must admit that I do not yet have a Paralert, but I like the idea so much
I've been thinking of getting one.
By the way, as I see it, there are three possible altitude settings for
a Paralert that have distinct usefullness: (1) break-off time (say, 4000 ft.),
(2) pull time (2500 ft.), or (3) last-chance pull time (2000 ft.'). Too bad
you can't set those things to go off at more than one altitude...
Ken Scofield
Hewlett-Packard PCD
Corvallis, OR
{ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kasrichard@bigtuna.UUCP (Richard Foulk) (01/28/85)
> Since the group is so quiet, I think I will start some discussion > on Paralerts. I just got one and have made about 5 jumps with it. > I really like it!! I got to talk to one on my friends, and > he is about to get rid of his. He feels it has made him sloppy > about looking at his altimeter, and cross checking with other > peoples altimeters when doing relative work. What do other people > have to say? > I've never used a Paralert myself, but I have seen people become too dependant on them. I'll never forget the time I made a jump with one guy that was just getting used to his. He was fairly inexperienced (maybe about 40-50 jumps total), and had used the Paralert only a couple of times previously. He was base. As I was closing on him he all the sudden got a strange look on his face, went a bit unstable, dropped down below me, and then sent his main right up at me. No fun. This was at about 6,000 ft. so there really was no excuse (just an improperly calibrated Paralert.) Though this was an extreme case, seeing people with Paralerts on their helmets has been a bit unsettling since. I had jumped with this guy a number of times before he got the Paralert and he seemed capable and safe. It does seem like it might be difficult to ignore an incessant beeping in your ear -- even if you new (or thought) it might be wrong. But what happens the one time it doesn't work? I've often wished for a full audio-altimeter that would quietly "tell" you as you go through each 500 or 1000 feet. You'd quickly get tuned to it's rhythm and know when it wasn't working right. And be much better informed -- using your old visual altimeter only as a backup. -- Richard Foulk (..islenet!bigtuna!richard) Honolulu, Hawaii
meyer@waltz.UUCP (02/08/85)
Richard (at bigtuna)
I'll bet this guy you referred to getting brain-lock when his
Paralert started bleeting in his ear is the kind of guy that is
spooked at other unexected things that occationally occur in the
sky. I know a guy at our drop zone that had a similar description.
He kind of forgot he just bought a Paralet and had it on his
helmet -- when it went off, he thought, oh my god -- pull time
and he did it right then! But he does lots of other stupid things
occationally too. I just can't blame the Paralert for this. Even
he only made this mistake once -- so the recommendation is to make
a solo jump with the device first to get used to it.
==============================================================================
Dane Meyer (Texas Instruments, Dallas site)
ARPA: ==> Meyer%waltz%TI-CSL@CSNET-Relay
CSNET: ==> Meyer@TI-CSL
USENET: ==> {convex!smu, ut-sally, texsun, rice}!waltz!meyer