Rant & Rave Blog

Sony is making their entrance into the action camera market with the appropriately named "Sony Action Cam". My friends over at ChutingStar loaned me one to try out and see how it stacks up. The Sony Action Cam comes in two models, one that is WiFi enabled and one that is not. I got to play with the WiFi enabled version. My first impression was that it's small and light with very few buttons. The bottom is curved so it will not stand up on it's own, you must put it in a case of some sort. In other words, you can't just set the camera on the table and press "record" because it will fall over. The clear plastic housing has a flat bottom with a standard camera screw mount, so it can be mounted onto any tripod or camera mount. Once inside the housing there is only one accessible button. Pressing that button turns the camera on and automatically starts recording, pressing it again will stop recording and the camera will automatically power off in 10 or 60 seconds depending on your settings. An attachment screws into the bottom of the housing which allows you to clip it into Sony's self adhesive mounts. This mounting system is a fixed angle system, so placement of the adhesive mounts is crucial. There is a tilt adapter that can be purchased separately that allows for angle adjustment though, and I think the Surfboard mount kit also comes with an angle adapter. Continue reading →

Last weekend Skydive Elsinore in California hosted its 12th annual Skydiving Chicks Rock Boogie and it truly rocked! Aside from the killer party we have all come to expect from the Skydiving Chicks Rock Boogie, Elsinore was host to some of the badest organizers including formation, freefly, and wingsuiting. Continue reading →

July 2013 CYPRES2 Service Bulletin. IMPORTANT Follow-Up to CYPRES 2 Service Bulletin C2 0113 – Additional included serial numbers and other important information. In a follow-up to Service Bulletin C2 0113, beginning this month (July 2013), Airtec GmbH & Co. KG and SSK Industries, Inc. are accepting CYPRES units affected by the Service Bulletin for premature updates. In order to proceed in an orderly manner and to not create a backlog, which would delay the return of your CYPRES, only units which were manufactured from September 2012 to December 2012 are being accepted at this time. Continue reading →

Icarus Canopies has issued a Service Bulletin to address hard openings of its unique NEOS canopy. The NEOS is a high-performance canopy that is partially cross-braced in the center of the parachute.

Reports of hard openings were verified by Icarus, and after a test program, the company found adjusting the line trim on the C1 lines solved the issue.

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The Argus Ruggedized Kit consists of a black metal face plate, stainless steel button and super glue. This kit protects LCD display screen against routine knocks to the display from use, packing or transportation.

12 small dots of super glue are placed around the outside edge of the face of the unit. 5 along top, 5 along bottom and 1 on each side.

The button is centered on the logo, where the current press-button is located. No super glue is used to hold the button in place.

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SkySystems USA has released a Service Bulletin on its Quick Release handle. The Quick Release is a cutaway system for chincups and the Vapor Narrow and Vapor Wes Pro helmets. According to the service bulletin, the company found a weakness in the handles manufactured from January 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010. Those with affected handles can return them to SkySystems for a new replacement handle at no charge. Continue reading →

The Argus is manufactured by Aviacom in Belgium. It has three parts: Processing Unit, Cutter and Control Unit. The Argus turns on with 4 button pushes. The first wakes it up, which is followed by a HELLO. The Logo, ARG and US will then flash in sequence. As each part flashes, press the button. If you are too fast or slow with the flash sequence, it will turn back off with a Bye Bye. The unit will give the status on 3 checks during startup: Battery, Cutter and System. A check mark indicates each part is in working order. An error will be shown followed by a shut-off. If everything is in working order, the unit will show the current mode. The unit is on for 14 hours before the automatic shut-off, or you can manually turn it off before 14 hours. Continue reading →

With the unit on, press the button twice and select the Menu option and then Config option. Items under this menu item include: Alt Unit (Meters or Feet), Sys Unit (Metric or U.S.), Time Cfg (time and date settings), Log Mode (Normal or Trace). Confirm after changing the altitude, system or log mode. The date and time updates are completed when you finish with entering the year. Continue reading →

Both the display and cutter are secured through a screw-on connection. The cutter has a 3-prong connection. The display has a 4-prong connection. Once the new cutter and/or display has been installed, turn on unit to verify the Argus unit passes the systems checks. Continue reading →

With the unit on, press the button twice and select the Menu option and then Info option. Select Jump for info on your skydives and Admin for info on your unit. Jump: Jump info such as number of jumps, last freefall time, total freefall time, vertical speed, temperature, barometric pressure and the number of times the unit has fired. Continue reading →