Paralog® Skydiving Logbook

News

WoM '08

'Wings over Marl', an international wingsuit competition with Prices in excess of $5000, will be judged with Paralog for the fourth time.

Paralog Companion for iPhone

Robert Hagedorn started a Paralog Companion version for Apple's iPhone.

Paralog 5.0 released

Paralog 5.0 is not only a new major version, it is almost a completly new software featuring a completly user interface, an integrated 3D view of GPS tracks, a companion version for Windows Mobile and support for the new N3 by Alti-2.

Other changes:

Completly reworked the user interface, adding a navigation view and a jump profile preview to the main screen, adding new, fresh icons and different visual styles
Logger types are now recognized intelligently, customization dialog is displayed after the download and only when new jumps were downloaded.
Added support for AC, DZ and Jump Types (Alarm Names) for Neptune II and N3.
Alarm names are read from Neptune when freefall alarms are disabled and surrounded with '<>' to support reading jump types from wrist mounted altimeters.
Added support for GlobalSat DG-100, Navilink GPS, MTK, Nokia Landmark Exchange and Swiss Map GPS.
Added integrated 3D viewer for GPS tracks (Experimental).
New XML-based database format.
Merged Video, Night and Reserve into jump type / malfunction.
KML files for Google Earth are now zipped down to 30% of their original size.
Logbooks can now be published seamlessly to jumplog.net.
Multiple jumps can now be selected, edited and deleted at once.
Jump details are always editable.
Removed length limitation for note. Note can now be edited with HTML based editor. Note is no longer editable when jump is signed.
Signature can be zoomed while signing to simplify input.
Jump timestamp is saved/displayed with/in original timezone and kept when edited.
Images are now stored as a reference to the original image. Thumbnail is only used as fallback.
When the log is saved to another directory, thumbnails are saved with it. Backups are always stored in Paralog's default data directory.
Dropped support for Paralog Companion for Palm OS.
Added support for Paralog Companion for Windows Mobile.
Several bug fixes.

Paralog 5.0 is available immediatly for Windows and Linux platforms, the OSX version is currently experimental.

Paralog Companion for Windows Mobile released

mjnSoft, known for it's line of electronic logbooks for paragliders and general aviation on different platforms, has formed a strategic partnership with Paralog. As the first result of this partnership, Paralog for Windows Mobile has been released.

Paralog at PIA Symposium

A new version of Paralog, the world's leading skydiving logbook and flight analysis software, has been introduced at PIA and was well received. Most noticeable changes are the fresh user interface, integrated 3D view of GPS tracks, a companion version for Windows Mobile and support for the new N3 by Alti-2. The new version is available immediately.

Infrared support on OSX

As most Neptune users on OSX are painfully aware, support for IR-USB adapters has been suspended starting with Tiger. David Fowler found an interesting solution to this problem:

"Some time ago I corresponded with you about using IR adapters with Paralog on Macintosh computers (for importing data from my Neptune). At the time, the only solution I found was to either import the data to a Windows machine and then transfer the file to my Macintosh, or to use my old PowerBook G3 which had a built-in IrDA port (and again transferring the file to my main Macintosh computer).

I have since come up with a direct solution. The two problems I had were 1) existing USB IrDA adapters don't have Macintosh compatible drivers, and 2) Serial IrDA adapters require more power than is available from USB-to-Serial adapters.

The serial IrDA adapters use the DTR and RTS lines for power. The problem is that these lines are signal lines that were never intended to supply device power. Actual serial ports generally drive these lines at between 9 and 12 volts. USB-to-serial adapters, however, drive these lines at only 5 volts, which is not enough to power the IrDA adapters.

I solved the problem by building a simple 'power' box between the USB-to-serial adapter and the IrDA adapter. Inside the box, I simply connected a 9-volt battery between the ground (-) and DTR & RTS pins (+) on the IrDA side (leaving the DTR and RTS pins unconnected on the USB-to-serial side)."

Neptune supported on Linux

Thanks to the determination of Robie Basak, some bugs have been fixed in the Linux IR stack, enabling Linux to connect with Neptune. This fix should make it into the next kernel, until then contact us for further details and instructions.

Upcoming Feature

An interactive 3D view of GPS tracks will be embedded into the jump profile chart. Like in Google Earth, the view can be tilted, panned and zoomed while the maps in the background are loaded automatically. This will be combined with the already existing real-time playback and virtual cockpit in a next step.

This feature will be available in one of the next releases.

Paralog 4.1 released

Added support for Neptune II.
Logs can be opened by double-clicking or by dragging the files onto the jump table view.
Jumps can dragged from the jump table view and dropped into Excel, Word, etc.
Added support for GPS Wintec WBT-201
Improved graphical representation of exit and open points
Improved, smoother charts using splines instead of lines
Duplicate jumps can be skipped, replaced or duplicated when importing CSV files
Toolbars in the chart and profiles windows can be floated for better screen usage
GPS profiles are cropped to 3200s before/after exit on import to reduce log size
GPS profiles can be copied to clipboard with lat/lon information
Better recognition and removal of empty GPS profiles on import. 'Empty' GPS tracks can now optionally be imported (so BASE-Jumps are not discarded)
Deleting trailing/leading parts of GPS profiles was made easier
Resolution of GPS profiles is reduced to 10 secs before exit/after landing on import to reduce log size
The usual bug fixes...

Please see the update page for details.

Paralog 4.0 released

Further improvement of export of jump tracks to Google Earth. Now supported on Linux as well!
Virtually any GPS format is now supported - on Linux as well!
Wind can automatically be calculated from GPS data and the GPS track can be corrected for wind to yield 'true' performance data for horizontal speeds, distances and glide ratios.
Glide Ratio can now optionally be displayed as Pitch (in degrees), improving usability for swoopers.
Improved speed charts and chart evaluation tools.
Added support for pocketParalog™ files.
Simplified registration process.
Jump data imported from a logger/GPS can be edited.
Improved installation process, support for Windows Vista and the usual bug fixes...

Paralog 3.1 released

Paralog 3.1 has been released, further leveraging the integration of GPS and Google Earth:

By integrating the latest version of GPSBabel, Paralog improves support for Garmin and Magellan devices and adds support for Garmin Training Center XML and NMEA.
In addition to extracting horizontal distance and speed, glide ratio, course, etc. from the raw GPS data, Paralog can now automatically skip old tracks downloaded from GPS and correctly number your jumps. Improved speed calculations result in more accurate speeds.
Export of jump tracks to Google Earth has been improved by adding data points to the track. The relevant data can now be displayed along the 3D track as shown in the screenshot to the right.
3D tracks of your jump in KML format for Google Earth can now be included in your online jump log like in this example.
Support for evaluating tracking and wingsuit jumps as well as swoops based on time or altitude. A user definable 'range' can be marked on the track to exactly measure e.g. distances covered over this range. This is the most flexible solution for evaluating individual flights and judging competitions, giving full control to the user without requiring an Internet connection!
QNE (ground level) can be overridden so that swoops do not end in the ground when displayed in Google Earth (This really looked ugly!).

Mac Universal Logo Support for Intel-based Mac computers has been introduced with Paralog 3.1.

Paralog 3.0 released

In addition to reading data in GPX format, Paralog now supports direct download of GPS tracks from compatible units through the integration of GPSBabel. Currently, download from Garmin and Magellan devices is supported, while DeLorme GPL files can be imported directly into Paralog; others can be added based on demand.

Google Earth has been integrated with Paralog for interactive 3D display of GPS tracks on Windows and OSX. Google Earth combines satellite imagery and elevation data for the whole planet creating a virtual globe inside your PC with high resolution data available for most populated places. Google Earth allows you to zoom, pan, tilt and rotate your view to explore the earth and even fly across the landscape.

The image to the right shows a screenshot of a canopy flight over Raeford, NC rendered in Google Earth. As a static image can not convey the interactive possibilities of Google Earth, install Google Earth and launch this file to explore the endless capabilities of Google Earth.

With Paralog, viewing a GPS track in Google Earth is just a mouse click away: Simply click the 'Show 3D-Map' button in the new jump profile view to export and open your jump track in Google Earth and view it interactively in 3D using all the features of Google Earth: tilting, panning, zooming, even flying along your flight path! You can save and share your tracks and add your own annotations.

All this works with the free edition of Google Earth. The 'Plus' version, which is usually required to import GPS data is not necessary, saving you $20/year in registration fees!

Other enhancements include an improved user interface, support for the new Skytronic GFX, automatic logging of rig information based on the jump type recorded in your freefall logger and quickly creating and changing log files for better support of multiple loggers.

Paralog 2.1 released

Working closely with well-known wingsuit flyers and swoopers, GPS support has been introduced with Paralog 2.1. Paralog can import GPS data in the standardized GPX format, automagically extract the usual jump details like exit and open altitude, delay, etc. from the raw GPS data and display all the additional information available from GPS (horizontal distance and speed, glide ratio, course, etc.) in the enhanced jump profile view. This new and unique feature makes Paralog the first software to leverage the possibilities of modern of-the-shelf GPS units specifically tailored for the requirements of skydivers!

Another major enhancement is the 'Template Based Jump Log Export': Jump logs can be exported to arbitrary formats (e.g. HTML, CSV or SSA) through flexible templates which can be easily customized by the user. The integrated FTP client allows for easy and seamless uploads of the generated files, e.g. to a web server as in this example. Four ready-made templates are included: HTML format using a plain, tabular view, HTML format using a menu driven, fully linked view with totals, jump details and lots of charts and graphs, CSV format to import into spreadsheet software, e.g. Excel and SSA format to generate video subtitles with VirtualDub.

NeptuneDownloader for PocketPC 1.1 released

A new version of 'NeptuneDownloader for PocketPC' has been released. Version 1.10 of NeptuneDownloader for PocketPC' now supports Windows Mobile 5.0 and (finally) the Compaq/HP iPAQ product line. 'NeptuneDownloader' is a utility for to download, display and save Neptune data for later import into Paralog.

Small Devices Version coming

Development of a 'Small Devices Version' of Paralog for PocketPC, Smartphones, etc. has started. Contact us for details.

Paralog available on CD

Paralog is now available as a boxed CD version at a dealer near you. The CD contains all the downloadable software from this site, including an easy-to-use multi-platform installer. A single user, single logger license is included in the package.