epee armoury questions...

[glowstix]

1. i have one of those combination foil/epee test circular boxes with the red and green light. one of the epees i'm testing turns on both lights when i do the 750mg weight test instead of just the green light. the tip/spring construction is ok but the wiring is off. what kind of malfunction is this??

2. also, on another epee, the wiring is ok but the tip fails the shimmy test. do i just change springs???

thanks.

[CvilleFencer]

1. Something somewhere is grounding out. Check to make sure there is not loose metal inside the barrel, make sure the springs are not bent, and that the cup is seated in the barrel. After that I would check around the socket to see if there is some bare wire touching somewhere. I am sure others an give more detailed advice if that does not work.

2. You probably do not need to change the springe. The tip spring will retract as you turn it, so give it a half turn and test without screwing it back in, and adjust from there to your liking. Only replace the spring if it will not hold its position on the threads of the tip screw or if it is bent somehow.

Hope that helps!

[DHCJr]

You have a A-C short. What that means is one of the wires is in contact with the blade/guard/ground.

Finding the where is the hard part. What you want to do is see the Foil light while you work on the weapon so you can see when it goes off. The best way is to have 2 patch cables with banana plugs going from the B line of the box to the A line of the weapon and the C going to the C. The other way is to short out the A-B at the plug with a coin or something.

When the light goes out you have fixed the problem.

1) Make sure there is no excess wire from either A or B to the ground and down the groove that there is no bare wire.
2) Remove the tip. Sometimes pressure on the contact will cause this.
3) Place a screwdrive between the contacts and turn SLIGHTLY counter-clockwise.
4) Loosen the barrel VERY SLIGHTLY.
5) Take off the handle and make sure the wires are not crushed and the spagetti goes all the way through the guard.

See if this helps.
6)

[Chris Aher]

1. One of the wires is shorting out to the blade or barrel. First check if the barrel is tight on the blade. Then check the insulation where the wire goes through the guard and the connections to the sockets. Usually a rewire is necessary if you can't find or get at the short.

2. No. the contact (little) spring needs to be adjusted. Turn it 1/2 turn clockwise and test again. Repeat this until it passes.

1. i have one of those combination foil/epee test circular boxes with the red and green light. one of the epees i'm testing turns on both lights when i do the 750mg weight test instead of just the green light. the tip/spring construction is ok but the wiring is off. what kind of malfunction is this??

2. also, on another epee, the wiring is ok but the tip fails the shimmy test. do i just change springs???

thanks.

[Artisan]

There could be nothing wrong. The problem could be the weight. The hole in the weight is supposed to be insulated, so the weight itself doesn't short the tip to the blade. Try centering the weight so it doesn't touch the blade and see if the foil light goes out, or temporarily put tape on the blade to insulate the weight.

[DHCJr]

Artisan's ID is very good. Do you get both lights, when you push down the tip with a gloved finger?

I wish I had thought of that, considering you did say testing with the weight.

[fencinman89]

2. If none of these work work for your small spring, put it in the barrel with out the big spring and if the green light goes on then your contact speing is too long. To fix such a predicament place the tip in a vice and compress it slightly then take your trusty lighter and burn the CONTACT SPRING ONLY for a few seconds. Good luck.
-Tre'

[DangerMouse]

There could be nothing wrong. The problem could be the weight. The hole in the weight is supposed to be insulated, so the weight itself doesn't short the tip to the blade. Try centering the weight so it doesn't touch the blade and see if the foil light goes out, or temporarily put tape on the blade to insulate the weight.

Just push the tip down without a weight to find out if the same short appears. Hold the tip down and wiggle the tip back and forth and bend the blade around a little. If the contact spring is bent or the cup or wire is loose, this will help show the short.

[glowstix]

well, yeah, both lights still came on. anyway, i left that epee at home and took the other ones to my first tournament and promptly got killed 15-8 in the first round .