Lame's for Nationals

[Superscribe]

I have a question about how the lame's are going to be tested during nationals, this topic might have to be moved. Anyway, so i hooked up this multimeter to my lame by clamping one end to the bottom and running the other end around the top of the vest. the ends of the meter look like short, fat knitting needles. there are certain spots where the vest just does not conduct (resistance off the charts). I'm curious as to whether it's okay to say that the vest i have is no good for nationals using this method. Do i need another lame?

[prototoast]

They will test it with something larger than the tip end of a multimeter, so it really depends on whether these are "point" dead spots or slightly larger (if it's larger than a dime, they'll almost certainly find it.

[noodle]

generally speaking, they clip a multimeter to a bigger something like maybe a weight or somesuch. but if you do have dead spots (non-conductive areas) you either need to patch it or get a new lame.

[whtouche]

Try washing before patching, this can do wonders and sometimes is all you need to give your lame` a new lease on life.

[oiuyt]

So speaks someone who is on his 5th lame in 3 years.... :)

That said, the advice is still sound.

Another option is there's a guy in Canada who sells conductive thread for lame repairs fairly cheaply (when I ordered a couple of rolls a couple of years ago it was something like US$8-10 for a 200' roll of thread).

I'll look around and see if I can find contact info for him.

-B :)

[Superscribe]

alright guys, thanks alot. I tried clipping the thing to a bigger piece of metal, and i think its still failing, so i guess the lame is no good. Does anybody remember that one article where they were teaching you how to mix ammonia and clorox to wash lame's?

[TooLoftheDeviL]

Every month or so, I stick my lame's on a hanger and hold them under the shower head for a while and hang them up to dry. It really does help.

[noodle]

relavent links:
<a href="http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10581" target="_blank">1</a> | <a href="http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10655" target="_blank">2</a> | <a href="http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8799" target="_blank">3</a>

[Mo]

Does anybody remember that one article where they were teaching you how to mix ammonia and clorox to wash lame's?

DO NOT I repeat DO NOT mix ammonia and clorox. It makes a gas that will do serious damage to your lungs!!

[noodle]

DO NOT I repeat DO NOT mix ammonia and clorox. It makes a gas that will do serious damage to your lungs!!

whoopsies, i forgot about that
yes she's correct. mixing bleach and ammonia produces chloramine gasses which can do anything from induce coughing to pnemonia, fluid in the lungs, or death.

so... yeah. don't mix those. esp. in somewhere like a non-ventilated bathroom.

[dekko]

They will have a clip, like your body cord, and a 500 gram weight with a tapered, not sharp, point on it. They will clip to the lame and run the weight over the lame and look for high resistance somewhere on the lame. They can't check every square inch of it but they do check most of it. As long as the lame is 5ohms or less over the entire lame it should pass. They also look for tag size, on the sabre lame. If you lame has problems washing in the sink or shower wouldn't be a bad idea, hang dry then test again.

Good Luck.

[Superscribe]

lol, holy cow. thanks for warning me. i was seriously thinking about just mixing the ammonia with a tub of clorox mixed in water... could have been a disaster. i totally forgot about chemistry man, i thought my tca ultralight lame was gonna last forever...

[DanInMI]

lol, holy cow. thanks for warning me. i was seriously thinking about just mixing the ammonia with a tub of clorox mixed in water... could have been a disaster. i totally forgot about chemistry man, i thought my tca ultralight lame was gonna last forever...

I understand that the TCA ultralight lame has no metallic fibres in the material. I have been told that it gets it conductivity through a special coating that is applied to the fabric.

Does anyone know what this coating is? It seems that this stuff could be quite a boon for the restoration of lames.