2-prong bodycords/Sockets

[parryDoh]

Its so frustrating when your equipment fails, especially after just spending a good chunk of time checking/repairing it. I use 2 prong body cords on my foils and have a problem with off target shorts when I use certain combinations of body cord and foil. There is nothing wrong with either the foil or body cord just when I pair up that particular set. I'm thinking it may caused by using different brand cords and sockets. Anyone else have this problem? I'm thinking of order all new sockets and cords for my weapons. All of the same brand, any recommendations on a quality brand? Allstar is what I have in mind.

[Mr Epee]

Try spreading your prongs a little.

Some tend to collapse over time.

When this happens the prong to jiggles around in its hole - occasionally breaking contact.

[Chafunkta]

I personally use bayonet but I'm really tempted to make the switch to 2-prong.

I've heard many people that use 2 prong say that the only way to go is high-quality. Uhlmann and Allstar is what I see most. Also, mixing brands is generally a bad idea. Parts of the same brand are designed to fit into their counterpart of that brand. I think going high-quality and all of the same brand is worth it. I can't stand the frustration of having a body cord fail.

I have the same problem with off-target shorts with my bayonet. It's really annoying to me that the bayonet seems loose and can wiggle around in it's socket. I dont know if that means I have a bad bayonet/socket (both Leon Paul) or if that's just the way all bayonet sockets are. I'm seriously considering the change to 2-prong, but after hearing your complaint - I don't know if that will solve my problems.

[CvilleFencer]

As has been said, with 2 prong cords quality is the way to go. With a lot of the cheaper sockets and cords the attention to tolerance of the metal is not as tight as it should be and as the socket wears down from use it can wiggle around and break connection. If you are using different brands, especially if they are cheap ones, the problems get much worse much faster.

Uhlmann would be a better choice for cords in my opinion. They are the same as the Allstar but you can see the wire because of the clear color and therefore a bit easier to see what is wrong. For me Leon Paul and Negrinni are the best 2 prong cords around. Both have their strengths and weakness, but for me I prefer the LP for the long life, ease of maintenance and the very nice feel. All of their new cords incorporate the clip being built into the socket head similar to the Uhlmann/allstar so that is a nice touch.

The Negrinni's last a bit longer in my experience than the LP without needing a repair but the connectors are soldered so there is no way to repair them at a tourney for the average fencer and if you don't like or are not good at soldering they can be a real pain. They are also much stiffer in the wire and cost more, so I go with the LP. I think either one would be a better and longer lived choice over the Uhlmann, but that would be my third pick out of all the cords on the market.

[parryDoh]

Try spreading your prongs a little.

Some tend to collapse over time.

When this happens the prong to jiggles around in its hole - occasionally breaking contact.

Spreading the prong itself? or just spreading the prongs from each other?

Spreading the prong itself would work on one of my cords that the pins are solid but the other body cords i have, the newer ones, have these loose attachments on the pins that compress when inserted into the socket. I tried spreading these in the past, don't work to well. They get bent out of wack.

I find I like the solid pins alot better. Looking at my receipts, I ordered all Allstar body cords, First order I got solid pins, second order I got the compression fitting pins. Wonder if they changed pins types or maybe they send me generic body cords by mistake? Kind of wondering now what kind of body cords would i get if i ordered more Allstar brand.

[oiuyt]

First of all, it's a break, not a short that you're having trouble with. The foil circuit is a normally-closed circuit, not normally-open (the way epee is).

Another solution, in addition to respreading the leaves of the plug pins (usually it's that type that has the problem you describe, it's rarer with solid pins), is to slightly bend one of the pins (stick just one pin into the socket of your weapon and pull it gently). When the plug is inserted into the socket, this warpage will tend to push the pins more against the side of the socket holes, creating a better connection. Note: this is the same reason that LP slightly staggers the pin placement on their 3-pin cord ends.

-B

[El Chucko]

This same problem has been plaguing my club for months (about the same time we switched to Blade for some of our equipment... coincidence? )

As mentioned before, buy quality cords and sockets. I use Uhlmann. Also, the less expensive Absolute cords have worked well for me so far.

As for the crappy old cords, spreading the "leaves" on each pin has been hit-or-miss for me.

[KD5MDK]

I'd recommend Negrini cords for the top quality, although they are expensive and as noted harder to repair. A good compromise is Favero. They're not too expensive, but quite nicely made.

I've found that you can get the cheap Physical Chess body cords for $6.99 or so plus shipping off eBay, and they're good for 6 months or so before they break. That can be cost effective if you make the $25 cords last a year.

[Inquartata]

Rather than spreading or bending the pins of the cord, try slightly spreading or squeezing together the barrels of the sockets on the weapon, so that instead of them being parallel they either diverge or converge slightly. Very little bending is necessary---too much and you'll have trouble inserting and removing your cord plug.

This was posted awhile back by someone else on this board, and it's worked much better for me than tinkering with the body cord pins themselves...plus the socket isn't as likely to break or get loose and wiggly as the plug pins are. I've broken several of those pins, trying to spread the little panels apart.