Reel Wire

[jjefferies]

This must have been covered many times but I couldn't find it in a search of the archive. Probably a trick I don't know.

But has anyone found a source of reel wire (runs from the reel to the fencer) other than the reel manufacturers? I've seen experiments with telephone cable which failed to impress me other than not to. How specialized is the three conductor flexible cable anyway.

A pointer to recent relevant threads appreciated.

thanks

[yeoldearmourer]

Buy from the manufacturers or check a electric suppy company. But with the manufactures it fit and work better then most of the I have found over the years.

[brtech]

No one to my knowledge has found a better source.

[Purple Fencer]

I tried....same guys who made my bodycord wire....was unable to get the price down to an affordable level....dagnabbit! A shame....it would've been good stuff.

[fencerbill]

There is a lot of variability in what people use for overhead cable. But I have not found any alternative for reel cable replacement. The big factor in considering alternatives for reels is the diameter that the wire bends around. An Uhlmann reel diameter is 6-7 inches. Leon Paul is about 4 inches. Prieur reel cable has to go around some small pulleys with a diameter of about an inch. Prieur wire has no jacket, LP has (had?) fabric jacket and Uhlmann has plastic jacket. You also want cable with a leader (like string) which protects the conductors from being stretched, all of them have that. Not familiar with Favero cable, probably like Uhlmann.

[SJCFU#2]

Apparently Leon Paul is now using a plastic-jacketed cable as well.

I have yet to notice any problems with the cable due to the smaller bend radius (my understanding is that this was a problem when people tried replacing cables in older, Uhlmann upright-style reels with cable intended for the then new turtle reels). Then again, these days they are only used as back-ups to the shiny, new Favero reels so wear issues are less likely to make themselves known.

[jjefferies]

Slight change of thread. I've got six of the older Uhlmann upright reels and was wondering about parts. A couple of the springs are getting rather short and wipers/commutators are getting worn. I looked at the Uhlman website http://www.uhlmann-fechtsport.com
but couldn't find those parts still listed. Any other possible sources out there?

thanks

[Wink0192]

This company sells some very flexable wire and cable. I have used it in automation equipment, with good results. It looks like some of the products could work on a fencing reel. Don't forget the free samples!

Good Luck

http://www.igus.com/chainflex.asp

[brtech]

Slight change of thread. I've got six of the older Uhlmann upright reels and was wondering about parts. A couple of the springs are getting rather short and wipers/commutators are getting worn. I looked at the Uhlman website http://www.uhlmann-fechtsport.com
but couldn't find those parts still listed. Any other possible sources out there?

thanks

They are there. You just have to know where to look. You go to the "downloads" section, then look for "Parts Catalog". Look in the back for the upright style (grey) reel parts. You will find things like:
135-01 Spring, shell and shaft 1 73,19 EUR
135-02 Driving spring loose 2 14,32 EUR
135-03 Spring shell, screws and spring 3 19,96 EUR
135-04 Spring shell and spring 4 19,96 EUR

and

135-30 Contact spring and screw (1 Pair) 30 4,09 EUR
135-31 Sliding contact and crosshead 31 15,85 EUR

[fencerbill]

Slight change of thread. I've got six of the older Uhlmann upright reels and was wondering about parts. A couple of the springs are getting rather short and wipers/commutators are getting worn. I looked at the Uhlman website http://www.uhlmann-fechtsport.com
but couldn't find those parts still listed. Any other possible sources out there?

thanks

Ted Li may know. Send me an E-mail and I will forward it to him.

[jjefferies]

Thanks, I found the downloads and looked through the catalog. The prices are .... What can I say about 1000 euros for a scoring machine. And that's the low end. I've got one of them. A refugee from the scrap pile (had a property number for the 1984 LAOC). Still works and if I can clean it up it will be pressed back into service. Interesting numbers though. Expect Eigertek will be getting any new business we have.

[SJCFU#2]

Thanks, I found the downloads and looked through the catalog. The prices are .... What can I say about 1000 euros for a scoring machine. And that's the low end. I've got one of them. A refugee from the scrap pile (had a property number for the 1984 LAOC). Still works and if I can clean it up it will be pressed back into service. Interesting numbers though. Expect Eigertek will be getting any new business we have.

That was pretty much the norm for scoring machine prior to 1990 - there weren't many alternatives to high prices machines from one of the major European manufacturers (there had been at least one attempt by an American company to break into that market but my understanding is that they were never able to get FIE approval).

US fencers saw a dramatic shift in the market in the 90's as microprocessor-based scoring machines came out from a number of new manufactures - IIRC the first SG's appeared around 1992 for around $1,000 (which seemed amazing at the time for a three-weapon machine), followed a couple of years later by the Saber Tech machine for about $700, then the Tripplette machine for about $500. These days the most common machines seem to be SG's and Favero's (it appears they may even be making an impact on the European market - Negrinni appears to be selling Favero's and most of the higher level machines from Leon Paul look to be SG's).

[KD5MDK]

As I recall, SG is a French company.

Which means cheap Italian and French boxes have driven out expensive German and (?) boxes...

US box makers are Eigertek, Triplette, Blue Sky and Saber Tech, right? Of which only Eigertek seems to have done a good job.

[Purple Fencer]

As I recall, SG is a French company.

Which means cheap Italian and French boxes have driven out expensive German and (?) boxes...

US box makers are Eigertek, Triplette, Blue Sky and Saber Tech, right? Of which only Eigertek seems to have done a good job.

The Blue Skys were actually pretty good club boxes from what i saw...you could see them at the far end of the strip...the only problem I ran into was a static buildup that caused it to reset to discharge the static and save the chip....solved by plugging it into a GFI outlet.

Unfortunately, the company went belly up, but the main designer (himself a fecner and armorer) owns the design...I've talked with him about producing them in the future when I actually have funds to do so.

[SJCFU#2]

As I recall, SG is a French company.

Which means cheap Italian and French boxes have driven out expensive German and (?) boxes...

US box makers are Eigertek, Triplette, Blue Sky and Saber Tech, right? Of which only Eigertek seems to have done a good job.

As I understand it SG actually started out as an international hybrid. When one of the brothers who founded the company introduced himself (and the machine) to the armorers at the 92 nationals, he told us that the components were made in the US then shipped over to France for final assembly. This allowed them to claim to be European - otherwise he felt they would never have been able to receive the approval of the FIE.

Favero came along later (around 2000) and from what I've seen replaced many of those first generation 3-weapon machines (especially Tripplettes)and even older 2-weapon machines (which were often still in use, despite the fact that a number of rule changes back in the 90's had made them obolete).