This is a long post, but that is my way.
I bought my first Eigertek Eclipse in 2002. For three years, I used it in dozens of locations on hundreds of occasions. It stood up to everything we threw at it. I purchased a second box a few years ago, and it's proven equally reliable.
After performing without fault for over seven years, my first Eclipse has now died three times in less than two months. (Current theory is that higher-than-normal static electricity has been killing it, and Eigertek has now provided guidelines instructing us how to avoid this problem.) Each time, Eigertek has repaired it without hesitation and free-of-charge. Most recently, they replaced the entire circuit board and sent a new AC adapter. They've even paid for return shipping each time.
Combine this with all the free chip upgrades they've provided over the years, and it's safe to say that I'm now a detriment to Eigertek's bottom line. Yet, they continue to treat me as if my business is sending their kids to college. So for all of these reasons, I recommend the Eigertek over the other low-cost, "portable" boxes I've tried, even though it's somewhat more expensive. Well-worth the extra cost.
That said, I must confess to buying a Siyon Reflex last year when money was
extremely limited. Overall, I'm satisfied with it. I must say that we're not one-hundred percent confident in its sabre program, though I haven't read any similar complaints on fencing.net's boards. Advantages over the Eclipse, besides cost: brighter LEDs and longer battery life (though the Eclipse is perfectly adequate, though in both regards.)
The Eclipse auto-silences when weapons are unplugged or equipment problems develop -- a
non-trivial plus over the "screaming" Reflex, as my fencers constantly complain about the Reflex's insistent, panicky pleas for working connections. The Reflex
does sport significantly shorter signal durations than the Eclipse, which I consider desirable but which others would count as a flaw. (Newer incarnations of the Eclipse are supposed to include a "practice mode" with shorter signal durations, but I can't speak to how they compare to those of the Reflex.) Also, the Eclipse, unlike the Reflex, natively supports extension lights.
You won't go terribly wrong with either, but as SJCFU#2 pointed out, what happens when you need service work or a chip upgrade in the event Siyon fails? (Then again, if we all had this attitude, new vendors would never succeed, including Eigertek when they first brought their offering to market.)
Again, I agree with SJCFU#2: Avoid Triplette's "club" machine. For reasons I won't get into, I was forced to purchase three of these things over a six-year period or so, and they've been a thorn in my side since. They each seem to have their own unique, recurring problem in addition to all the timing/touch-registration issues reported by many others on this board over the years.
For about half the cost (or a little more) of a single reel, you can buy a Triplette pulley-bungee system. They're certainly more difficult to set up in temporary locations than a reel system, but with practice, you'll learn how to 1) wrap the wires and cords so they don't become tangled in transport, 2) secure the floor plates so they don't tear away from the surface and fly into the back of a fencer's head, and 3) "take up" and retain the proper amount of slack from the bungee cord (varies from installation to installation). Repair both less-frequently required and a simpler process than with a reel system, and you just can't beat the price, assuming that's an issue.
The pulley-bungee system works flawlessly if you can permanently anchor it to a wall (which requires only a few minutes). Maybe it's just me, but I regularly trip and/or stub a toe on reels and floor plates, and a wall-mounted system eliminates both, and keeps the entire apparatus out of the way when not in use.
However, it's not as effective in an overhead installation: It results in a considerable amount of slack wire hanging low from the ceiling and/or inadequate wire tension near the ends of the strip. Nevertheless, it's largely functional as an overhead unit. Perhaps there's a superior method to set up an overhead system that we haven't discovered. If so, I'd love to hear about it.
Regret
Linear Mode
