What are the 2 connectors on an electirc sabre

[jdavies]

In case my description is not clear, you can see the 2 connectors on the electric sabre mounting here: http://shop.fencing.net/product_p/fdn-s200.htm

I have never seen connectors like these. Does anyone know what the name of this type of connector is? The guys at Radio Shack and Metro Electronics had no idea what it was. It must have a name.

[Rockstar44]

In case my description is not clear, you can see the 2 connectors on the electric sabre mounting here: http://shop.fencing.net/product_p/fdn-s200.htm

I have never seen connectors like these. Does anyone know what the name of this type of connector is? The guys at Radio Shack and Metro Electronics had no idea what it was. It must have a name.

The C line is a 4mm bananna plug socket and the B line is a 3mm bananna plug socket.

[Mergs]

OK, not sure what you are asking here. As Rock says, the C connector is a standard 4mm socket size, ie banana plug, and the B connector is 3mm.

I doubt very much if any Radio Shack employee, unless they were a fencer, would know what the connector is, as it is custom and unique only to fencing. The different sized holes are to make sure you connect it properly, or in engineering terms, idiot proofing. If you are trying to save money by going somewhere other than a fencing equipment supplier, I wouldn't.

Also be advised that there is a difference in saber connectors and foil connectors. In saber there is electrical contact beween the B socket and the support, where in foil it is insulated.

Hope this helps. If you need further information, I'd suggest you take a look at my sig line.

[jdavies]

Thanks for the info guys. I really appreciate the help. I'm not trying to save any money on my fencing equipment, but I am building a body cord test box (we geeks can have fun doing almost anything) so I needed to know the correct connectors to plug the cord into my box.

4mm seems to be the "standard" for banana plugs. The 3-pin part of the body cord is comprised of the 4mm variety. Those I can get pretty much anywhere. The 3mm variety seems a bit more scarce. I think one of the things that threw me was the look of the plug itself. Most of the banana sockets don't have the indentation for a standard screwdriver (I assume) to screw them into place. Or perhaps its just the sockets I've seen are usually in a plastic body (for example http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...l&name=J358-ND)

I finally have the circuit down to ensure that the resistance across each wire in the body cord is < 1 ohm. Now I'm down to the "arts and crafts" part of putting the prototype box together. The last piece of the puzzle was the 2-prong side of he wire.

- Jeff

[brtech]

Yah, as stated, the 3mm is non standard with respect to Radio Shack.

One trick Dan (and I) use is to get a piece of brass tubing with a 3mm I.D.
You can solder a short length of this in a standard banana jack to make a 3mm jack from it. That lets you use a high quality jack like the Pomona on your box. Most hobby shops carry the tubing.

[oiuyt]

Take them out of a 2-prong socket you have sitting around.

I'm willing to assume that most armorers that are building their own test box have a fair supply of most parts available.

edit: Oh, or brtech's suggestion. I like that one.

-B

[SJCFU#2]

For a tester you can also use an RCA phone jack (which is readily available from Radio Shack) in place of the 3mm banana jack.

It may be a tad large but not enough to cause significant problems (3.4 mm vs 3.2 mm). In fact it might encourage people to keep the spring cages on their pins spread out enough to ensure good contact between the pins and the socket.

[Mergs]

Yah, as stated, the 3mm is non standard with respect to Radio Shack.

One trick Dan (and I) use is to get a piece of brass tubing with a 3mm I.D.
You can solder a short length of this in a standard banana jack to make a 3mm jack from it. That lets you use a high quality jack like the Pomona on your box. Most hobby shops carry the tubing.

I use 4mm brass tubing, found in most hobby shops, that has .5mm thick walls.

[jdavies]

Thanks for the tips on the tubing and the RCA jacks.

Oh and Mergs, as promised in a different post, I did buy your guide. It just wont arrive until late this week. I'm looking forward to reading it though. Since my fencing skills are not top notch, I think that I can also help the local club with armory issues.

[jdavies]

Well the 3mm ID tubing didn't work out too well for me. I'm having a hard time getting it soldered into place inside of the 4mm banana jack. The fit is good in general, but after plugging and removing the body cord several times, the solder often breaks and the tubing comes out. I was thinking about simply attaching the 3mm ID tubing directly to the test box, but I haven't really figured out how I would do that.

The RCA jack seems to work pretty well though. I'm going to see if I can find a panel mount version that is elevated enough to match the 4mm jack.

[Mergs]

Two things are happening: first you are getting a cold solder between the tube and the plug. The two parts have to be hot enough to get the solder to flow down to the bottom of the plug.

Second, you have to make sure you have removed all the oxidation from BOTH parts.

[EldRick]

...you have to make sure you have removed all the oxidation from BOTH parts.

Also probably remove the plating on the inside of banana jack with a drill - chrome or bright nickel plating doesn't take solder very well.

[jdavies]

The two parts have to be hot enough to get the solder to flow down to the bottom of the plug.

Are you using a small enough soldering tip to get inside of the 3mm ID tube to heat the whole thing? I was soldering at the top of the tube. I can see how if I could get the whole thing hot enough to melt a bit of solder at the bottom of the tube, that makes better sense.

Oh, by the way Mergs, I received your book on Wednesday and it has already proven its worth to me. Thanks for writing such a great reference. And also, thanks for the lay-flat binding. Thats the right kind of binding for a book like this. Makes it easy to lay flat on the workbench.



- Jeff

[brtech]

I use a torch on the bottom of the jack.

[Fencergrl]

Oh, by the way Mergs, I received your book on Wednesday and it has already proven its worth to me. Thanks for writing such a great reference. And also, thanks for the lay-flat binding. Thats the right kind of binding for a book like this. Makes it easy to lay flat on the workbench.

- Jeff

You should include your comments in the f-net's review section. http://shop.fencing.net/Care_and_Fee.../fdn-81901.htm (upper left, "write a review")

[jdavies]

You should include your comments in the f-net's review section. http://shop.fencing.net/Care_and_Fee.../fdn-81901.htm (upper left, "write a review")

Good point. I'll do that this weekend when I have read more of the book. As an author I know how much hard work goes into writing a book.

- Jeff

[Mergs]

Many, many thanks, all. I appreciate the comments and look forward to reading the reviews!

[Purple Fencer]

And as a further push...Mike is sending me a couple of hardcopies, which I will have at my sales table. $25.00 each.