Tech Tips

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Over the years, a number of useful columns regarding maintenance and repair of fencing equipment have been written for the Sask Sword.  If anyone has additional suggestions regarding personal equipment maintenance and repair, please submit them to Brian Zulkoskey at bwz@shaw.ca .

FOIL AND EPEE TEST BOX PROJECT
by Gordon Sanjenko
revised and updated by Brian Zulkoskey

The December 1987 and January 1992 issues of the Sask Sword contained an article by Gord Sanjenko concerning the building of a foil and epee test box - a piece of equipment that every competitive fencer needs at one time or another.

I had initially submitted Gord’s article once again for reprinting in February of 1994, when I decided that since the original article was written in 1987, maybe price and availability of the specified parts should be checked.  Also, I had always used an ohmmeter for weapon testing, and thought it might be nice to have my own test box.

Gord’s parts list in hand, I set out for the Radio Shack in Circle Centre Mall (Saskatoon).  I soon discovered that prices had changed considerably since 1987.  Whereas Gord had spent $10.33 + tax on parts, I paid nearly $22, tax included.

What follows are Gord’s original plans, revised and updated as necessary.  The project requires only basic mechanical and wiring skills, you should be able to complete it in 1½ to 2 hours.

Tools and Supplies Required

Solder, soldering iron, utility knife, Phillips screwdriver, masking tape, electrical tape, some short lengths of insulated wire.  Optional:  compass or scratch awl, small round file, drill with 7/32” bit.  (Some of these tools can be borrowed from a friend.)

List of materials and approximate cost (February 1994)

All parts were purchased at Radio Shack.  If you check around you might find someplace cheaper.

Since many of the required parts come in packages containing more than you need for one test box, you may want to go together with a couple of fencing friends and share the cost of purchasing enough parts for each of you to construct your own test box.  In fact why not build your test boxes at the same time? - you can share tools and if someone runs into problems you’ve got someone there to lend a hand.

2.Mark spots as shown for the LED’s.  Again make the holes just large enough for the LED’s to fit.
 

b) Rough-up the smooth surface where you solder on the banana jacks and the LED leads or the solder will not stick.  Use sandpaper or a blade to scratch the surface a bit for better adhesion.

c) Do not hold the heat on the LED or resistor any longer than necessary because sometimes too much heat can damage electronic parts.

d) Use electrical tape to cover the bare connections to prevent short circuits, cover the battery with tape so it doesn't short circuit the plugs with its metal case, and cover the inside of the metal bottom of the box with tape.

e) Use a 9 Volt battery even though it is more expensive.  It will last longer than other types, and you don't have to worry about a battery holder (which probably wouldn't fit in your box anyway).  Tape the battery to the box so that it doesn’t rattle around and possibly break a connection.  The resistor brings the voltage down to a safe level for the LED.

What do the lights mean?  (Make sure you have a live battery when doing these tests!)

FOIL TEST:  The box should give a GREEN light with the point up, and the light should go out when the point is depressed.  NO LIGHT with the point up indicates an open circuit (usually a broken wire) and GREEN with the point depressed indicates a short circuit.

FOIL BODYWIRE TEST (connect alligator clip to guard):  Both lights should be on, otherwise there is an open circuit in one or more of the bodywire wires.

EPEE TEST:  There should be no light with point up and RED light with point depressed.  NO LIGHT with point depressed indicates a broken wire and RED light with point up indicates a short circuit.

EPEE BODYWIRE TEST:  Short either of the end pins with the centre pin, you should get a coloured light each time.

Next - identifying and fixing common problems with the electric foil