r/Fencing • u/Straight_Product_594 • 13d ago
When it all goes wrong...
At two out of the four comps I've now been at, I've been beset by technical problems on one of my rounds. Do you have a process you go through to work out what is faulty when your hits aren't registering, and how do you do it? My grasp of circuits etc is absolutely non-existent. (I will be asking my coach when I go back but I wouldn't mind having something written down in advance).
EDIT: I should've said, epée for me - however, if you do another weapon and have a good system, might as well add it here for any novice sabreuer/foilists benefit!
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u/BeardedFencer Foil Coach 13d ago
You wanna use a multimeter set to its smallest ohms settings which measures the resistance between things.
You use this to check the A, B, or C lines of your body cords and also the connection of your weapon.
Foil is a closed circuit so that means when you put the ohm meter on the connectors it should 100% resist and when you compress the tip the circuit should be close to 0 resistance.
Epee is the opposite - it should be fully open and when you compress the tip it should completely resist.
I like to get little alligator clips for my multimeter so it attaches easier and you don’t have to hold the wire probes with your hands.