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// Helpful Hints for working on your gear, collected from all over the place.
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(*) Trouble shoot body wires (Foil/Sabre)

The 3 lines are named A, B, and C

On the 3 pin end (reel connector), the B's in the middle, the A is the one closest to it, and the C is farthest away.

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A   B     C
 

The alligator clip is the other end of the A line.
(mnemonic: A is for Alligator)

The narrower of the 2 pins at the weapon end (or the center post if it's a bayonet plug) is the B line
(mnemonic: B is for Bayonet, Blade-wire, Button)

The thicker pin (washer under the spring on a bayonet) is the C line.
(mnemonic: C is spring?, common [eg ground] ) 

Put an ohmmeter leads on the A pin on three pin end and the other on the clip, you should get a complete circuit...
(Ohm-meters/Multimeters can be purchased for cheap, but try to get analog if you can,
 just need sensitivity for very low resistances (0-200Ohm))

Holding the leads against the pins, waggle them to see if there are any breaks in the wire that show up on movement.
Breaks & cracks would be evidenced by rising resistances/breaks in continuity.

Lather, rinse, repeat with the B and C lines.

If you get NO response on the B line AND no response on the C:
  test it by connecting the B on the three pin end to the C on the weapon end....if you get continuity 
    you've got the wires swapped....you'll ALWAYS get a white light.


If continuity's good on all three lines:
- Test resistance on the lines with the ohmmeter, should be less than 1.0 OHM (really should be zero)
	if R >= 1.0 resistance could be causing the white-lights (on pin B/C) or white-light on lame hits
	test for corrosion at plugs or in wire...

Take the weapon end of the plug apart and pull on one of the pins...
    if there's a wire break you'll feel it starting to move, 
        or if there is blackening, or loose connection, trim wire and re-tin with soldering iron, 
        reassemble connector, make sure to tighten down pins and check the lines


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//     Foil Debugging notes from G. Spuill (via Fencing.net)
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    1st. Check your body cord to make sure your B - C lines are good.
    2nd. connect your body cord to the test device and weapon.
    3rd. Check to see if the barrel is loose at the blade - if this is the
    problem, tighten the barrel
    4th. Spin the tip in the barrel to see if you can creat the problem - if
    so, can be several items, a. your spring is not making a good connection,
    b. your screws are not making a good connection to the collar of the tip.
    c. you have way too much dirt in the barrel/brass collar of the tip and
    need to clean it out.
    If none of the above apply try the following
    1. jiggle (like that word?) your body cord at the bayonet socket end.
    Wanting to see if there is a bad connection at the socket. If this is the
    problem, you need to replace the socket.
    2. Check to insure your grip it tight - a loose grip will cause a
    breakdown in your B-C connection.
    3. Check your wire connection at the socket, sometimes they come loose and
    make your listed problem.

    If still not fixed, now comes more detailed way to figure out problem.

    1. Break the weapon down (remove the grip, socket, bell pad and bell
            guard), using a ohm/volt meter, place the black or red connector
    to the blade and the other end to the exposed blade wire that was
    connected to the socket. If you get a 0-2 ohms reading, your good. Check
    the tip by pressing it down while holding the meter connectors as above,
    they should make the meter turn off when pressed down. IF this does not
    happen like listed above, one more item, remove the tip from the barrel,
    place one of the meter connectors onto the brass plate of the contact that
    the wire is attached to and the other connector to the exposed wire on the
    other end. If its good, your not done yet. Bend the blade to an ark. This
    will tell you if there is a break in the wire that does not show up unless
    the blade is bent.

    IF your blade wire is good, then its somewhere behind the bell guard
    (socket most likely), if your wire shows to have problems, then its time
    to replace it, or time to clean out your tip.