Start Wands and homologation

There is a general misconception that the older spring type gate is not homologated. It is. The FIS list of approved start gates lists two models that are sold in North America.

http://www.fis-ski.com/rulesandpublications/alpineskiing/alpinetiming.html


The STScM2S is the "older" style gate with the spring and the 5/16 x 18 threads.

The STSnM2s is the gate that came out last spring and uses the 3/8 x 16 stainless threaded bolt type attachment. The Q model is a special world cup dual gate.

ALGE is phasing out the STScM2s and we will only sell the newer ones when our current stock is gone.

There are not enough of the newer gates out there to begin to tell if breakage is going to be a constant problem. The replacement of the fiberglass "stick" should be pretty straightforward. Cut it off flush with the bolt head, drill out the remnants, epoxy another stick in. Having a 17mm openend wrench at the start would be handy to remove a broken one without damage.

Older gates of any type can be upgraded to use the new sticks. It really should be done in two phases. The face of the pivot arm should be flattened by having 2mm ground off its length. Then the arm is drilled and retapped. The threads are really metric 10 x 1.50 mm. 3/8 x 16 is very close and works in most circumstances.

We will also look into buying new pivot arms from ALGE to swap. The arms are held onto the shaft with a split pin that can be driven out and replaced.

Authored by Ted Savage
12-09-03

Please note that homologated start gates and their associated wands (with
or without springs on the wand) are certified for use as per the list of
devices on the FIS web-site.

For example more recent ALGE 2 contact, manual return start gates with or
without communication cards are certified under models STSc and STSn. The
"c" version is the older start gate that features a wand with a small rigid
spring. The "n" model has a thicker wand without a spring. Both are
homologated for use at all race levels in the FIS calendar.

This would also apply to the specific devices listed for other
manufacturers such as MicroGate and Longinnes/Omega.

Please contact me with any questions.

Sincerely

Mr. J.E.C (Ted) Savage
FIS Alpine Technical Delegate Commissioner for Canada
FIS Timing Working Group Member

514-933-0895 Office Tel.
tsavage@precisiontiming.com
www.PrecisionTiming.com

As an experiment, I wrapped the spring for the Alge wand with two layers of duct tape, that ubiquitous, magical, fix everything material. It significantly stiffened up the wand, but did not completely eliminate any flex from the spring. With the reduced flex, it has to be fairer. I did not experiment on the degree of deflection versus the force, I just know from flexing the wand before and after that it is much stiffer. I used the stiffened wand for a USSA level JI/JII/Seniors race, with no wand breakage. I plan to continue the use of it for USSA races this season.
Comments, anyone??

Jim Green

I would like to try electrical shrink tubing. I think it would do the same thing but look nicer.

Very true that it would look better, but isn't duct tape an expected accessory to a race organization?
There are several different kinds of shrink tubing. Some of it stiffens significantly when it gets cold, so the degree of improvement would change with a temperature change.

I found I could adjust how much I stiffened the wand spring by how many wraps of duct tape I put on it.

Jim Green