Introductions, ideas for the forum

[egir...@emcara.com]

Hello World!

This section is to introduce yourself and get this forum rolling.  You can suggest topics you're interested in, make suggestion, ask general questions, and so on.  I've never set up or managed a forum before, so be patient and feel free to suggest.

I'm Erick Girouard, and I'm the volunteer equipment person for Guelph Marlins.  I've been at it three years now, and I've probably got two or three left before my swimmer daughter moves on.  We use mostly Omega equipment, and we work from the University of Guelph pool (8 lane 25m) and Victor Davis (6 lane 50m).

I've had some challenges keeping equipment functioning well without just buying a whole lot of expensive stuff.  Pads are a common problem, especially older ones.  Plungers keep breaking, and at $100 each for a simple switch in a handle, I've worked out some simple repairs.  But I already see better options provided by one person invited here.

I've built up a list of part numbers and suppliers that are considerably cheaper than buying through dedicated swimming equipment suppliers, and I'll share that.  I'm pretty happy with some brackets I've made up for our particular pad/pool combination, and I can probably share a few other useful bits.

And I'll also thank Tony Drescher for getting us connected.

[mark.lukings]

Mark Lukings, London Aquatic Club.  One of the things I do is deal with the equipment.  We have Swiss Timing (some people call it Omega) equipment.  We upgraded from ARES to quantum a few years back.  Plungers (Buttons) and pads are the same.

When the $100.00 buttons fail we chop off the handle and create a new one out of electrical conduit parts and IP67 water proof buttons sourced from China for under $2.00 each.  Not sure on the conduit parts pricing.

 

[Erick Girouard]

Conduit pricing is next to nothing when you're looking at a few inches.  Tam of ROW uses the handles, but adds a wire seal/clamp to the bottom, and I think uses the same switches you're mentioning.  And since those are IP67 switches and 2$, that's a great solution.  I found a similar one at Mouser for about 5, and a really nice one for 25.  Do you have the supplier and part information for that switch?  Maybe I'll piece that together with Tam's approach and create a plunger topic as well.