Re: BOW Arms

[MantaRay]

Monty, I recently obtained a few of your 16-d arms in a trade. BOW is engraved in the the stack with 45 degree timing indicated.
The label on the arm says DS16..........Is this how you indicate that the arm is yours or is this arm "different" than a S 16-d wind.

I also need some help with magnets. I have quite a few that have the gauss readings marked on them Example +456 and -457
Should the + mag go in front?

What is the proper way to know how to install the magnets in the can? As a newbie motor "assembler" I want to make sure the arm will spin the correct way.

I know you are busy at the Nats................Good luck...Ray

[Monty @ B.O.W.]

Ray,

A lot of my equipment made it to the Nats, but not me!

Wow, those arms date back a ways! The DS16 tag stands for 'D spec 16', meaning they were the standard 16d wind of 70 turns, 30 guage wire. They are not to be confused with a Super 16d, which would have 60 turns of 28 guage wire. DS16 was the original tag as manufactured by ProSlot for FastOnes several years ago, and I would get them when I ordered arms from ProSlot. The more modern arms are tagged simply 16d for the stock wind, and S16d for the super 16d windings.

There may also be some confusion over the surface treatment on the arms. Many (if not most) of the DS16 tagged arms were supplied unground, with the blue-green hysol coating left on. This is the usual presentation for all Super 16 arms, and is so noted in most rulesets. I never did figure out why Fastones did not have the O.D. ground on the 16d's, but I would do the finish grind myself back then, making my DS 16 arms look like the Mura and RJR 16ds. The fact that the arms ARE engraved at all tells me that you have the O.D. ground variety. They were a lot easier to balance after the grinding!

As for magnets, the majority of builders (myself included) place the negative magnet in the rear, closest to the axle. There are no rules about this, however, and with an RJR arm you will indeed find that you have to hook the leadwires up the opposite way to get the car to move forward. As long as the motor turns the correct way (clockwise as viewed from the can end), you are OK. If you want all your motors to run with the same leadwire orientation, those designated for RJR arms (or any make of 'hemi-wound' arm) will need the positive placed in the rear. If you have access to a decent zapper, you can change the polarity without moving the magnets at all just by zapping backwards. This should have no effect on actual speed at all.

Good luck, and good racing!