Wireless GF Bite Alarms

[Guerilla]

Yes, spot on Rob. Adding a couple more magnets, 4 in total, or even 6 on a large wheel, will help to "balance" the wheel more.

 

Den

 

Yes, don't the ATTs and Steve Neville alarms allow for this by offering rollers with more/fewer magnets?

I'm sure it'll increase sensitivity but if I'm right in my theory about the magnet requiring an initial inertia to overcome, this surely would only heighten the problem?

 

Tinca, whilst you have a GF alarm apart, when re-fitting the line roller, do you notice the roller wanting to spin until the magnet reacts against the sensor, this creating a resistance? I'll check again tonight if I get the opportunity but from memory this was my experience when messing with o-rings.

 

It is an interesting point that you make regarding whether there is any effect from the magnets however I think that this would require contolled testing to determine what if any effect there was. Having used the GF alarms for many years both in the UK and Europe I can only say that I have had no problems until recent times. That said, the alarms havegenerally been used in conjunction with a rod pod. It is interesting that you have used an 'O' ring to increase the size of the roller but by doing this it also produces a curved surface for the line to run on. When you look at the roller assembly in a GF alarm there is quite a bit of sideways play in the roller shaft and I would have thought that with a curved surface for the line to run on and if the 'O' ring came into contact with the side of the alarm body then there would be a possibility of it sticking

 

That too is true but I work in an industry where we have literally hundreds of o-rings on the shelf and having a good working knowledge of them I was able to get various sizes with different cross-sections to try but alas, I couldn't get satisfactory results. The larger the cross section = larger diameter, but as you quite rightly said, there was scope for the seal to create friction against the alarm casing.

I even tried two seals and tried running the braid between the two but this was also unsatisfactory.

 

Putting the butt ring up to the alarm and my GFs in 'High' sensitivity proved better than otherwise but still I didn't have 100% confidence.

It's worth noting however, that with mono I didn't have a problem although I didn't experiment with it too much.

 

I think Budgie would be able to suggest this too, but the problem I was personally trying to solve is better solved using a different type of alarm; Delkim or audible rear drop-off, but the ultimate problem of line skip on a small magnet line roller is still a concern for some of you.

[tincatinca]

 

 

Tinca, whilst you have a GF alarm apart, when re-fitting the line roller, do you notice the roller wanting to spin until the magnet reacts against the sensor, this creating a resistance? I'll check again tonight if I get the opportunity but from memory this was my experience when messing with o-rings.

 

I have just had a play and you are right that when switched on there is a definate magnetic pull on the roller which i I assume is due to north south polarity on a two magnet set up. I too also have an in depth knowledge on 'O' rings as the company I work manufactures them. In terms of the vee slot in the wheel, it would certainly help if the surface was coated in a high friction material but that of course would increase costs. I am still convinced that as far as roller type alarms are concerned that a larger roller dia is desirable coupled with a suitable distance between the bottom of the rod and the diameter inside the groove of the roller which compensates as far as possible for line dia and type of line. I certainly take your point regarding vibration sensing alarms but at the cost of a 4 alarm set up that is a very expensive solution. I got shot of my Delkims a long time ago when they let me down badly due to water ingress. Had to put top hats on them in the rain which is the main reason that I went down the GF route. I nust admit though I have had no problems with braid which in the main has been fireline.

[John Weddup]

Hi

 

I have the gardner att,s alarms that do have big rollers and magnets. I have added the 4 magnet setup as I do not fish for carp and want the same sensitivity as I have with my optonics.

 

The optonics are light sensing so no resistance.

 

I have checked my att,s alarms with magnets and can feel no resistance on those either. If the magnets were pasing a lump of steel I can see why they would need a push to get them moving but on most modern sensing systems in the automotive world they pass a hall affect sensor which is like a transistor. The hall affect allows current to flow when near a magnet. I guess thats what the att,s does.

 

regards

 

john

[tincatinca]

Hi

 

I have the gardner att,s alarms that do have big rollers and magnets. I have added the 4 magnet setup as I do not fish for carp and want the same sensitivity as I have with my optonics.

 

The optonics are light sensing so no resistance.

 

I have checked my att,s alarms with magnets and can feel no resistance on those either. If the magnets were pasing a lump of steel I can see why they would need a push to get them moving but on most modern sensing systems in the automotive world they pass a hall affect sensor which is like a transistor. The hall affect allows current to flow when near a magnet. I guess thats what the att,s does.

 

regards

 

john

 

Quick question John. I have the Gardner attx receiver v2 and dongles. Do the atts alarms give a true indication of beeps on the receiver as it is not the case with donkles in my alarms.

[Guerilla]

John, do you experience any line skip with the ATTs?

 

I'm wishing I tried the old Optonics now but the thought of all that trailing cable really put me off. I bought them with the intention of getting some XLs or Compacts if the large roller worked but I opted for vibratory sensors in the end. I doubt they'll prove as reliable in the wet as my trusty GFs though.

 

Interesting that you haven't had problems with braid, especially Fireline as it's renowned to be of a very small diameter, or is that Whiplash? Maybe my problems are heightened as the braid is very new and still has the waxy coating on it.

Oh, and I agree with you that there seems to be too much lateral movement on the roller. I think the width of the wheel should be increased slightly to ensure that when you sit the rod down into the alarm, the line will sit exactly where it needs to.

 

Anyway, in view of the comments, it seems that cost and reliability in all weather conditions are obviously high on the list of requirements.

[John Weddup]

Quick question John. I have the Gardner attx receiver v2 and dongles. Do the atts alarms give a true indication of beeps on the receiver as it is not the case with donkles in my alarms.

 

 

Hi

 

I could not give a totally honest answer only to say I have never noticed a difference. I have used them for bream fishing in large waters in the spring where large takes are the norm and obviously its difficult to tell. More recently I have been using them for roach fishing and they have done everything I have needed. I have not checked there complete accuracy but they certainly must be very close otherwise I would have noticed.

 

However the only way of checking is the receiver bleep against the led on the alarm as the att,s do not make a noise themselves only through the receiver. I at first wondered how I would get on with these but found the whole concept fantastic. Why do you need a noise at the alarm when you have a receiver.

 

If you look at a pic of these alarms you can see how large the wheel is.

 

I also like the totally sealed aproach. The alarm has no controls and the switch is a magnet in the cover operating a reed switch in the alarm. I do not need lots of adjustments just solid waterproof reliability.

 

John

[tincatinca]

Hi

 

I could not give a totally honest answer only to say I have never noticed a difference. I have used them for bream fishing in large waters in the spring where large takes are the norm and obviously its difficult to tell. More recently I have been using them for roach fishing and they have done everything I have needed. I have not checked there complete accuracy but they certainly must be very close otherwise I would have noticed.

 

However the only way of checking is the receiver bleep against the led on the alarm as the att,s do not make a noise themselves only through the receiver. I at first wondered how I would get on with these but found the whole concept fantastic. Why do you need a noise at the alarm when you have a receiver.

 

If you look at a pic of these alarms you can see how large the wheel is.

 

I also like the totally sealed aproach. The alarm has no controls and the switch is a magnet in the cover operating a reed switch in the alarm. I do not need lots of adjustments just solid waterproof reliability.

 

John

[John Weddup]

John, do you experience any line skip with the ATTs?

 

I'm wishing I tried the old Optonics now but the thought of all that trailing cable really put me off. I bought them with the intention of getting some XLs or Compacts if the large roller worked but I opted for vibratory sensors in the end. I doubt they'll prove as reliable in the wet as my trusty GFs though.

 

Interesting that you haven't had problems with braid, especially Fireline as it's renowned to be of a very small diameter, or is that Whiplash? Maybe my problems are heightened as the braid is very new and still has the waxy coating on it.

Oh, and I agree with you that there seems to be too much lateral movement on the roller. I think the width of the wheel should be increased slightly to ensure that when you sit the rod down into the alarm, the line will sit exactly where it needs to.

 

Anyway, in view of the comments, it seems that cost and reliability in all weather conditions are obviously high on the list of requirements.

 

 

Hi Rob

 

I have not had line skip but I often use a rod pod. I also keep the rods as high as possible as I like a long drop on my home made bobbin to allow me to tell line bites from bream against proper bites. Although having said that it makes little difference as I keep my first eye tight against alarm.

 

I never experienced line slip on my old optonics either and it was partly those that made me choose the gardners. I managed without any adjustments for years on the optonics other than the 2 / 4 wheel sensor. I modified my early one to be very quiet and again the gardners are good for this as you can have the receiver quiet in your top pocket.

 

I did not set out to spend a lot of money on alarms but these are what I chose and often get comments from passing carp anglers. There are obviously anglers looking at quality without following the delkim route.

 

regards

 

john

[tincatinca]

Thanks for that Jonh. I totally agree with the comments re total reliability and except for the problem associated with angled rods that is exactly what the GFs have given me and I have fished through some horrendous storms in France which is where my original Delkims failed miserably.The other big advantage of the GFs is that you can turn the sound right down which you cannot do with the Optonic XLs although the they have also been bomb proof apart from the battery connectors. With leads and a sounder box they work superbly but with the atts reciever it is either a beep or a single toner.

[tincatinca]

Interesting that you haven't had problems with braid, especially Fireline as it's renowned to be of a very small diameter, or is that Whiplash? Maybe my problems are heightened as the braid is very new and still has the waxy coating on it.

Oh, and I agree with you that there seems to be too much lateral movement on the roller. I think the width of the wheel should be increased slightly to ensure that when you sit the rod down into the alarm, the line will sit exactly where it needs to.

 

When you look at the width of the slot in the roller on the GF alarms it is very narrow and tapered and it may be that thicker lines could cause a bit of a problem although I have used Fireline up to 30lb without any issues. With the Optonic rollers, they are wide so thicknes of line should not present any issues. My own thoughts are that the GF alarms would greatly benefit from a re design of roller as in terms of value and reliability, I don't think you can beat them