Gripper Calibration, Contest Details

[Bob Lipinski]

Looks like my plan is to get a few grippers calibrated between me and a few other guys. Getting and giving a gripper to Ben, also getting one I think Chris has calibrated.

So far, I think I will require at least a 1 pound jump for moving up the record list- Maybe 2. Also, any records within 2 pounds I would want some kind of independent verification- ie a few people I know that have squeezed the gripper and said it is harder.

This is because I don't think we'll ever get calibration that perfect. The only alternative would be to only allow grippers of one brand and of the same vintage- So knurling, feel, etc. everything will be the same.

Also- I would propose that for any MM or CC set records, you should have a gripper of at least 2.5 inches. I think that is a good cutoff point.

I am also rounding any calibration I do off to the nearest pound. I would bet on the fact that no one could keep accurate gripper calibrations to a tenth of a pound, given someone had the patience to do it.

I would like to make a decent records list for grippers, but I think the calibration process has some limits that cannot be overcome- A certain margin of error.

[bencrush]

This sounds very motivating Bob! Thanks for taking it under your wing. Will a theoretical 185lb calibrated close count for a tie if gripper #1 is a 2.5" spread and gripper #2 is a 3" spread? I understand not wanting to take into consideration the myriad differences like spread, mounting depth, and knurling.

[jad]

Sounds good except for the indepedent verification by having someone squeeze it. That's a just step backwards imo.

[MalachiMcMullen]

Sounds good except for the indepedent verification by having someone squeeze it. That's a just step backwards imo.

I'm inclined to agree with Josh. I suppose if the gripper is done in competition, someone there can vouch for it's difficulty. Other than that, I like it Bob

[Bob Lipinski]

All three of you guys bring up something related which we could maybe solve-

Identical calibration numbers will give you grippers of different difficulty. Should we ignore this?

Also, I do not trust the calibration process to be accurate within a pound. Should we just leave grippers 1-2 pounds apart as a tie, or get someone we trust to see if there is an actual difference?

I'm asking the same questions as you Ben. And again, don't read the above as a challenge- I am genuinely curious as to what people think should be done. My initial impressions say leave identical grippers as a tie, and have verification for grippers 1-2 pounds apart. I am game for whatever though. And again, this is just for contests lists- Promoters need to have their grippers sorted before results time.

[Too Tall]

All three of you guys bring up something related which we could maybe solve-

Identical calibration numbers will give you grippers of different difficulty. Should we ignore this?

Also, I do not trust the calibration process to be accurate within a pound. Should we just leave grippers 1-2 pounds apart as a tie, or get someone we trust to see if there is an actual difference?

I'm asking the same questions as you Ben. And again, don't read the above as a challenge- I am genuinely curious as to what people think should be done. My initial impressions say leave identical grippers as a tie, and have verification for grippers 1-2 pounds apart. I am game for whatever though. And again, this is just for contests lists- Promoters need to have their grippers sorted before results time.

This all sounds good to me Bob...let me know if I can help.

Chad

[vikingsrule92]

I would say start off simple and do like the bending list (sort of), grippers less then 2 pounds apart (it REALLY needs to be this big given variances) are ties, no independant verification or any of that for difficulty. You could have spread be a difference and all of that but then it gets really difficult really fast if you ask me.

[MalachiMcMullen]

It does get difficult fast. However, I think that if you have 2 grippers of the same brand calibrate at the same poundage, but one has larger spread, the larger spread trumps it. Otherwise they tie.

We could of course try not to have sub-2lb jumps in comps also

Something else, if we get to a point in the future where we have 2lb jumps, why not just have an RGC on hand to calibrate if there are any doubts? As far as competition goes, it's cut and dry. If you line up the grippers with one in a harder spot than another, the one in the harder spot still wins

Edited July 25, 2008 by MalachiMcMullen

[vikingsrule92]

Yeah I suppose that is a good idea with the spread Zach. As long as we don't go too overboard with it. No crap with like, oh well one gripper is 1 lb below another but it's spread is bigger so it should be harder and blah blah blah. That rule is good as long as it's controlled.

[acorn]

Sounds good to me. The only thing I can think of is for a record breaking or even top 5 list close maybe have the gripper calibrated by more than one source\RGC setup. Just an option. That could help to eliminate any potential miscalibrated numbers thru independent verification.

- Aaron

[Bob Lipinski]

The grippers would need to be calibrated the same day by the same person for things to be close to accurate. You'd need the record gripper+new record. Otherwise, I do not think the process is accurate enough to detect two pound jumps.

Zach, I am not gonna go the larger spread route. I suppose a tie is a tie, that is probably the only way to do it.

Calibration will definitely have to be verified, for now I would go with the contest promoters that are doing it, once we make sure that we are getting the same result.