Tension, feel, and temperature

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by visor, Jul 13, 2011.

  1. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Made an interesting observation yesterday re above and thought I'd like to share.

    My usual string and tension setup is zymax 67 at 21lbs, since I play with plastic birds. At this tension, the dominant frequency with my iPhone app is 940Hz.

    Now this was the perfect setup on my mx80 in May when the playing temperature was around 16-18 Celsius. Great touch/feel, power, control, response. Fast forward to yesterday with the playing temp around 25 Celsius, and the strings feel completely spongy. No feel, control or response, and there was a drop in power. The string frequency is only slightly lower at 930Hz, which is not much of a tension change since I know from experience that 1lb is around 60Hz. (Yes, zymax strings really hold their tension well!)

    So, then I switched mid game to my T2 with the same string at 23lbs and everything was all good again! Touch/feel, control, power, response was back! And the funny thing was that I couldn't play with this tension back in May when it was cooler because it felt too tight and brittle! I checked the frequency and it hasn't changed from 1050Hz from then till now, so the tension is the same since I haven't used it much as the mx80 is my main racket.


    NB: all my rackets are strung by the same reputable and very experienced stringer on his ECP machine.


    So, my theory is that the change in temperature doesn't affect string tension much, if at all, but it does affect the string's physical properties such that it'll feel spongier when warmer and brittle when cooler, despite no noticeable change in tension.
    This may explain why our friends in tropical climes like Malaysia and Singapore prefer 28-30lbs tension, while Canadians and Europeans in northern climes like it lower at 24-26lbs, both playing with feathers.
     
  2. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    Thanks for the observations and conclusions, Visor! It bears out what I've kinda always suspected, but it's always nicer to have it explained by one with a mind not so, errr, "scientificaly challenged" as myself! :D
     
  3. dnoah

    dnoah Regular Member

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    @visor, hey bro how do your apps work? and what it does? mind to share? =)
     
  4. visor

    visor Regular Member

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  5. coacheric

    coacheric Regular Member

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    Dear Visor,
    Interseting, I got the tool for my android phone.
    Which settings do you use within the program?

    I cannot find a decent manual, can you help me?
     
  6. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    There are 3 buttons in the middle of the screen. Make sure the left (tuning fork) and middle (on) buttons are lit green. Then put your device on a flat table and strum your racket strings close to the mic with your 3rd and 4th fingernails lightly once. Then you'll get a reading that should be between 900-1500 Hz. Anything else is a secondary frequency so have to do it again.
     
  7. coacheric

    coacheric Regular Member

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    Dear Visor,
    Thnx,
    When I do the things you mention:
    I see the circle change(with B b B C,etc,etc) and above the 3 buttons a red needle( from -20 + 20), how do I translate these data to a frequency?
    I'm a total neeb in frequencies;)
    Eric

     
  8. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Strange. My iPhone version displays the frequency in Hz in a window near the top. Maybe the android version doesn't have this.
     
  9. coacheric

    coacheric Regular Member

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    Did you change some settings?
    I use the default settings, i'll try to post a screenshot

    Eric
     
  10. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Ah, I see ... Frequency display has to be set on.
     
  11. coacheric

    coacheric Regular Member

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    Where?
    Do i do that?
    Settings I have:
    General:
    Transposition, value D
    Pitch pipe waveform, value Square
    Needle damping, value Medium

    Advanced:
    A4 Calibration, value This allows you to set the A4
    Notation, value English
    Temperament, value Powertonal Guitar
    Temperament root, value C
     
  12. greblu

    greblu Regular Member

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    Visor you must take into consideration, that the speed of sound in air increases with temperature, so that the real frequency(at 16°C) shifted to higher frequencies (at 25 ° C) .
    So that actually a larger tension drop occurs as measured. But how much the frequency increases due to the increase in the speed of sound, i do not know.
    Maybe you can neglet this effect ^ ^
     
  13. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Sorry coacheric, looks like you have to switch to an iPhone. :). Perhaps there are other android apps that can display the frequency.
     
  14. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Very negligible effect if at all.
     
  15. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    This also explains why we in north America break more of our strings in the colder winter temperatures. Because the strings are more brittle, not because it becomes tighter with tension when the temp drops.
     
  16. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    [​IMG]Strings b-b-b-b-brittle!???!! How many T-T-T-TIMES must I remind you to GET THE RACQUETS OUT of the BBBBB-BOOOT and if you can't remember I am NOT going to pay for your silly gameS any more, you hear! [​IMG]I can't AFFORD to listen to any more excuses about weather and stuff!!

    And I'm TAKING the car away... AND you can pay your own insurance; THAT'll teach you!!Sheesh..... [​IMG]

    recommended dosage: ingest in jest....
     
  17. visor

    visor Regular Member

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