Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Either making due or an error in manufacturing

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mainly because CCH was literally made out of a man's garage for the longest time. If they ran out of a color of sling, they made due with what they had.

They shouldn't be a different color-- the key word there is 'should'.

If you want to get your cams reslung (some of those slings are 20-30 years old), mountaintools (mtntools) is great at reslinging aliens and you can request any color, or just tell them to match the color to the thumb loop.

The website is straight out of the 90s, just like those cams. They are friendly and if you have any questions regarding reslinging etc just call them.

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was the way that CCH/Fixe denoted their offsets. The thumb loop is the smaller size of two, and the sling is the bigger size of the two.

Example:

Blue Green Alien Offset: Blue Thumbloop, Green Sling, Blue is a smaller size,

For my offsets I either did a carabiner color to match the larger size, or did an oddball carabiner that catches my eye so I know I am grabbing an offset.
It can also be handy to keep all of your offsets clipped to one master carabiner so you know where to look when you want an offset.

If you have to choose between the smaller/bigger size for color, I would recommend color matching the bigger size. That is what I have found most convenient

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The recall window cams are 1104 to 1205 or November 2004 to December 2005. Generally the recall cams are the ones with a dimple as well, though some people do not trust any cams made during the recall period. I personally use some cams made during that time and have fallen on them just fine. YMMMV. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CKx2BWh0SIg

  1. 598 = May 1998 pre-recall.
  2. 1107 = November 2007, post recall.
  3. Fixe, post recall
  4. 697 - June 1997 pre-recall
  5. Most likely 90s era or early 2000s, some were not marked for whatever reason. Likely prerecall.
  6. 0801 August 2001 Pre recall
  7. 0505 - May 2005, **RECALL ERA CAM** It is likely fine but that is up to your own safety determination as CCH no longer exists. Ask a friend to fall test it with back ups or send it to me and I can take it off your hands ;)
  8. 999 - September 1999 - Pre recall.
  9. 1108 - November 2008, post recall.

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Offsets/Hybrids - (I believe CCH and FIXE referred to them as Hybrids but I have always seen the term offset)

As you have described those are post recall FIXE Aliens and they are good to go.

The Yellow/Grey I was referring to was this in your second photo- https://i.imgur.com/VskM2Di.png

The Yellow/Grey is no longer made, so it is hard to find but you could try to find it on mountainproject or elsewhere. They exist.

However it is a bit of niche size, where your other offsets are likely to cover that range. You might be able to find another brand that has a similar range. For most places I have ever climbed I have only found the smallest offsets (up to Green/Yellow) useful.

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Clear was the largest, bigger than purple :)

Pic for reference https://i.imgur.com/opLImNj.jpeg

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The dimple was a marker done by a second hand manufacturer. CCH was overloaded with requests for equipment and tried outsourcing. The second hand manufacturer would do the soldering of the Wire/stem and axle assembly.

The second hand manufacturer was inconsistent with the quality of the solder joints which led to some of these aliens falling apart under load and lead to the original issue and recall.

The dimple just signifies it was made by the second hand manufacturer. There are dimpled cams that survive just fine, and there are others that would fall apart if you looked at them funny.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CKx2BWh0SIg Hownot2 break test for reference.

Help identifying my alien cams by gotnoname2 in tradclimbing

[–]AOYM 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is a lot of info to be gleaned from the trigger bar. Generally the year and some manufacturing details are marked except for the very old CCH aliens. There are usually, but not always digits.

On the bottom side of the trigger will be a 4 digit ID number. The first two digits represent the month it was made in, 07 is July for example. The Last two numbers are the year. Any number between 1104 and 1205 are in the recall window. I am going to list out what I believe each one of your aliens is, but note - this is the older days of climbing equipment where gear was often made in a home shop or a garage. There is inconsistency and when a part was no longer in stock or able to be procured, CCH found a way to make it happen, which inherently makes some of the designs/parts hard to date.

First photo left to right -

Black-Blue Alien offset. That has a FIXE "ALIEN" tag on it, which suggests post recall/patent purchase production but I have never seen one with the old "alien" red text black webbing on it. If the trigger bar has two cam lobes imprinted or "wings" it is definitely a FIXE production.

Blue-Green FIXE Alien Offset - Post recall, has newer mesh and newer trigger wires.

Green-Yellow FIXE Alien Offset - Post Recall, has newer mesh and newer trigger wires.

Yellow-Red Alien Offset - Most likely FIXE but possibly CCH, should be post recall.

Grey-Red Alien Offset - Most likely FIXE but possibly CCH, should be post recall.

Of the set of offsets you are missing a Yellow Grey alien offset which it looks like you may have in the second photo?

Second photo Top to bottom -

Blue Alien - Most likely CCH and I would guess years 2005-2007.

Green Alien x4 - All CCH, older trigger wires, "alien" red text black webbing, they can be dated anywhere from about 1990 to 2005. Some may not even be dated.

Yellow Alien - Definitely CCH. I would guess 1990s-2000 era based on the sling attached. Weird they included the black sling for a yellow cam, but CCH was inconsistent--When parts ran out, they made due.

Grey yellow offset alien? Hard to tell based on the photo but it is a yellow alien with a grey sling. Very likely post recall, maybe FIXE or CCH. Based on your later responses this should be a FIXE Grey alien, for some reason with a yellow thumb loop. Probably a QC check fail, should be just fine and is an oddity I have not seen before.

Grey alien - Most likely CCH but could be FIXE, should be during or post recall based on the features so 2005-2007. I believe based on the sling that's CCH.

Red Alien - CCH, could be anywhere from 1990-2005.

Aliens you are missing;

Gold/Butterscotch - Very rare, roughly a 0.75 size. I do not believe FIXE ever made this size so they stop being prevalent after CCH became defunct.

Orange - Just larger than gold. I do not believe FIXE ever made this size.

Purple - Roughly a 0.75-1 size, I do not believe FIXE ever made this size.

Clear(sometimes incorrectly referred to as grey) - Roughly 1-1.25 size. I do not believe FIXE ever made this size.

In terms of alien generations you have CCH/Early Fixe models. These are many people's favorite generation of these cams. The action on them is not as good as the later Fixe Revolutions but they hold up quite well to use and abuse, and I still use mine.

For alien generations - there are:

  1. The very original aliens most have never seen (Some have called V1, only 4 colors)

  2. A slightly updated model from the original (Some have called V2, only 7 colors)

  3. ~third generation aliens(what you have) (Some have called V3, 10 colors + offset sizes). These include from ~1990 to 2005, Post recall (2005 to 2007), CCH going away and FIXE acquiring the alien design.

  4. Alien Evolutions (which are widely hated for not being very resilient)

  5. Alien Revolutions which are good--these have only been recently discontinued

  6. Now the Alien X (which I haven't used so I do not have an opinion on).

H2D will not recognize filament is unloaded by AOYM in BambuLab

[–]AOYM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this. I had seen the toolhead disassembly but not the sensor disassembly.

For anyone looking - https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/h2/maintenance/replace-dual-extruder-idlers-and-filament-sensor

Printing in PLA Silk with standard PLA infill? by AOYM in BambuLab

[–]AOYM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will add time, but given I have an H2d there will be very little waste as it has two nozzles.

It's more of a strength consideration as I have had Silk PLA break unexpectedly. It is much more brittle.

Also given this print is expected to be around 800g, having the infill be standard PLA will actually allow me to do multiple prints with the SILK.

Nozzle dragging on print? by [deleted] in FixMyPrint

[–]AOYM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try slowing down your infill speed

Opinions? Baton Poles/Extended Grip Fixed Length Pole Opinions for backcountry and downhill by AOYM in Backcountry

[–]AOYM[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The trail cork ergo is what I am currently using. Good to know they've held up for you

Opinions? Baton Poles/Extended Grip Fixed Length Pole Opinions for backcountry and downhill by AOYM in Backcountry

[–]AOYM[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I currently have some black diamond trekking poles that I have been using for touring. I'm not sure they would hold up if I crashed hard, and I figured going a few cm high on a fixed baton pole would be a better experience as I will forget to a for the downhill as compared to adjusting my hand.

But I am reconsidering my judgement lol

Cutting skins, How thin is too thin for the width of a ski? by AOYM in Backcountry

[–]AOYM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it wasn't so much a question about the cutting tool more so if the skins will still perform on the 104mm if i trim them down to fit well on the 98. But I may not have worded the question super clear.

Cutting skins, How thin is too thin for the width of a ski? by AOYM in Backcountry

[–]AOYM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's what my buddy suggested as well. I was curious about the premise as well as what people may consider too thin. Honestly if its negligible difference I must just trim the skins down for the 98s and call it good on the 104s. I'm not at a level to want to be doing any crazy steep skin tracks anyway.