Two blanks can have identical action angles and virtually every other characteristic of the two blanks can be different including what is being called the action. Some of the characteristics could be dramatically different because they could be made out of entirely different materials so why wouldn't they have different characteristics including what is being called action. I think that two blanks with equal action angles that are constructed of the same material could also have different actions. However, I do not believe that the differences between any two blanks with equal action angles that are constructed of the same material can have a difference in the action that is significant. I do not believe that the differences in the two blanks that were shown earlier was large enough that a fisherman using two rods made from these blanks could tell the difference.
I think that it might be clearer if we used a different term like stiffness profile rather than action which tends to be a very confusing term for many.

I will order all those blanks and take a look here. I'll try to get some photos up as well. Just give me a week or so to get everything together. Thanks.

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Emory,

You're certainly correct - the AA component of the CCS is designed to tell you if the action of one blank is faster or slower than another - that's all. It wasn't designed to provide any sort of dynamic profile taken by a blank as it's being progressively loaded. Several suggestions have been made here to help folks do that sort of thing if they wish.

What I'm looking to see is if a blank which is definitely faster in action can possess a lower AA figure than one that is definitely slower in action, or vice versa. I think I already see the problem, but it's not with the CCS or the AA component. But I'm going to get the blanks and take a look before I say anything else.

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Emory Harry Wrote:
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> I think that it might be clearer if we used a different term like stiffness profile rather than action which tends to be a very confusing term for many.
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I agree. However, a stiffness profile cannot be constructed from a single point (e.g. action angle). That is why the BIG Picture was developed. If the BIG Pictures are different, then the two rods have to differ in some properties.

Now, if you can show me two rods with identical BIG Pictures that perform differently, I will be extremely interested.

Tom,
I think that there may very well be a difference but I think that the difference is going to be small enough that it will be difficult to measure.
This actually might be another application for a resonant frequency measurement. Resonant frequency measurements using an electronic counter can give you extremely high resolution and accuracy.

Okay, it took me a few weeks to get the blanks in.

Following up on this thread concerning the Action Angle component of the Common Cents System, I obtained the same 3 blanks which had been discussed in that thread. These were the Castaway 964 & 965, and the Batson Enterprises RX7 CB80MH.

Five individual custom builders, including Steve Gardner from this forum, examined the blanks by hand here in my offices and offered a subjective opinion of which blank possessed the fastest action and which possessed the slowest action. Remembering that action is defined as where the blank initially flexes and the closer that flex takes place towards the tip the faster the action is, all 5 builders commented that the 3 blanks were extremely close in action but the Castaway 964 was the fastest, followed by the 965 and finally by the CB80MH.

Being subjective, opinions are not always to be relied upon, but I did have 5 builders, each working independently (no one persuaded nor influenced anyone else) all express the exact same opinion - the three blanks are all very close in action but the Castaway 964 was the fastest and the Batson CB80MH was the slowest.

Using the Action Angle component of the CCS, the AA figures for the 3 blanks were as follows:

Castaway 965 - 72AA
Castaway 964 - 74AA
Batson CB80MH - 70AA

Within the CCS the higher AA figures indicate faster actions than slower AA figures. Therefore the AA component records the Castaway 964 as being faster than the other 2, and the Batson CB80MH as the slowest of the 3. Therefore the subjective opinion of all 5 builders coincided with the AA figures and vice versa. Using the AA as it was intended to be used, the blank with the highest AA did indeed possess the fastest action under the historical definition of that term.

I have still not seen any instance where a blank with a higher AA figure has a slower action than one with a lower AA figure. It certainly did not happen in this case. If you have such a situation with any pair or set of rod blanks, by all means bring them to the Expo where Dr. Hanneman will be set up with a complete CCS board and where interested parties can view the blanks subjectively and then run the numbers on them.

Granted, the AA component may not do what some want it to do, but it does what it was designed to do.

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