Hi All

I am building an 8' 6" spinning rod and will be using the microwave guide system but i can"t find the guide spacing for this size rod. Would the best thing be, to go with the 7' 6" spec and add an extra running guide ?? Any help on this would be a great help.

thanks Frank

Frank,
The spacing for a 6 foot rod is really no different than that of a 15 foot rod.

Put guides where the blank bends, and don't put guides where the blank doesn't bend.
Basically, if you load the rod, you need to have just enough guides on the rod to have the line follow the contour of the loaded blank. Not too many, and not too few -


Do an initial test with the first guide at about 20 inches from the reel seat and go from there. If tests reveal the need to make a change, then just remove the tape and move the guide up and down the blank as needed for a smooth line flow.
Depending on whether you have a very soft tip or not, you may have running guides near the tip spaced at 3 inches or 6 inches. i.e. a very soft tip requires a closely spaced running guide, but a harder tip allows for a more distant spacing.

Be safe
Roger

I believe the real issue, other than spacing for balancing the stresses evenly, is where to put the guides relative to the reel. And that will not change with the length of the blank-it's all about getting the guide properly located relative to the reel. I haven't studied what info is out on the Microwave system with respect to reel spool sizes, but I suggest considering the system similar to a 27x where a straight line going from the shaft of the spool, on a direction which is an extension of the shaft, would be tangent or close to tangent to the two reduction guide rings and the first running guide ring would work. Start there and experiment with minor moves. From the first reduction guide to the tip, it's just a matter of traditional stress balancing.

I have a 9 foot spinning rod that has never really met my expectations and I plan to try the above strategy with Microwaves hoping to optimize it.

Frank: you need to put the actual microwave guide, the one that is a ring within a ring about 19 to 20 inches in front of the face of the reel you plan to use.
Extend the reel so its stroke is at the furthest forward.Mark that point on your blank and measure from there.
Then get your choke guide that will be your running guide, and place it at 20 inches in front of that.
Now if you are using the 'pre pack' microwaves place your tall extra guide at 11 inches in front of the face of the big microwave.

If you are using the big size 30 from Swampland, get the tall guide placed such that the small ring of the big microwave, the tall guide and the first running guide are all in a perfect line. This is true for both size microwaves and probably the most critical thing i have found for best performance.
I sometimes use a fly rod top section to just get them generally in line.
It will look awkward and too far from the big guide but it works best .
I always double wrap this tall guide, not sure why but if i get a guide bumped or going loose its this one.
Static test the rest of the guides I would add 3 maybe 4 more depends on blank.
Or you could add 3 more guides for that extra foot, one every 4 inches from the tip and use the 7.5 layout and it would work ok too.
Hope that made sense.

Thanks for all info given. It looks like the main thing that I need to do is have the stripping guide at 19" from the lip of the extented spool and the transition guide at 30". I think i will start with this and go with 7' 6" spec add a running guide to it and do a stadic test starting at this point and then move the running guides as needed.

thanks again for the info given Frank