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Mirror arm vibration


MIKEGOUGH1

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Recently installed my new Samson mirror arm with a Cipa Extreme mirror on my tower. I had to attach it to the base tube of my swoop tower because my tower sits pretty far back, but it works okay there. I took my boat out yesterday for the first time this year and I noticed that in a light chop the mirror vibrates pretty bad. You can thump it with your finger and it shakes. I have everything tightened down, it is the length of the arm that is vibrating. Anyone else experincing this? I am considering options as to tighten it up. While I was out, I had a tennis ball that I stuck in between the arm and the windshield, which kept if from vibrating. Of course I am not going to keep a tennis ball up there, but I am considering some type of black bushing or rubber stock, something that won't look too bad. Here is a picture of my set up.

Edited by MIKEGOUGH1
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I do have some vibration in my tower, but not very much. As I said, you can reach up and bump the mirror and you can see the arm vibrate. It is very solid on the tower.

Edited by MIKEGOUGH1
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By the way, I tried using electrical tape on the tower to prevent scratches, it does not seem to want to hold well with the tape, I am going to remove the tape and try metal to metal.

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Bad news for all of us that just ordered them. I hope there is an easy fix.

Cry.gif:(

here we go again... hope there is a quick fix since 30 of us got it

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By the way, I tried using electrical tape on the tower to prevent scratches, it does not seem to want to hold well with the tape, I am going to remove the tape and try metal to metal.

I'm guessing that this is your problem. I actually spoke with Scott about this very issue & he said that a lot of people will add tape or rubber under the clamp to keep it from vibrating & it actually does exactly the opposite - makes it worse. He says that he wants the tightest connection with the tower possible, & you're not going to get that if you put anything between the clamp & the tower. FWIW, I had the MK Wave (Rod R's) mirror arm on my last boat that had a Swoop & tried a similar tactic with Scotchcal under the clamp. I had all kinds of problems getting it to stay put & vibration, so I took it out & it was solid after that. So take the tape out & see what you get, I'll bet that it will be a lot better.

For those of you that bought on the group buy & are now worried, don't be. Even if it turns out that you don't like it, we'll refund your money so it's all good.

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By the way, I tried using electrical tape on the tower to prevent scratches, it does not seem to want to hold well with the tape, I am going to remove the tape and try metal to metal.

I'm guessing that this is your problem. I actually spoke with Scott about this very issue & he said that a lot of people will add tape or rubber under the clamp to keep it from vibrating & it actually does exactly the opposite - makes it worse. He says that he wants the tightest connection with the tower possible, & you're not going to get that if you put anything between the clamp & the tower. FWIW, I had the MK Wave (Rod R's) mirror arm on my last boat that had a Swoop & tried a similar tactic with Scotchcal under the clamp. I had all kinds of problems getting it to stay put & vibration, so I took it out & it was solid after that. So take the tape out & see what you get, I'll bet that it will be a lot better.

For those of you that bought on the group buy & are now worried, don't be. Even if it turns out that you don't like it, we'll refund your money so it's all good.

ok, ill take that off the worry list

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Mike,

I just remembered one other thing that Scott mentioned. If you take the arm off of the tower & look inside the clamp, there will be 2 bolts that go into the arm. Make sure that those are nice & tight. That was another thing that Scott said would lead to vibration & most of his customers didn't know that they are there. Just a thought.

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I am going to take the tape off tonight and try it. I have all the bolts as tight as I can get them, even the ones inside the clamp. I got in touch with Scott to see if he had any more suggestions, basically told me what Tracie is saying. I am going to make it work, I love the arm, and so far it is the only one I have been able to make work given the setup with my tower. For all that just participated in the group buy, don't worry, there has got to be a logical explanation for this, and Samson appears to be the type of company that fully stands behind their products.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I am going to take the tape off tonight and try it. I have all the bolts as tight as I can get them, even the ones inside the clamp. I got in touch with Scott to see if he had any more suggestions, basically told me what Tracie is saying. I am going to make it work, I love the arm, and so far it is the only one I have been able to make work given the setup with my tower. For all that just participated in the group buy, don't worry, there has got to be a logical explanation for this, and Samson appears to be the type of company that fully stands behind their products.

Mike, after taking the tape off, did it work

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No, I still have some vibration. Now keep in mind that I have a custom ProFlight tower on a boat that really was not designed for a tower. I stiffened up the sides where my tower mounts with fiberglass but I still have some flex, which in turn may lead to some vibration in the tower. I'm still working on the problem, I love the mirror and want to make it work.

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No, I still have some vibration. Now keep in mind that I have a custom ProFlight tower on a boat that really was not designed for a tower. I stiffened up the sides where my tower mounts with fiberglass but I still have some flex, which in turn may lead to some vibration in the tower. I'm still working on the problem, I love the mirror and want to make it work.

Thank you Mike, you have answwered all my questions

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Tightened up tower over the weekend, mirror arm still wobbles or vibrates. I do not think it is an issue with the tower. It is very tight on the tower. You can bump it and it will vibrate. I don't see how it could not, being as long as it is, and as narrow. Am I the only one having this problem? From looking at the picture Tracie posted of their Illusion tower, the vibration would have to be side to side given how it is mounted. Mine is front to rear vibration, up and down it does not move at all.

Edited by MIKEGOUGH1
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got a pic of the install Mike?

edit - just checked out your gallery, looks good. My guess is that you're right about the length being part / all of the issue.

Edited by edwin
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Let me ask you this, how does the clamp fit on the tower? The reason I ask is that when I did a test fit on CarveItUp's Titan, the clamp was just slightly undersized - technically it is for a 2.25" tower, but when you put it on & tighten it down, both sides of the clamp don't touch (or maybe they just barely do). If the clamp is just slightly too big in that it will touch before getting it as tight as it needs to be, then that could be your problem. When I did the test fit on the Titan, I was actually surprised at how little movement there really was in the arm - I could grab it & really reef on it & it would move the tower & boat before the arm moved. The arm on my Illusion is similar, no wobble when underway. So I'd check that clamp to see if that's the problem.

Both Scott & Gary at Samson have asked me about your dilemma & want to make it right for you, so if you continue to have problems with getting this ironed out, I'd definitely get in touch with them.

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