metal field or fiber board
 

Heres a question thats relavent for MF coaches what do you like metal fields or fiber board??

Metal.

Metal.

Metal.

i've played on both, and like both.
hope that helps.mgngcrz

Fiber may be good for your diet, but not for miniature football.

I can't stand heavy metal, but it works best for playing.

Who says the world's not full of ironic twists???? :dohdh:

Metal
 

Metal

metal
 

I go for metal.

ltsplbll

Metal forever!
 

my choice is!!!!!!
 

the envelope please!!!!! and the choice for best playing surface in a game of electric football is "metal" excepting the award for metal is 46defense.metal likes to thank all those coaches who voted for him,and wants everybody to know that electric football on metal will never die!!!! thank you.ppls$ ppls$

Just curious guys...
 

...why metal over fiberboard? :confused: (I can't vote because I don't know why one would be better than the other)

From what I've seen, metal just plain vibrates better. Fiberboard just sort of shakes up and down, but to get any speed out of them you need to turn the vibration level up to the point where guys start falling over all the time. I think this is the biggest reason why so many guys are bulking up their figures to 4.0 and more, just to keep them from being knocked down.

Running plays on a fiber board is like playing football on a frozen lake...the players "slide" about 5 yards after the board is turned off! It is fun however to see players slide...it adds a new dimension to the game...when to shut the board off...but after a while it just gets plain irratating. Metal boards do not have this problem...

IN MY PLACE
 

FIBER BOARD!

DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY 2 YR OLD SON AND 4 YR OLD DAUGHTER WRECKING IT!

IT WORKS FOR ME IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE.

The "slide" you refer to is more likely to be caused by how the board is powered rather than the material it is made of.

Standard Motor = linear motor: AC power/110v common household wall plug in.These are the Tudor, Coleco type motors. These motors have no spinning shaft. Vibration is achieved by electro magnetism. No "touching parts" This allows instant start up/shut off like on our Tudor boards we are used to.

D/C Motor = Rotary motor: DC power/ 3-12 volts common to battery powered products. This motor has a rotor shaft, commutator, Brushes & magnets that touch and create friction. The vibration is obtained from an offset weight on the rotor shaft that causes it to be out of balance when spinning. Like when the load in your washing machine tub gets all of the clothes to one side. When the switch is turned on there is a lag time or hesitation until the D/C motor revs up to full speed or in this case full vibration. The same thing happens when the power is cut off the rotor shaft continues to free wheel and coast to a stop. Much like your washing machine drum spinning to a stop. This can cause the slide after the power is turned off.


I hope this makes sense. Of course the surface of the field plays a role in this but the effects are much less vs the type of motor being used.


Geno H

I have played on plenty of Hot Rodded metal boards out here and they have the "slide" you mention after the switch is cut off, it's nothing to do with the fiber board over metal though. I enjoy both, but I have fiberboard 308s and those babies cook! I never have complaints about my field from opponents.

One of the best fields I have ever played on PERIOD, belongs to Vince Peatros and it is metal with a field cover, you better be quick on the switch or else your QB is toast, he has that glide after the switch, just about every board has that to some extent. There are some physics that come into play with the glide as well.

Weight
 

I am currently "evaluating" a board for purchase from one of the coaches here in DSEFL land and it is fiber.

When you say you play on 308's and they "cook", what weight are your players?

Just curious, it appears I should experiment w/various weights and note performance differences , if any, as well.

Thx in advance,

Joe Ram

Field Type
 

If you are going to use fiberboard motor positioning is the key but not an easy thing to do,It takes patience and just the right motor or motors.No doubt it's tougher to eliminate dead spots on fiber but if you get it right your game will perform as good as metal.The BIG problem is warping you have to store your field in a dry place at all times.I am old school and still like metal better but I have several fiberboards that run very well,plus I can change fields in and out very quickly so it has some advantages.Our league uses a combination of both,it works well for us and it's fun to play on a different surface during the season.Metal will always be king but fiber has it's place.
Larue

I play with various weights, from stock 3.2 up to 4.0. I never have a problem with 3.2 figures on my 308. When tweaked for speed or strength they perform great.

I like metal too don't get me wrong, but have taken a liking to fiber the last two years or so. The 308 has all the power you need and then some with the speed controler Reg uses, plus it's light, the fields swap out, I go from Clemson Tigers, to San Diego Chargers to my newly beloved New York Jets in a matter of minutes. I have home fields to play in CBSMF with Clemson and also a Jets field for LAEFL play. One board multiple fields.

I will say that out here where I play there is only one other fiber field that I have seen, I go from fiber to metal and my figures are still consistent. I think the biggest difference is not metal vs fiber, but more so how they are actually powered (what motors they use) and the quality of their construction that affects the overall performance.

I have both and have used both. I like fiberboard myself.

this is a bump on this post for someone who just asked the same question.

Me personallyy- having tinkered a lot on custom boards, I like metal. I feel that when mounted properly it vibrates smoother and more quiet and is generally more consistent. Having said that, there are some good fiberboard fields and I'm a fan of having various playing surfaces- kind of like tennis with grass, clay, hardcourt, etc.

Fiber
 

I really think that it depends more on the motor type and the frame mounting method than the field material. Wave characteristics are similar across both materials as they are both rectangular membranes vibrating from a fixed frame. I concede that the frequency at which these two field materials will resonate WILL be different as they are materials of differing mass, however that has little impact on field performance in this context.

For an example of how the field mounting matters, think of a snare drum Whether the drum head is made of animal leather, polycarbonate plastic, etc. it vibrates in the same manner. What changes is the frequency at which the material will resonate based on the size of the drumhead and the specific properties of the material. Furthermore, the stiffer the material, the better it sounds (vibrates). The more flexible the material, or looser it is, the more difficult it is to make a sound (again vibration). To sum up, if you have a sloppy, loose drumhead, you will have a poor sounding drum.

As for the motor... think of soundwaves and volume. Electric football requires thousands of quick steady vibrations. This is the frequency of the vibration. This needs to be very fast. Electric football also requires that these quick steady vibrations are not too violent or too soft. This relates to volume also known as amplitude. The greater the amplitude or force of the vibration, the more violent the board will shake. This usually results in players falling over. If the motor is weighted correctly, the board will have consistent vibration across varying rpms. The goal is to find a motor with the right rpms and amplitude to properly power the board.

For me the field could be made of polycarbonate, metal, lexan, abs, ricepaper, etc. I believe that the mount and the motor make the difference.

Very interesting
 

It seems that most prefer the metal vs. fiber. My question is those that definitely prefer metal, have you played on a fiber board more than a few times? A good one, and wouldn't same of the same issues that plague a fiber board over time effect a metal board. ie. warping, over-use, just plain age of the board, etc..

BUMP
 

MOVIN UP FOR ANY NEW GUYS WHO HAVE QUESTIONS