- January 29th, 2013, 11:29 pm#432625Well, back in September, I decided I really wanted an accurate, aluminum ion arm. Thinking that I could find a vendor with pre-made arms in stock and ready to ship in time for the holiday season, I set out on a quest... That wuest ended abruptly as I soon realized No vendors which I was familiar with sold ion arms at the time. That's when I found Ahncon.
I paid for my ion arm/end cap on October 6th 2012. That weekend, the pieces were supposedly cut. It appeared as though I could get this thing mounted in time for Halloween no sweat!
Nearly four months later, on January 28th, 2013, I FINALLY recieved this beloved part in the mail. just in time for Halloween. :/
Obviously the shipping time wasn't ideal, but whenever I asked in a pm or email about the status of my ion arm, I indeed got a response... so there's that... Uh...
The body of the ion arm itself is quite pretty, and without all but two flaws; there is A) Not a big enough hole in the back to fit the gold nut which the PH-25 (if I recall correctly) resistor secures onto. This means that you've got to get crafty if you want it secured well. B) The hole for the Legris elbow at the bottom of the arm is pre-drilled. APPEARANTLY my fitting is smaller than most, so I had to resort to adhesive. This is only a problem because of how expensive it can be to replace a genuine 1 generation elbow (albeit 1/8 in.)
Other than that, the arm itself is very crisp, professional, accurate, and the welding on it looks fantastic!
The cap is of the same caliber. Although one of the corners is slightly tapered, the over-all feel and quality by far outweigh the cons. the knurling on the ion rod is perfect, and my Clippard fitting fits like a glove. It looks perfect once painted and weathered appropriatley.
All in all, though the wait time can seem daunting (I honestly wasn't sure if it would ever be completed), the final product is pretty spectacular. If you have a wad of money burning a serious hole in your pocket, and you have A LOT of time to kill before you need a part, give Ahncon a try. I'm not dissapointed.