Spektra Halo feedback thread

[mystweave]

Greeting from oz! I landed in this forum in search of a rotary that would allow me to hang up my coils, after reading many reviews I decided on a Spektra Halo.... I was cautious of the hype and almost seemed to good to be true but all I can say is WOW!
This machine is very nice, it has subtleties I can't describe, I felt at home with it almost instantly, I'm using T-Tech cartridges with the Halo's front spring removed and pushes them no worries, the give screw is so responsive a slight turn and you feeeeeeel the change.

I've tried some other great rotary machines of late that I also really liked, we are very spoiled for choice! But the halo is just so slick in every way and it's sexiness is hard to resist.

I now own two Halo machines and have the 3.2, 3.6 and 4mm stroke wheels, it's still early days for me with this machine but I have already put all my coils up for sale.

I was always worried about lining with a rotary but the Halo felt very natural for me to line with, in fact I already feel more comfortable lining with this then my coils, a used a 14RL last 2 days with 4mm & 3.6mm what a breeze .

I would like to balance this out with the negatives but I really haven't found any yet, maybe time will tell but for now I'm having to much fun with this thing.

First week I had trouble with power surging which I thought was the machines,(turned out to be a faulty critical cx2, who would of thought?) I emailed FK Irons and they where very helpful and non defensive, they just want to help its a real pleasure dealing with them, their customer service is next level!
I don't even know myself now, my set up times where a joke, now no need to set up 3 or 4 machines, rummage through the bottomless pit that is my tubes draw etc etc . Now I have 2 machines with T-Tech .it's what I've been searching for all these years now I can stop tinkering with machines and just get on with tattooing! thanks to every one on here for giving reviews and feedback so we can make a better informed choice on what to buy and help take some of the guess work out! And thanks FK Irons for all your help and an Awesome machine!

[PAWNJOB]

I've tried T-Techs w/ a couple different rotaries and found that they worked well, except that the pre-loaded cartridges put a noticeable amount of extra strain on the motors which I didn't like. The cartridges also take too much off the hit in my opinion, especially when lining. You usually run at higher volts than you do w/o them too. As a result of increased load and higher volts I've noticed my machines heating up a bit so I stopped using them for the most part. I still use my Storm w/ them cause I don't mind much if it takes a shit, already sent one back for a painless exchange. Then I read this:

I'm using T-Tech cartridges with the Halo's front spring removed and pushes them no worries, the give screw is so responsive a slight turn and you feeeeeeel the change.

Brilliant Myst!

Gaston, is this a viable option? While removing the Halo's front spring would probably compensate for the pre-loaded cartridges, would this set up degrade the Halo's give system in any way or can the Halo still perform properly w/o it? I gotta say that if this system works well it would be ideal. Unless you can already say that this is not a good option Gaston, could you please give this a try when you get a chance. I think the builder's opinion would give us a better perspective.

Thanks for that post Myst.

[asA]

I've tried T-Techs w/ a couple different rotaries and found that they worked well, except that the pre-loaded cartridges put a noticeable amount of extra strain on the motors which I didn't like. The cartridges also take too much off the hit in my opinion, especially when lining. You usually run at higher volts than you do w/o them. As a result of increased load and higher volts I've noticed my machines heating up a bit so I stopped using them for the most part. I still use my Storm w/ them cause I don't mind much if it takes a shit, already sent one back for a painless exchange. Then I read this:



Brilliant Myst!

Gaston, is this a viable option? While removing the Halo's front spring would probably compensate for the pre-loaded cartridges, would this set up degrade the Halo's give system in any way or can the Halo still perform properly w/o it? I gotta say that if this system works well it would be ideal. Unless you can already say that this is not a good option Gaston, could you please give this a try when you get a chance. I think the builder's opinion would give us a better perspective.

Thanks for that post Myst.

gaston has already made a post somewhere telling people to remove it if they wanna use ttech setup. You can prolly find the post with a little searching.

[fkirons]

I've tried T-Techs w/ a couple different rotaries and found that they worked well, except that the pre-loaded cartridges put a noticeable amount of extra strain on the motors which I didn't like. The cartridges also take too much off the hit in my opinion, especially when lining. You usually run at higher volts than you do w/o them too. As a result of increased load and higher volts I've noticed my machines heating up a bit so I stopped using them for the most part. I still use my Storm w/ them cause I don't mind much if it takes a shit, already sent one back for a painless exchange. Then I read this:



Brilliant Myst!

Gaston, is this a viable option? While removing the Halo's front spring would probably compensate for the pre-loaded cartridges, would this set up degrade the Halo's give system in any way or can the Halo still perform properly w/o it? I gotta say that if this system works well it would be ideal. Unless you can already say that this is not a good option Gaston, could you please give this a try when you get a chance. I think the builder's opinion would give us a better perspective.

Thanks for that post Myst.

How to run Cartdriges systems on your Spektra Halo.


The "Slider" has a pre defined load that is achieved by the "Positioning" spring. This spring retracts the slider so the needle can hide inside your tube when the motor is off.


The normal startup voltage of a spectra is around 5-7 volts depending on several parameters.


The Hawk and T tech Cartridges have a built in "in cartridge spring or elastic" that retracts the needle.
You can understand this principal by "pushing in" the pin that drives the needle in the cartridge system.


The spring in the cartridge system is doing exactly what the "Positioning Spring" in the slider is doing: Retracts the needle when motor stops.


I've noticed that the spring tension of the spring or elastic found in most cartridges is greater than the tension of the Spektras Positioning spring. Probably twice as the tensile strength of the Spektra's "Positioning Spring"


Therefore, by removing the "Positioning Spring" off your Spektra you will allow "just" the spring in the cartridge system do the job of retracting slider and needle.


What Happen if you don't remove the "Positioning Spring" off your Spektra?


If you don't remove that spring the motor will have to fight double or triple the load (achieve by the multiple combination of springs)


Conclusion:
As soon as you remove that front spring off, the Spektra Halo is ready to perform flawless with T-tech or hawk.
The machine will run naturally starting at the normal 6v average voltage and you should see a smooth response by smaller increment of voltage.


Should you have any questions let me know. I may start a new thread with this info, since A LOT of people flooded my inbox since we release the Spektra.
I will also update this on our site

[o60minmano]

I love my Halo, and i wanted try using the ttech system with variable results. I removed the spring and the machine becomes very loud and mechanical sounding. The sliding mechanism seems to be extremly loose to the point that i am worried to even run it without the spring. So i just run it with the spring and its adequate....dont want to have to buy a new motor prematurely though. I also had the pin that the needle is seated on fall out, i replaced it but kinda on the skeptical side about using the ttechs with halo now

How to run Cartdriges systems on your Spektra Halo.


The "Slider" has a pre defined load that is achieved by the "Positioning" spring. This spring retracts the slider so the needle can hide inside your tube when the motor is off.


The normal startup voltage of a spectra is around 5-7 volts depending on several parameters.


The Hawk and T tech Cartridges have a built in "in cartridge spring or elastic" that retracts the needle.
You can understand this principal by "pushing in" the pin that drives the needle in the cartridge system.


The spring in the cartridge system is doing exactly what the "Positioning Spring" in the slider is doing: Retracts the needle when motor stops.


I've noticed that the spring tension of the spring or elastic found in most cartridges is greater than the tension of the Spektras Positioning spring. Probably twice as the tensile strength of the Spektra's "Positioning Spring"


Therefore, by removing the "Positioning Spring" off your Spektra you will allow "just" the spring in the cartridge system do the job of retracting slider and needle.


What Happen if you don't remove the "Positioning Spring" off your Spektra?


If you don't remove that spring the motor will have to fight double or triple the load (achieve by the multiple combination of springs)


Conclusion:
As soon as you remove that front spring off, the Spektra Halo is ready to perform flawless with T-tech or hawk.
The machine will run naturally starting at the normal 6v average voltage and you should see a smooth response by smaller increment of voltage.


Should you have any questions let me know. I may start a new thread with this info, since A LOT of people flooded my inbox since we release the Spektra.
I will also update this on our site

[fkirons_kayleigh]

If you'd like you can email pictures/ video of exactly what's going on to [email protected]. The machines will run fine with t-tech's with the positioning/ stay up spring removed so I'm sure it's just something simple, but I'm more than happy to help you out!

I love my Halo, and i wanted try using the ttech system with variable results. I removed the spring and the machine becomes very loud and mechanical sounding. The sliding mechanism seems to be extremly loose to the point that i am worried to even run it without the spring. So i just run it with the spring and its adequate....dont want to have to buy a new motor prematurely though. I also had the pin that the needle is seated on fall out, i replaced it but kinda on the skeptical side about using the ttechs with halo now