 I will start by stating that I have never seen a Zane Thang. He asks his customers to not post pictures of his product. Presumeably because it is fairly simple to fabricate. However, from following the posts, I believe I understand how he solves the problem. I believe he fixes a cam to the lift arm using the two bolts holding the dust cover. This is attached to a rod that points forward and goes through a receiver attached to the control lever. Once the desired position is obtained, a thumb screw is used to lock the rod so it no longer slides. Now the control lever and the lift are linked and position control is achieved. The system provided in the N-newsletter uses a system that has a fixed rod length and a friction fit for the cam. Thus, the angle of the cam varies to provide the desired position. As with all systems each has its pors and cons. My preferance is the latter as it is a hands off setting system. i.e. move le control lever and hold it until the lift gets to the desired position, then let go. You do not have to reach under the seat to lock the rod in place. Another pro is that you can chang the position at will. You do not have to unlock the rod to reposition. This could be a major plus if you have to lift a blade to avoid a stump or other object. The con to this system is the friction disk. It could be touchy to set. You have to set the friction (tighten the nut compressing the spring) so that it will not slip to a new position when the lift moves or because of vibration. Yet, not so much friction the the control lever is hard to move to set it. Zane's Thang's biggest con to me is the perceived difficulty to lock the rod inplace while on the move and operating, and the loss of an emergancy override. Again, I have never seen a "Thang" and I am only guessing as to how it works. As for my recommendation. If you are at all handy, you can easily build the N-Newsletter system. If you don't want to take the time or the trouble Zane's controller is $75 or $80. and apparently is easy to put on. If you provide you e-mail I can send you pictures and a measured drawing of the position controler pictured.
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