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How is the top curved portion (that "cable to mine" connects to) affixed to the gear and thus the other half of the cable? I can't tell from the picture. If it is simply connected to the gear axle, won't that block the sweep wire from passing through?

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The teeth of the wheel are holding on to it, and it looks like there are always two teeth inside the top.

Oh I see what you mean. The teeth slide through the curved channel, and are notched such that the channel is held in place. That is a clever design.

It's clever as long as you operate in a zero-friction environment :)

That's what I thought also. Wouldn't the amount of force pulling on the cable lead to some jamming as soon as the little spokes stopped spinning so freely?

I'm wondering if the effects of friction could be mitigated by having ball bearings within the channel that the teeth pass through.

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