On Dec 4, 11:48*pm, Lostgallifreyan wrote:
Richard Clark wrote :

On Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:40:09 -0500, John Ferrell
wrote:

What I am getting to is that you will need a plan for what to do when
you pitch the weight in the tree and it don't come down!

Hi John,

Barring snags, time and gravity always wins. *

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

No, no, the snags are going to win. Friction can be a vicious mistress..
Which might mean that very cold wet conditions favour the business, as it
happens...

One thought... how acccurate is this launcher? Any chance it can be aimed to
hit the branch above target and bounce to assist further directed travel?
(Sadly I wouldn't trust my stick and elastic trick with that move).

Having tried this several different ways, my advice: Just shoot over
the tree. Trying to shoot between a set of branches in the tree may
sometimes make sense but I've never encountered a situation where it
was best.

Now, the gotcha is, if you shoot over the tree, you might also clear
the 3 or 5 trees behind that! What I do is use a fishing reel and
reach out and gently grab the fishing line after the ball clears the
first tree. This kills the forward momentum of the ball. Then: LET GO
and let the ball and line drop.

Cutting a slit in the tennis ball and loading it up with washers or
pennies can give it a little extra weight.

Yes, I've stranded a few tennis balls in trees over the years.

Tim N3QE.

"John Ferrell" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:53 -0800, Bill Baka
wrote:



I think I have a good one for this thread. Get about 500 feet of 24 to
28 AWG magnet wire and wind it onto a fishing pole that has the easy
cast and not an ocean reel. Put on a fair sized weight and then cast
over the first tree in sight. Have someone walk around and find the
weight on the ground and throw it over the next tree. Do this until the
wire is used up or there are no more usable trees. I am going to try it
on my next outing.

Bill Baka SWL only.

After today's experience I think I can see a problem coming for you.
I was ready to move to the second tree today. After a couple of false
starts (valve leaking around pipe threads & add the second battery per
advice) I popped the line over the intended tree plus two more. The
line ran out smoothly but stopped with a jerk. I ran out of line on
the reel! The projectile was hanging about 30 feet from the ground.
After much fussing around I managed to reel in enough line get to the
top of the intended tree. It seems to be best to reel the line in very
slowly because the projectile tends to flip around the limbs and wrap
itself tightly. That is what happened to today's effort. The
projectile is tightly jammed at about 65 feet up the tree with a good
portion of the available line out of reach. I took the XYL to dinner
and stopped by WalMart for more line for tomorrow...

What I am getting to is that you will need a plan for what to do when
you pitch the weight in the tree and it don't come down!

100% chance of precipitation tomorrow afternoon (may be even snow) in
the North Carolina Piedmont. Great antenna weather!

John Ferrell W8CCW

You probably should have just cut the line off the reel and let the weight
drop. When I miss, I cut the weight off and reel it back in, then reattach
the weight. As mentioned, the weight will tend to wrap around places where
it is not wanted.

Looks like a radio day for me to John as I am just down the road near
Salisbury.


DE KU4PT

On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 23:23:39 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"


You probably should have just cut the line off the reel and let the weight
drop. When I miss, I cut the weight off and reel it back in, then reattach
the weight. As mentioned, the weight will tend to wrap around places where
it is not wanted.

Looks like a radio day for me to John as I am just down the road near
Salisbury.


DE KU4PT


Good advice!
John Ferrell W8CCW

John Ferrell wrote:
On Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:53 -0800, Bill Baka
wrote:


I think I have a good one for this thread. Get about 500 feet of 24 to
28 AWG magnet wire and wind it onto a fishing pole that has the easy
cast and not an ocean reel. Put on a fair sized weight and then cast
over the first tree in sight. Have someone walk around and find the
weight on the ground and throw it over the next tree. Do this until the
wire is used up or there are no more usable trees. I am going to try it
on my next outing.

Bill Baka SWL only.

After today's experience I think I can see a problem coming for you.
I was ready to move to the second tree today. After a couple of false
starts (valve leaking around pipe threads & add the second battery per
advice) I popped the line over the intended tree plus two more. The
line ran out smoothly but stopped with a jerk. I ran out of line on
the reel! The projectile was hanging about 30 feet from the ground.
After much fussing around I managed to reel in enough line get to the
top of the intended tree. It seems to be best to reel the line in very
slowly because the projectile tends to flip around the limbs and wrap
itself tightly. That is what happened to today's effort. The
projectile is tightly jammed at about 65 feet up the tree with a good
portion of the available line out of reach. I took the XYL to dinner
and stopped by WalMart for more line for tomorrow...

What I am getting to is that you will need a plan for what to do when
you pitch the weight in the tree and it don't come down!

100% chance of precipitation tomorrow afternoon (may be even snow) in
the North Carolina Piedmont. Great antenna weather!

John Ferrell W8CCW

I have a big reel of magnet wire about 22 or 24 AWG, meaning probably
miles of it, so I can lose some. A lead weight is disposable so I won't
cry over it. I may leave some of these antennas at favorite spots for
future use. A fishing rod just casts really far for me so it is my
weapon of choice.
Bill Baka

On Nov 27, 12:27*pm, John Ferrell wrote:
There is an artical by W4SSY in the March 2009 QST Magazine. I am
planning to duplicate it for use at my QTH. I am interested in any
comments, especially from anyone who may have already built one.

My available trees may be about 80 feet so that is my minimum
expectations!

There is a lot of Google information available but I am trying to
focus on this example.

John Ferrell W8CCW

I wonder if my spud gun could be used for this. No compressor
required.

Jimmie

JIMMIE wrote in news:34111b9c-cd5b-4e61-bde6-
:

On Nov 27, 12:27*pm, John Ferrell wrote:
There is an artical by W4SSY in the March 2009 QST Magazine. I am
planning to duplicate it for use at my QTH. I am interested in any
comments, especially from anyone who may have already built one.

My available trees may be about 80 feet so that is my minimum
expectations!

There is a lot of Google information available but I am trying to
focus on this example.

John Ferrell W8CCW

I wonder if my spud gun could be used for this. No compressor
required.

Jimmie


Only if it can fire the whole spud, I imagine.

On Dec 6, 9:42*am, JIMMIE wrote:
On Nov 27, 12:27*pm, John Ferrell wrote:

There is an artical by W4SSY in the March 2009 QST Magazine. I am
planning to duplicate it for use at my QTH. I am interested in any
comments, especially from anyone who may have already built one.

My available trees may be about 80 feet so that is my minimum
expectations!

There is a lot of Google information available but I am trying to
focus on this example.

John Ferrell W8CCW

I wonder if my spud gun could be used for this. No compressor
required.

Jimmie

Yes. My one afternoon with a spud gun was conclusive. That sucker
will throw a potato hundreds of feet. My host that day insisted that
nobody raise the barrel above about 30 degrees because the spuds would
go over the woods and onto his neighbor's property, which we could not
even see! Propellant is a one-second spritz of hair spray. Not sure
what kind of line to insert through the potato, though. Kite-cord?
Monofilament?

On Dec 11, 11:28*pm, "Sal M. Onella" wrote:
On Dec 6, 9:42*am, JIMMIE wrote:





On Nov 27, 12:27*pm, John Ferrell wrote:

There is an artical by W4SSY in the March 2009 QST Magazine. I am
planning to duplicate it for use at my QTH. I am interested in any
comments, especially from anyone who may have already built one.

My available trees may be about 80 feet so that is my minimum
expectations!

There is a lot of Google information available but I am trying to
focus on this example.

John Ferrell W8CCW

I wonder if my spud gun could be used for this. No compressor
required.

Jimmie

Yes. *My one afternoon with a spud gun was conclusive. *That sucker
will throw a potato hundreds of feet. *My host that day insisted that
nobody raise the barrel above about 30 degrees because the spuds would
go over the woods and onto his neighbor's property, which we could not
even see! *Propellant is a one-second spritz of hair spray. *Not sure
what kind of line to insert through the potato, though. *Kite-cord?
Monofilament?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just clamp the old Zebco on the side.

Jimmie

On Dec 11, 11:41*pm, JIMMIE wrote:
On Dec 11, 11:28*pm, "Sal M. Onella" wrote:





On Dec 6, 9:42*am, JIMMIE wrote:

On Nov 27, 12:27*pm, John Ferrell wrote:

There is an artical by W4SSY in the March 2009 QST Magazine. I am
planning to duplicate it for use at my QTH. I am interested in any
comments, especially from anyone who may have already built one.

My available trees may be about 80 feet so that is my minimum
expectations!

There is a lot of Google information available but I am trying to
focus on this example.

John Ferrell W8CCW

I wonder if my spud gun could be used for this. No compressor
required.

Jimmie

Yes. *My one afternoon with a spud gun was conclusive. *That sucker
will throw a potato hundreds of feet. *My host that day insisted that
nobody raise the barrel above about 30 degrees because the spuds would
go over the woods and onto his neighbor's property, which we could not
even see! *Propellant is a one-second spritz of hair spray. *Not sure
what kind of line to insert through the potato, though. *Kite-cord?
Monofilament?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just clamp the old Zebco on the side.

Jimmie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Handle and battery pack from a cordless drill, spark coil off a
lawnmower engine. Potato bazooka for your bazooka antenna.

Jimmie