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.