Trajectory B/C

[Phenylethylamine]

We've been using racquetballs, and they seem to be pretty much consistent from one ball to another. We did have some issues with them softening over time, though, but since we haven't seen any difference between individual racquetballs, now we just rotate through several to minimize wear.

[colombiano]

We've noticed the same thing with our tennis balls. We labeled them to avoid confusion. There's not much you can really do about it, unless you know someone in the tennis ball-making industry.

yeah we had to label them as well
and yeah i don't know any one in the tennis ball making industry so...
we'll just have to use the same ball all the time

[haven chuck]

I don't know the reason why similar balls from the same pack preform differently, but I have observed the same phenomenon.

Does anyone have a good explanation?

If you are using any sort of lubrication on the area where the ball is then the ball you use a lot might have some residue on it that causes it to move a little freer

You could also in the tennis ball case have more or less fuzz on the ball.

I guess the ball making process isn't perfect :/ if all else fails

Also, you should be careful about lubricating the ball too much, since the rules call for an "unmodified.......". While this probably wouldnt be a problem, there might be an event supervisor who will get all butterfly over a slightly different ball.

[starpug]

I don't know the reason why similar balls from the same pack preform differently, but I have observed the same phenomenon.

Does anyone have a good explanation?

If you are using any sort of lubrication on the area where the ball is then the ball you use a lot might have some residue on it that causes it to move a little freer

You could also in the tennis ball case have more or less fuzz on the ball.

I guess the ball making process isn't perfect :/ if all else fails

Also, you should be careful about lubricating the ball too much, since the rules call for an "unmodified.......". While this probably wouldnt be a problem, there might be an event supervisor who will get all butterfly over a slightly different ball.

Well you don't lubricate the ball, you lubricate the pvc pipe the ball passes through

[wlsguy]

my catapult has so much force behind it that when using a pin it pulls the whole catapult with it
any ideas for another release mechanism?


Regionals:

4th trajectory
1st dynamic planet
4th Egg-o-naut

You may want to check out our device. It uses a mousetrap to pull the pin and this eliminates the movement from the launch. Check the image gallery

[trentendo]

I was wondering if we were allowed to impound duct tape with our trajectory just in case something broke. I looked through the rules but they didn't say anything about what you could and couldn't impound. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[starpug]

I was wondering if we were allowed to impound duct tape with our trajectory just in case something broke. I looked through the rules but they didn't say anything about what you could and couldn't impound. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can impound almost anything you want for fixing the device. I always have duct tape, spare tubing, a screwdriver or two, and maybe a spare screw or two around just incase.

[zyzzyva980]

If the rules don't say you can't impound it, go ahead. Our team brought practically everything we needed to build the machine all over again (in cases of extreme emergency!) So, yes, duct tape is allowed. Bring anything you think you might need at competition. Be Prepared.

[trentendo]

thankyouthankyousosososososososomuch!

[colombiano]

ohh yeah we have a whole bin of extra things and back up materials
i guess you can never be too prepared