Hi Bob,
They are .58 caliber round ball muzzleloading bullets. These happen to be
Speer brand, from Midway USA (http://www.midwayusa.com/ ) look for:
reloading equipment & components/bullets/muzzleloading bullets, then about
the 5th or 6th page ($6.25 for a box of 50). If you have a GOOD sporting
goods store in the area you might find some there. If you know any Civil
War reinactors, you could probably get a lifetime supply for free. I drill
a hole through the center and paint them dayglow orange. Tie a large loop
on the end of the line; pass the loop through the hole and then the bullet
through the loop. That makes it easy to take the balls on and off. Some
pictures can be seen here:
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/k0hps/QRP-Solar/ (sorry about some of
the blurry images, guess I should have looked at them closer when I took
them).
The launcher folds and comes apart at the elbow and the lead ball (with a
tissue around it) stores in the end of the 1/2" PVC pipe. The ball attached
to the launcher in the picture is a .50 cal. It's lighter, goes higher,
doesn't come back down as well, not as good on windy days. If you were
going to have only one size of ammo, I'd go for the .58 cal.
Be careful using it in parks, I've been turned in (to the park rangers) by
misguided souls claiming I was shooting at the birds.
73 - JC, K0HPS
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Carroll [mailto:w2wg@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 7:02 PM
To: 'JC Smith'; 'crawfish'; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] Putting Line in Trees
Having left my EZ Hang at the beach (put wires in palm trees) early summer,
I just built a replacement. I used the cheapest WalMart slingshot, drilled
out the rivets, put small angle iron on the front of the handle (you lose
the finger relief of the handle but gripping the angle iron is not a
problem), and attached a Zebco 33 feel. I loaded it with decent Berkley
line, as the factory loaded stuff is no good. Anyway, this seems to work as
well as or better than the EZHang. Over the years of using a slingshot, I
have found that either a 3/4 oz or 1 oz "teardrop" lead sinker with a
attachment ring is about the best weight if you are aiming for 80-100'
heights. You should be able to hit 80' with little effort. I have tried the
heavier weights with little success. At 90' and above you are in the
territory where you can't get the altitude with a heavier weight and the
weight may not want to pull the line back down if it is lighter.
I am intrigued with the lead ball idea as on occasion the local Walmart or
Kmart runs out of the sinkers. JC, tell me more about the balls, where you
get them etc. Do you bore a hole through them?
Bob W2WG
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of JC Smith
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 9:27 PM
To: 'crawfish'; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Putting Line in Trees
Are you using a spin casting reel to play out the line? That 2 oz. sinker
should be plenty heavy unless the line is getting all kinked up. You could
try a little lighter line too. Is the problem on the way up, or down? I
use a .570 lead ball (about 1 oz.) and it works great.
73 - JC, K0HPS
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com]On Behalf Of crawfish
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 6:16 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Putting Line in Trees
I have spent a few fruitless hours trying to put a 1 ounce and later a 2
ounce metal sinker tied to some 17 pound test fishing line in order to put
one end of my 160m dipole up at 80 feet. I guess I will need to forget that
method and go with a bow. The line kept catching on small trees and bushes
and kept the line from going up and over the tree. Any ideas before I forget
the slingshot method?
Joe W4AAB
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