Kites & kiting

[Turtle]

Morning has broken

 

like the first morning,

 

monkey has spoken,

 

like the first chimp :singer:

 

Actually, it was more like a muffled shriek than speaking. Poor Little Monkey ***. Sir passed over -and over and over and over- last night when he became entangled in a drive wheel. Poor little Pinkus! :omg: (I will be dropping his ashes from a kite. )

 

Well, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. The thing is that the damn RC truck has a differential so there is no getting power from just 1 wheel when both are in the air. :doh: No permission to gut the works and I'm not so sure it would be much help. Back to the drawing board.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Turtle

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

LOLz...just jam the opposing wheel. No disassembly required. Why not build something simple? momentary off switches, mechanical timers, mechanical switching directly wired to the drive system.

could be as simple as applying metal contacts to a cheap battery powered clock drive to create a timed sequence of events to occur...even utilizing the second hand drive to trigger multiple shutter triggers...thinks aboudit three triggers for events based on time, a mechanical trigger to stop the climbing motor at a determined point a second mechanical trigger to start the timed processes....

 

So lets look at how it could work.

1. You attach the limiter barrier at the desired distance from the kite then get the kite airborne

2. you put the climber on the line and flip the power toggle to on and starts it's climb but not the timer.

3. it hits a barrier placed at the desired distance from the kite which stops the motor via a momentary off switch and starts the timed sequence with a simple sliding contact on switch constructed of a strip of conductive material that completes the circuit when it is pushed in by the barrier and remains in position until manually reset. (like the sliding contact switch that resides in cheapy flashlights)

4. Once started the hands of the clock drive sequence through the timed events by touching contacts placed at desired intervals, finalizing the sequence with the hour hand contact which completes a reverse wired circuit to the climber motor sending the carriage back down the line.

[Turtle]

LOLz...just jam the opposing wheel. No disassembly required.

 

I thought that might be the case from our other forum discussion on my trike diffy. It was when I jammed a wheel that my assistant became entangled in the opposite wheel. I have a short video, but it's horrible; just horrible!!

 

 

Why not build something simple? momentary off switches, mechanical timers, mechanical switching directly wired to the drive system.

could be as simple as applying metal contacts to a cheap battery powered clock drive to create a timed sequence of events to occur...even utilizing the second hand drive to trigger multiple shutter triggers...thinks aboudit three triggers for events based on time, a mechanical trigger to stop the climbing motor at a determined point a second mechanical trigger to start the timed processes....

 

I like that idea. Even a wind-up egg timer would work. A wire whisker for a contact, and by having an arc of conductor for the whisker to bear on you could control how long that particular circuit is on.

 

So lets look at how it could work.

1. You attach the limiter barrier at the desired distance from the kite then get the kite airborne

2. you put the climber on the line and flip the power toggle to on and starts it's climb but not the timer.

3. it hits a barrier placed at the desired distance from the kite which stops the motor via a momentary off switch and starts the timed sequence with a simple sliding contact on switch constructed of a strip of conductive material that completes the circuit when it is pushed in by the barrier and remains in position until manually reset. (like the sliding contact switch that resides in cheapy flashlights)

4. Once started the hands of the clock drive sequence through the timed events by touching contacts placed at desired intervals, finalizing the sequence with the hour hand contact which completes a reverse wired circuit to the climber motor sending the carriage back down the line.

 

Sounds good to me. :thumbs_up I will get to going on some looking/drawing before I get to leaping/landing. Don't want to end up like Little Monkey ***. Sir.

[Turtle]

In the future, all monkey ***.'s are to be completely shaven to avoid hairy entanglements.

 

This is a cautionary tale. Do not watch if you are squeamish. :omg:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK8bUB6LVmM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUiDIgwwtUxDi7fxhELuBtxg

Edited September 9, 2013 by Turtle

[Turtle]

Firefighters could use a kite and line-monkey equipped with wireless video camera to monitor wildfire conditions real-time at lower altitudes, in smokier conditions , at less expense and risk to life & limb than aircraft. They could also run up a drip-torch on a line-monkey and set backfires on otherwise inaccessible terrain.

 

Hunters could use a kite and line-monkey to drop stuff and flush game toward themselves. Since game would be downwind of the hunter/flyer, a big ol' stick falling out of the sky would override the animals' caution over a stinky human. He's comin' right for us!!

 

If a thing can be done, it can be done better with kites. :D

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

What a nut!

 

As for firefighting I think a long range radio controlled, powered glider with FLIR and bidirectional radio would be more ideally suited for fire monitoring...all that hot air rising would allow for long durations of unpowered flight....then there's the matter of getting close enough, wind direction, and wind speed for getting the kite where it's needed.

[Turtle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye_fZocBAMI

[Turtle]

Just nutty enough to work.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5dJ9TwaIt4

[Turtle]

Anything that 20 French soldiers can do well, 1 American and a monkey can do better.

 

So started work on the new prototype line pulley, i.e. a pulley that rides atop the flying line and suspends a carriage below. Those little pulleys I have shewn can't be hammered in to close the gaps because the frame is cast and will just break. The wheel is very nice though; brass with a milled groove so I drilled out the rivet and took the wheel. It's 11/16" diameter. It was looking a little rough so I buffed it up with a fine wire wheel on a rotary tool.

 

I did look at some large washers I had for the sides, but they weren't big enough and quite heavy. On to some 1/8" yellow plexiglass as I used for the carriage base. I'm going with 2 1/2" diameter to start and let experiments when it's done determine if that's big enough to keep the line from jumping/climbing out. I figure to cut 2 square blanks of the plastic, clamp them together and then drill the center hole. Put in a temp bolt and saw out the circle(s). Then I can clamp the temp bolt in the drill press chuck and use it like a lathe to smooth the edges and put sloping tapers on the inside faces.

 

Here's a shot showing wheel and side layouts. Does 2 1/2" look enough?

 

:coffee_n_pc:

[Turtle]

Iiiiiii like it! Got a nice beat. Easy to dance to. I give it about a 73. In the vid I tried to simulate different kite- line actions and the line stays in. Prolly need a keeper/stopper at the bottom though as the line can lunge up and throw the thing off otherwise. :doh: With no bearing and the polished wheel, it's actually sliding most the time rather than rolling. Don't care.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljvil8WkR-M&feature=c4-overview&list=UUiDIgwwtUxDi7fxhELuBtxg

Edited September 9, 2013 by Turtle

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Interesting...(that's what my imaginary friend and my shrink say at moments like this)

 

Those little pulleys I have shewn can't be hammered in to close the gaps because the frame is cast and will just break.

 

Thats what worshers are for.

 

Have you tried your idler vs knots yet?

 

 

 

[Turtle]

The wind is blowing, the field is clear, and I'm too pooped to peep. No joy.

 

 

Interesting...(that's what my imaginary friend and my shrink say at moments like this)

 

Thats what worshers are for.

 

Have you tried your idler vs knots yet?

 

 

Well I imagine that I love it whether it's washed or knot. :wub: #2 is laid out, but so am I so it'll be awhile. :clock:

 

No, knot yet. Well, knot until you asked. :lol: Pulley snags a little but goes over with a little tug. See vid. I haven't buffed out the sides yet so I better do a little more machining on the inside faces to reduce that snag. Some day I hope to have no knot line.

 

Still noodling specifics of the frame and positioning of drive drum. :smart:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUG2kmed0H8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUiDIgwwtUxDi7fxhELuBtxg

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

as long as you're reinventing the wheel....might I suggest you go with a larger diameter hub (love the hand drill by the way, very nice, looks like it sees use)...would reduce the apparent snagging....but then again......there's an idea I've been toyin with in my head (was going to make a quip about porn, but as it turns out this brainstorming about making useful things is my equivalent of porn.)....have you ever taken a brass gear (like the one on the motor), made a fixture to hold it close to a plastic ring, then heated it and rotated both to make gear teeth in the plastic ring? Thought of it myself but have never gotten around to it...but, could be a way to make a decent reduction driven pulley.

[Turtle]

as long as you're reinventing the wheel....might I suggest you go with a larger diameter hub (love the hand drill by the way, very nice, looks like it sees use)...would reduce the apparent snagging....but then again......there's an idea I've been toyin with in my head (was going to make a quip about porn, but as it turns out this brainstorming about making useful things is my equivalent of porn.)....have you ever taken a brass gear (like the one on the motor), made a fixture to hold it close to a plastic ring, then heated it and rotated both to make gear teeth in the plastic ring? Thought of it myself but have never gotten around to it...but, could be a way to make a decent reduction driven pulley.

 

Good stuff Maynard! I have thought of the larger diameter, but in my usual lazy fashion I opted for something on hand rather than making it out of whole cloth. Well, wood is what I was thinking instead of cloth. :lol: For the idlers out on the ends of the monkey don't think larger hubs are necessary, but I will likely be making the hub for the driver pulley from scratch.

 

Funny you ask about cutting gears in plastic, as I have done that. I hand cut them, but didn't use the hot gear to mark as you suggest, which is a great idea. The gear I made was about 4" with the center cut out (think ring with teeth on outside.) I then drilled small holes in it & wired it onto the face of a 24" bicycle wheel and set up that very geared 12v motor to drive it. Powered bike, you ask? Hell no bro! Gyroscope! :omg: Let me just say...don't try that at home. Insanely dangerous and scary even well before it comes to full speed. :ebomb:

 

 

I am considering again to use one of those motors on the monkey, but I was thinking using pulleys and a belt to connect the drive. A little easier to machine than gears and a little more forgiving of the whole mechanism when something jams. It will at some point jamb of course.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Funny you ask about cutting gears in plastic, as I have done that. I hand cut them, but didn't use the hot gear to mark as you suggest, which is a great idea. The gear I made was about 4" with the center cut out (think ring with teeth on outside.) I then drilled small holes in it & wired it onto the face of a 24" bicycle wheel and set up that very geared 12v motor to drive it. Powered bike, you ask? Hell no bro! Gyroscope! :omg:

For demonstration/educational purposes? A professor friend of mine at Lycoming , has a bicycle wheel with handles and a heavy duty turntable that he uses to demonstrate the forces perpendicular to rotation that are generated by a spinning object...loads of fun to play with.

 

Using things on hand, always good.

 

If it were not for the knots, I'd agree the hub is absolutely fine, but a hub twice the diameter of the knots would be less prone to snags...perhaps one of those pulleys would fit nicely between the pulley plates you made? Yeah I know...being a bit of a pita....but I really want to see a working rig and the results of putting said rig to work...sadly for now I can only play the role of spectator and pesky armchair builder as far as building line climbing bots and kite photography goes or you could bet your boots I'd be in the process of building and snapping aerial pics.

 

A belt drive...yesh...much easier to align, less likely to burn up the motor when jammed (possibly), no tricky parts fabrication.

[Turtle]

For demonstration/educational purposes? A professor friend of mine at Lycoming , has a bicycle wheel with handles and a heavy duty turntable that he uses to demonstrate the forces perpendicular to rotation that are generated by a spinning object...loads of fun to play with.

 

I had tried one of those handle demo jobbies at a science museum. Good you have too 'cause then you know how powerful their reactions are even at low speed. My purposes? See what happens when you hook a motor to a bike wheel and make it go really fast. Well, things get dangerous, that's what happens.

 

Using things on hand, always good.

 

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

 

If it were not for the knots, I'd agree the hub is absolutely fine, but a hub twice the diameter of the knots would be less prone to snags...perhaps one of those pulleys would fit nicely between the pulley plates you made? Yeah I know...being a bit of a pita....but I really want to see a working rig and the results of putting said rig to work...sadly for now I can only play the role of spectator and pesky armchair builder as far as building line climbing bots and kite photography goes or you could bet your boots I'd be in the process of building and snapping aerial pics.

 

A belt drive...yesh...much easier to align, less likely to burn up the motor when jammed (possibly), no tricky parts fabrication.

 

Let me first say again how much I appreciate your actually talking to me. Not pita. Yeah sure I would rattle on whether anyone responds or not, but really the point after all is to have discussions here. Thanks too to you other respondents. :hi: :hi: G'donya!! :thumbs_up

 

So, on the monkey end-pulleys. To clarify, the sides and sheave (sheave being the proper name for a grooved pulley wheel) in my prototype are bolted solidly together. I plan to use a threaded rod to bolt them together and have the ends of that rod ride in simple bushings set in the frame. Now if I make the sheave in the end pulleys larger in diameter, I'll have to make the sides larger too because they are meant to keep the string in.

[Turtle]

snip... (love the hand drill by the way, very nice, looks like it sees use)...snap...

 

I love it too and yes it sees -and has seen- a lot of use. It's 2-speed if you didn't notice, and the rosewood handle top unscrews for bit storage. Alas all that use is wearing out the parts and it doesn't run as true as it should. Also alas, they don't make 'em like this anymore that I have seen, and if they do they are sure to cost an arm & a leg.

 

My frame saw is of the same vintage and I love it as well. When new it had a silver plated frame. It too is worn in the working parts and the blade has a tendency to twist.

 

But I digress. :rolleyes:

 

I made a mockup of how I envision the basic drive and took top-down and side view photos. In the side-view I copied and pasted the end-pulley to show where the second one goes. [right side of photo] Also for the photo I put the motor on top of the rails for balance and visibility, but motor will go under the rails I expect. Mmmm...what else? Oh; in the overhead view you can see the string in the end-pulley is wrapped all the way round the sheave like on the drive pulley. This was just to keep the string in place for a photo, and in practice the line just passes under the sheave of the end-pulleys. The line will wrap at least once around the drive pulley however, just as you see it. Still noodling the specifics of that driver and the pulley/reel in the photo is just a stand-in.

 

That's that and I'm a bat. :bat: :coffee_n_pc: