Launch Ball Preparation

Preparing an Antenna Launching Ball

NOTE – there is a new set of Launch Ball Preparation Instructions with pictures in the 2019 Antenna Launcher Assembly manual starting about page 36.

A Launch Ball is a tennis ball that has been modified to tow a strong lightweight fishing line. We don’t tow a conductive antenna wire directly for safety reasons.

Tools and Materials Needed

  • Sharp knife
  • Sharp Awl or Leather Sewing Awl
  • Needlenose pliers or hemostats
  • Electrical wiring crimp tool or similar
  • Hot melt glue gun and glue
  • Tennis Balls
  • Loop Kit (or equivalent)(available from akbeng.com)
  • Sand
  • Postal scale or similar to weigh 2-5 ounces
  • Small cup to measure sand
  • Funnel to direct sand into ball
  • Safety ball holding tool (optional, this tool is included in our deluxe kits, it is a short length of schedule 40 PVC pipe)
  • Safety glasses are recommended

Process

If you have the Safety ball holding tool it can be used to hold the ball while cutting and poking holes in it, providing a safety barrier. If not, take extra care to avoid injury.

  • Cut a slot in the ball approximately 1″ long
  • On either side of the slot punch a hole about 1/2″ away from the middle of the slot (two holes total)
  • Take a length of the loop wire about 6″ long from the loop kit and poke one end into each hole
  • Using needlenose pliers or hemostats, reach in through the slot and fish out the ends of the loop wire
  • Slide a crimp tube over the ends of the loop wire and crimp so the wire cannot come out of the tube
  • Push this crimp back into the ball
  • Measure and add two ounces of sand to the ball (using funnel)
  • Reseal the slot in the ball with hot melt glue

Notes

We usually make 4 ounce balls, 2 ounces is the weight of a standard tennis ball, and we add 2 ounces of sand. For special applications more weight can be had by using more sand – 2 to 7 ounces total weight is possible with sand. Filling a tennis ball with sand produces about 7 ounces total weight. Four or five ounces generally produces the optimal launch height and is generally adequate for pulling the line down. More weight may be indicated if the ball fails to pull the line down on the other side of the tree.