Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

After reading this thread, the team leaders on Team 1816 have decided not to even try and inflate our trackball until we need it; for testing and practice. We also plan on hiding it from the certain kids who broke our ringers last year.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

maybe tetras, it took us a good three weeks of intense physical force until we even got them to crack!

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Either you we're really trying or time has really killed our tetra. It is held together almost entirely buy duct tape and has been this way for years. :rolleyes:

Back on topic: How many times do you think these things can be deflated/re-inflated? Currently ours just sits around the shop, might be nice to deflate it for a bit so that people stop using it as a footrest/chair.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

For anyone who broke their trackball, this may help
or maybe this

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

I understand your concern regarding the game piece and I think it is wise to be careful with it and use it for the purpose it was intended for. Our team inflated ours earlier this week and it loses air. Tomorrow we plan on finding the leak to see how it can be repaired. For that reason, I would suggest you inflate your ball to make certain it holds air. You can develop rules regarding the game piece. Our team always has rules regarding treatment of the field, the game piece, and appropriate behavior in the shop.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Originally Posted by http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=8014
A broken Trackball will be replaced by a new ball and inserted into the field by the field reset personnel at roughly the same location. The debris will not be removed until the next safe opportunity or after the match

My guess was wrong. It really does make more sense to replace it ASAP as you are only given two. I would still like to see us Herd, Hurdle and Place deflated trakballs like the flat tubes we worked with last year.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

no, we didn't. we were playing with it for over half an hour.... and nothing.


i just posted a thread in "chit-chat" with youtube likes to the videos of us playing with our track ball.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

yeah we broke our trackball the other day...

its kind of unfixable and split almost completely in half...

we have to get a new one somehow

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

well, we wanted to cut them at first, but i thought it would be a neat challenge to see who could get them apart without cutting. after three weeks of members trying, we got it to crack(not the intended outcome, but stuff happens!)

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Hi all. Team 39 did repair a 1.25" laceration in our ball with good success. Thought I would share this, cautions first. Try this at your own risk and with an otherwise ruined ball bladder and as a last resort. Although this repair holds pressure well and looks well patched, we have not extensively impact tested it. Do not inflate the bladder out of the canvas sac. Rubber tire repair patches and duct tape did not work for us.

So what we did:
1) One of a million trips to Home Depot to get a can of "Christy's Red Hot Blue Glue", yes that is the real name, located in the plumbing section for PVC pipe.
2) Found a thick skinned 12" "100% PVC" labelled ball in the kid's abandoned toy box as a donor. Try Toys-are-us.
3) Carefully impaled the donor ball and cut a 3" round patch out of it
4) Took the 40" bladder out of the canvas sac.
5) Took a new 120 grit sanding disk stuck on a 2" round can and scuffed up the 40" outer surface of the bladder in a 4" circle around the laceration and the inside of the patch then carefully washed and dried the area with water.
6) Cut out a 5" piece of a sandwich baggie and carefully shoved it through the laceration completely into the ball and flattened it out on the inside of the ball just inside the area of the laceration so the we would not glue one side of the ball to the other.
7) Put the blue PVC glue on the inside of the patch and on the outside of the ball by the laceration and quickly stuck and pressed them together, worked out the air bubbles. Do this in a well ventilated area.
8) Used another sheet of sandwich bag on the outside of the patch so the clamp wouldn't stick.
9) Gently clamped the repair with 2 pounds between a few round flats OVERNIGHT.
10) Unclamped the patch in the am and let it dry a few hours.
11) Put the bladder back in the sac and inflated it over 5 minutes.
12) Now if we could just get it to shoot further. Good Luck.
PS; we used an iron-on patch inside the canvas sac, worked well. Yes we also ordered a new bladder at $20.50.
Jeff, Mentor

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

On team 1646 we broke our ball and ordered the replacement from http://www.sportogo.com. However when we went to inflate it today we found they sent us ball that is too small.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Hi, just an update. After we did the above described repair, we spent several days shooting the ball and it held up great. No air leaks after a few hundred shots. We have the bladder made of the foam material that has an orange peel appearance.


Jeff, Mentor

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

we shot it in the air and it came down on two nails that made me sad...

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Of course we slashed the bladder cover.lol

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ours broke, but it also took a lot of abuse from our younger members. As Joey can attest, I was almost glad that it broke. It was SO annoying how they all played with it when they should have been focusing on the task at hand.