Throwing Problems/Motors

[stretch851]

So because of physical limitations with the perimeter, we haven't been able to change our pulley size and ratio. However we have played with our gear ratios to see if that makes our shooter effective. We actually had started at the 5:95 ratio so we went to 8, and then 12. an 8.45 ratio allowed us to be able to clear the truss and high goal, but very terribly(a foot and a half away max, only cleared high goal once, truss multiple times). We are now considering changing the pulley ratio during the pause break, but wondering what numbers we must crunch to solve which gear ratio and pulley ratio we need. do we need a 5.95 gear ratio with a 5:1 pulley ratio, or a 8.45 gear with a 1.8 pulley ratio. My question is, aren't we just lacking enough energy to throw the ball, as torque and speed are inverses for gear reduction ratios. Or does changing the pulley ratio change the amount of energy we are throwing the ball with? Please help as we are frustrated and significantly confused as what to do and what is our problem