Dog lure coursing question

[Caden Howell]

Hey Makers,

My boyfriend and I went to the Mounds Dog Fair in Sun Prairie on Sunday, and they had set up a dog lure coursing machine that out dachshund chased around and around.  It's basically a plastic bag and bit of fur tied to a string that goes around some pulleys.  Like this:

http://www.lurecoursingfanatics.com/

It seems like it would be easy to make.  Am I nuts to think I could hook a model train transformer controller up to a starter motor and add some string and pulleys?  Anyone know a good place to buy a used starter motor at a reasonable price, or big pulleys with nice rubberized edges?

Thanks,

Caden

[Chris Meyer]

You'll need a much bigger motor controller than a train transformer but you could make one pretty easily, you'll want to run open pulleys so the lure can recirculate around the pulleys without being pulled off, if you want to build one I'd suggest buying a cheap Razor scooter on Craigslist (they usually have bad batteries), reuse the rear wheel and stretch a rope between that and an idler anchored in the field, you can then just use the scooter controls/throttle/etc.  It's probably be easiest to reuse the batteries and just continually charge them to keep them powered up but you could look for a large 24V DC supply to run it directly off the wall.

Chris

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[Tyler Neelis]

Just saw this. Another solution would be to take the motor out of a trolling motor which already has the different speed variables and it is 12v making it portable. Again like chris said use the proper pulleys.  These trolling motors you can get for 25-50 bucks off craigslist very easily.  Then you would only need to mount the motor and the new controls to a box vs the typical trolling motor setup.  

Hope this helps.

Tyler

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Tyler Neelis
http://www.midwestmods.net
Madison,WI 53713

[heltones]

Another option to consider would be to use a cordless drill. I don't have a feeling for how much tension would be in the cable for what you're talking about, but drill motors are pretty tough with decent torque and a basic level of speed control with the trigger. You could test and then disassemble and build a more robust/waterproof setup and/or fine-control speed controller if you want/need to. There are used and cheaper drills around, if you don't have one to test out with a prototype cable run. There is some decent information on specs and modifying drill motors from the DIY robotics community and maybe the power tool racing folks online. Harbor Freight has one for ~$20 that seems a go-to choice on the cheaper side.

Good luck.