Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

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SarcasmQueen
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Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by SarcasmQueen »

Hi~
This is my 2nd year doing MTV, and I've been struggling to grasp how to reverse my mousetrap vehicle. I am seeing the method of back-winding, which, as Doc Fizzix puts it, Back-winding the string is a technique where you first wind the string around the axle in one direction and then rewind the string in the opposite direction." I am having trouble grasping this concept, can anyone explain in detail how this works, in step by step instructions on how to "back-wind"?
Thanks so, SO much :) :)
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by brian9640 »

In my opinion, the easiest method is to use a pin on the drive axle. The drive string is wrapped around the drive axle like normal. Then after the required number of turns to travel forward, the pin on the axle is used to change direction the string is wrapped. The drive string is now wrapped in the reverse direction for the required number of turns for going backwards. I will see if I can added a picture to help understand.
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SarcasmQueen (November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm)
shinrinyoku
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by shinrinyoku »

What is the pin ???


edit: i am stupid do not reply to my comment
Last edited by shinrinyoku on October 24th, 2021, 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BigZ
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by BigZ »

Hello. I have figured out a way to easily reverse the vehicle without having to back-wind on the same axle. What I did was I attached a second mousetrap to the front axle using the same method as the back. (As you are allowed to have up to 2 mousetraps on your car) This mousetrap is the one that would be activated to start the car moving in your run.
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SarcasmQueen
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by SarcasmQueen »

I figured out how to back wind. Thanks to everyone who helped! Can anyone help suggest how to improve accuracy without rolling your wingnut braking system on the ground? We aren't allowed to, so I'm calibrating my braking mechanism by axle rotations, but the results vary quite a bit.
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by BigZ »

SarcasmQueen wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm I figured out how to back wind. Thanks to everyone who helped! Can anyone help suggest how to improve accuracy without rolling your wingnut braking system on the ground? We aren't allowed to, so I'm calibrating my braking mechanism by axle rotations, but the results vary quite a bit.
Hello, SarcasmQueen and anybody else that has this problem. I am not using wingnut braking for my car anymore, but when I did, my partner and I would have a pen spring on the threaded axle to gradually reduce the speed of the wingnut and give it a set stopping point on the axle. The lower speed when the wingnut reaches the braking point reduces car skid and therefore accuracy. I am not sure if that was exactly what you meant, but there you go. Best of luck.
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Re: Reversing the Mousetrap Vehicle

Post by shinrinyoku »

SarcasmQueen wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm I figured out how to back wind. Thanks to everyone who helped! Can anyone help suggest how to improve accuracy without rolling your wingnut braking system on the ground? We aren't allowed to, so I'm calibrating my braking mechanism by axle rotations, but the results vary quite a bit.
Do you use foam wheels? If you don't, definitely use them because they improve accuracy and don't skid like CD Wheels. If you want to buy some, go to the Doc Fizzix's website. They have the same foam wheels that I use and I highly recommend.
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