using a flapper mounted on a lofting pole?

[pegasus bridge]

the pigeons by me are now spending a fair bit of time in the hedgerows -i was thinking of mounting a flapper onto the end of my lofting poles and then putting this in into the hedge (very tall / wide hedgerows) - has anyone tried this? did they come in?

[steve_b_wales]

I want to try this myself. It would be easy to fit the flapper to the pole, but I'm wondering how to connect it to the battery. If I use a long lead, then power will be drawn from the battery. The only options would, I think, be to either strap a smaller battery to the pole, or use a 17amp one that's on the ground.

I'll give it a go soon, when after some corvids.

 

Steve.

[pegasus bridge]

would it make that much difference with a longer cable? my current magnet set up i hae the battery and switch / speed controller in the hide, and use a 30 mtr lenght of cable to the magnet and it seems to last ok

[steve_b_wales]

It would make a difference if using the smaller 2amp/hr batteries that are normally supplied with the flappers. Something like a 10amp/hr (which I use) or bigger, would probably be okay for a few hours.

[Cosd]

I use a 1.2amp battery which lasts all day and is very light, that could be taped to the lofting poles.

[steve_b_wales]

I use a 1.2amp battery which lasts all day and is very light, that could be taped to the lofting poles.

 

Agreed. The 1.2amp batteries are the usual ones supplied. No good though if using a very long lead, the power would be sapped.

[deny essex]

I think it could look good and feasable, not sure I would want to use a real bird and flapper mechanics on the end of my 25 foot poles , Im like a circus act trying to use plastics on it

[pegasus bridge]

I think it could look good and feasable, not sure I would want to use a real bird and flapper mechanics on the end of my 25 foot poles , Im like a circus act trying to use plastics on it

 

i would definitley have to keep the height to no more than 15ft I think, I ended up breaking all my full body deeks when using them for lofting - the only way around it was to fill them all with expanding foam, and replacing the stiff plastic tube(underneath) with a 15cm length of hose pipe. they fall from a great height now without breaking. After all the messing around though i have still not had any real success with them

[steve_b_wales]

I think it could look good and feasable, not sure I would want to use a real bird and flapper mechanics on the end of my 25 foot poles , Im like a circus act trying to use plastics on it

 

I'm goint to fit the flapper to a small piece of metal rod, then use jubilee clips to secure it to the top of the pole.

[deny essex]

A thought has just popped in the old brain, I could mount one of my 1.5 volt "freddie flappers" to a few sections of my poles, possibly use all of them , hes artificial but flaps well,and light.

maybe worth a go for next winter.

[Gazo1968]

Buy some food up decoy conversion kits and loft the fuds into the trees or hedges had great results with these. They are for sale on eBay and also stand much higher on ground deployment

[missmoreandmaster]

Hi guys

 

I have used one of my jackpike floaters on the end of an old fishing pole this worked realy well as the wind was only slight, I don't think any of these ideas would work to well in strong winds though.

 

Martin

[RGS77]

Agreed. The 1.2amp batteries are the usual ones supplied. No good though if using a very long lead, the power would be sapped.

 

From a pure electrical point of view, it is not he length of the cable that reduces the performance of the battery but the cross sectional area of the copper in the cable. Too small and you get a voltage drop due to the resistance of the cable, hence why it doesnt seem last as long. As long as you use good thick wire and not speaker cable this shouldnt be a problem.

[steve_b_wales]

 

From a pure electrical point of view, it is not he length of the cable that reduces the performance of the battery but the cross sectional area of the copper in the cable. Too small and you get a voltage drop due to the resistance of the cable, hence why it doesnt seem last as long. As long as you use good thick wire and not speaker cable this shouldnt be a problem.

Cheers for the advice. So, if I use mains cable, ie from an old vacuum cleaner, I won't lose any power?

[JDog]

Pigeons will not be feeding in the hedgerows at this time of year so I don't see the point.

 

I have used a flapper on a long pole and on a long lead in the winter when pigeons were feeding on Ivy berries and it worked very well.

[steve_b_wales]

I'm going to try either a Crow decoy or a dead Crow on mine.

[RGS77]

Cheers for the advice. So, if I use mains cable, ie from an old vacuum cleaner, I won't lose any power?

 

It will help, although a vacuum cleaner is probably only 1.5mm cable and I would want to be using 2.5mm or bigger to make sure. With lower voltages and DC the effect of volt drop is greater. This is only from theory though, I have not tried it yet. But been thinking along the same lines as Pegasus Bridge above and having the rotary speed controller in the hide.