Phone Launcher: Can we break the record?

A German phone/game platform asked me if I wanted to do a coop with them. There is a new app for android phones, called "SMTH"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carrotpop.www.smth&hl=en

The idea is that you start the app, throw your phone up as high as you can, and then catch it again. The height will be recorded and added to the highscore list automatically.

The goal is to make a launcher that shoots a phone higher than anyone else!

I already designed the device, have to build it soon. We will use the Samsung XCover 2, which hopefully will survive a fall from, like, 100m.

http://www.samsung.com/de/consumer/mobile-device/mobilephones/smartphones/GT-S7710TAADBT

I made a dummy of that phone, with the same dimensions. In order to match the weight, I put in eight M10 hex nuts (pump gun ammo). I fixed everything with a bit of car body putty.





The weight of the dummy is 155g, vs. 149 for the original.

Of course once everything works, we will switch to the original. Should be interesting!

I built the launcher today.

It works great! This thing lauches the 155 gramm phone dummy really high - I don't know how high exactly, but it is quite astounding what two full width TBG per side (= four in total) can do in combination with a 180 cm net draw (counted from fork to the end of the rope loop).


It is actually easy to cock (in comparison), I just put my considerable weight on the rope and that is pretty much it.

I added a lead weight as a plummet, so it is easy to shoot straight up into the air. Phone came back in a radius of about 5 meters from the launch position, not too bad.