How to Use Lure Coursing Equipment
The following directions for proper use of a lure machine and
other coursing equipment may seem rather basic to some, but they
are written for the individual who has never operated lure
coursing equipment.
LURE MACHINE
The lure machine is comprised of a lure stand, a 12 volt Ford
starter motor, a solenoid, two battery cables, a volt meter, a
cable and grounding strip connecting the motor to the solenoid,
and a switch to start and stop the machine. The lure stand is
constructed from wood or metal and is used to mount the above
components.
The starter motor is a 12 volt motor used in a 1961 Ford
truck with a 262 cubic inch, 6 cylinder engine and a standard
transmission. This starter motor can be be purchased at a
N.A.P.A. auto parts store, part #44-9609 (good in most parts of
the USA) or part #34-1055 (some times used on the West Coast). This motor is
also designated by a Lester # 3110 or 3115.
The solenoid is generally designated as a “Ford four
posted solenoid” and is mounted at the top right hand corner
of the lure stand. There are two styles of this solenoid as
pictured below. One is designated as the “old
style” and as you can see the other is called the “new
style”. The new style seems to be better by design and, to
date, has performed more reliably for me than the old style
solenoid.
The battery cables are approximately 16 inches long and are
connected as follows. The grounding cable (black) is connected to
the 3/8” left lower mounting bolt between the lure stand and
the motor. This cable should be connected to the negative (-)
terminal of the battery when operating the lure machine. The
other battery cable (red) is connected to the 5/16” stud of
the solenoid shown as the “C” terminal above. This
cable should be connected to the positive (+) battery terminal
when operating the lure machine. NOTE: The lure machine will not
operate if the battery cables are connected to the battery in
reverse of the above instructions.
A voltmeter is provided with each Injoy lure machine. The
voltmeter allows you to monitor the condition (remaining voltage)
of the battery connected to the lure machine. When the voltage
drops below 11 volts (with the motor not running), the battery
should be charged. NOTE: Continuing to operating a lure machine
with less than 11 volts will cause the motor to heat up quickly
and could cause the motor to burn out.
The plus (+) terminal (red wire) of the voltmeter is
connected to the same terminal on the solenoid as the plus (+)
battery cable mentioned above (terminal “C”). The
negative (-) terminal (black wire) is connected to any ground,
usually a mounting bolt which holds the solenoid in place on the
lure stand.
The switch cord is plugged into the receptacle which is
connected to the solenoid in the following manner. One wire
extending from the receptacle is connected to the same 5/16”
terminal on the solenoid as the plus (+) battery cable mentioned
above (terminal “C”). The other wire is connected to
the small terminal shown as letter “B” in the solenoid
drawing on page 1. It does not matter which wire is connected to
which terminal.
If you purchased the Injoy lure stand with all electrics, you
need only to purchase a starter motor to complete the lure
machine. It’s a good idea to take the lure stand with you
when purchasing the Ford starter motor. By doing this you can be
sure that the motor will mount on the bolts on the lure stand. If
the starter motor fits on the bolts and it has approximately a
5-3/4” shaft, you have the right motor.
To mount the motor to the lure stand you need to remove the
three nuts and leave everything else on the bolts as shipped.
Before mounting the motor, you should remove any paint from
around the three mounting holes on the face of the motor. You can
use sandpaper or a knife to scrape away the paint. NOTE: If this
step is not performed, you will not get a good ground (-)
connection. Without a good ground, the motor will not run
efficiently and possibly may overheat and burn out the motor.
You can now slip the motor onto the three bolts and install
and tighten the nuts. Then attach the short wire connected to
terminal “A” of the solenoid to the 5/16” stud
located at the rear top of the motor and tighten both nuts on the
solenoid and the motor. CAUTION: These studs are copper so be
careful not to over tighten the nuts and strip the threads on the
studs.
Now that the lure machine is assembled, you should try
installing both the continuous loop and the take up wheels to see
that they easily slip onto the motor shaft. It is not unusual for
the end of the shaft, where the 1/4” hole is located, to be
out of round and have some burrs around the hole. If the wheels
will not slip onto the shaft freely, you will need to take a file
and smooth around the end of the shaft until both wheels slip on
and off freely; a job that is tedious, but necessary. Just take
your time and try the wheels frequently so as to remove just the
right amount of metal for the wheels to slide onto the shaft.
The following requirement is necessary ONLY if you purchased
your motor from a supplier other than Injoy. The final step in
preparing your lure machine for use is to file a flat spot on the
shaft about 3” from the hole end. The flat spot should be
about 3/8” square and approximately 3/32” deep. This is
necessary for proper installation of the continuous loop wheel or
sheave. (All Injoy motors are supplied with a flat spot already
milled on the motor shaft.) When installing the continuous loop
wheel or sheave, be sure the end of the bolt in the hub of the
wheel is tightened down onto the flat spot. CAUTION: If you just
tighten the bolt down onto the shaft, it will cause a burr on the
shaft and you may not be able to remove the wheel from the shaft.
To operate, the lure machine needs to be connected directly
to a 12 volt battery. Any car battery will do but your best buy,
when considering useable life, is a Marine/RV battery. I have
always used Sears Die Hard but any good battery will be
acceptable. The battery cable attached to the solenoid (red) MUST
ALWAYS be connected to the positive (+) battery terminal. The
other cable (black) is attached to the negative (-) terminal of
the battery.
If you plan to run many courses at any one outing, you will
probably want to connect the lure machine battery to a vehicle
battery and let the vehicle idle while you are running the lure
machine. This will keep the battery(s) charged and you should be
able to run courses for several hours. To accomplish this, you
will need battery jumper cables with a minimum of #4 copper wires
and no longer than are absolutely necessary to connect the two
batteries. To connect the two batteries, simply connect the
positive (+) terminal of one battery to the positive (+) terminal
of the other battery and repeat this operation for the negative
(-) terminals of each battery.
An alternate method of charging the battery(s) while in use,
is to connect a floor style battery charger with a minimum 40 Amp
charging cycle to the battery(s). The charger can be connected to
a 120 volt power supply (outlet) or to a portable generator.
SETTING UP EQUIPMENT TO COURSE
There are several ways to go about setting up a course.
Generally, you will be pulling one end of the string around the
course as you locate and install the pulleys out in a field. This
is usually accomplished with the string being on the take up
wheel which is installed on the lure machine. If the string is
new and in the bulk spool configuration, you can have a person
hold the spool on a dowel or broom handle while you install the
pulleys.
The corner pulleys should be installed by opening the hinge
and driving 2 or 3 spikes into the ground through the holes in
the hinge. The pulley is then closed over the hinge toward the
inside of the corner. It is a good idea to pound a slight
indentation into the ground with a hammer where the hinge is to
be placed. This will cause the pulley to be tilted back away from
the corner (Figure 1, Example B). The pulley should also be
oriented so that it equally divides the angle that the string
will make when you proceed to the next pulley (Figure 2, Example
A). If the corner pulley is oriented as shown in Example B, the
force of the string will sometimes tilt and twist the pulley in
such a way as to allow the lure to flip the string off the pulley
as it goes around the pulley.
After you have set up the course and returned to the lure
machine, you need to install the continuous loop sheave or S/S
continuous loop wheel on the lure machine. If the take up wheel
is installed on the lure machine, it must be removed prior to
installing the continuous loop sheave or wheel.
The S/S continuous loop wheel has a hub with a 5/8” bore
and is designed to be used with a Ford starter motor having a
long shaft with a 1/4” hole in the end of the shaft. The
wheel can be installed in one of two ways.
The first method allows the wheel to be mounted on the motor
shaft near the lure stand. This method is currently preferred
because it puts less stress on the motor bearings and provides a
more secure mounting. In order to mount the S/S wheel in this
manner, you will need to file a flat spot on the motor shaft. To
accomplish this, remove the 1/4” bolt and nylock nut from
the hub and back out the 5/16” threaded bolt so that the
wheel will slip onto the shaft of the motor. Position the wheel
near the lure stand leaving a 1/2” or so between the rim of
the wheel and the lure stand. Mark the shaft of the motor at the
end of the hub and remove the wheel. Now file a flat spot about
3/8” square and about 3/32” deep (below the surface of
the motor shaft). When installing the wheel, be sure the end of
the bolt in the hub of the wheel is tightened down onto the flat
spot. CAUTION: If you just tighten the bolt down onto the shaft,
it will cause a burr on the shaft and you may not be able to
remove the wheel from the shaft.
The alternative and a commonly used method for installing
this style wheel is to slide it onto the shaft and align the
holes in the hub of the wheel with the hole in the end of the
motor shaft. Using the 1/4” bolt and nylock nut provided
with the wheel, insert the bolt through the holes in the hub and
the hole in the end of the motor shaft. Attach the nylock nut to
the 1/4” bolt and tighten the nut all the way down to the
hub. DO NOT substitute a non-locking nut for the nylock nut. A
non-locking nut could loosen under use and fly off the bolt
causing injury to a bystander. Also, if you use this method for
installing the S/S wheel, you should remove the 5/16”
threaded bolt used in method one explained above.
Once you have installed the continuous loop wheel, you
need to position the lure machine so that the string is in a
straight line with the groove in the wheel and determine the
amount of starting tension on the string before placing the
string on the wheel. Again, there are several ways to accomplish
this.
One way is to take the free end of the string and bring it
together with the string coming off the spool or take up wheel
(thus forming a “continuous loop”) and bring it back to
the lure machine. Do not cut the string and tie the two ends
together just yet. All you are attempting to do, at this point,
is to gauge the amount of tension or force on the string. For the
lure machine to be able to drive the string there must be some
tension on the string. The amount of tension required varies with
each course set up and the weather conditions. The continuous
loop sheave requires from 15 to 25 lbs. of tension. The S/S
continuous loop wheel usually requires from 8 to 12 lbs. of
tension. You can measure the string tension using a
fisherman’s spring scale that will weigh up to 25 lbs.
When you have determined that the tension is about right, you
can cut the string coming off the spool or take up wheel at the
point where you are holding the string. Join the two ends by
tying a knot to form the continuous loop. Tie a couple of small
loops (approx. 6” long) in the string, about 6 or 8 feet
apart, to which you will attach the lures.
Now, before operating the lure machine, the base needs to be
spiked to the ground with the 8”spikes provided using the
holes in the base of the machine. All four holes in the back
(away from the direction of the line) should be used and the two
end holes in front.
After nailing the lure machine to the ground, place the
string on the continuous loop wheel (Figure 3) and jog the switch
to see if the continuous wheel drives the string. If the string
slips when the wheel turns or the string doubles over on itself,
there is not adequate tension on the line. To correct this
condition you need to shorten the string in one of the following
ways. The method most frequently used is to cut a length of
string out of the loop which shortens the string and increases
the tension. You can also move the machine back or move a pulley
in such a way as to increase the length of the course which will
have the same effect as shortening the string.
At this point you should observe the course you have just
laid out to determine if any hold down pulleys are required. A
hold down pulley should be used where the string is not resting
on the ground due to variations in the terrain. It is very
important for the safety of the hounds that the string not be
allowed to travel more than an inch or two above the ground for
any substantial distance. A substantial distance is defined as
more than 3 or 4 feet. What you are trying to prevent is the
opportunity for the hounds to pick up the string with their feet
when they are running which could result in the dog becoming
entangled in the string. To install a hold down pulley or use a
box pulley as a hold down, you simply place the pulley over the
string and hold it in place by driving 4 spikes through the screw
eyes and/or hinge into the ground. It is a good idea to cross the
spikes as shown in Figure 4.
OPERATING THE EQUIPMENT
To run the lure machine, you simply hold the button on the
switch down to make the lure go and release the button to stop or
slow down the lure. The process of jogging the switch is the
normal way that a course is run.
The best method of pulsing or jogging the button on the
switch is to push and release the button quickly. To run the lure
fast, press and release the button quickly and frequently. To
slow the machine down, press the button just as quickly but less
frequently. There are times when you may need to press and hold
the button down for one to three seconds. NOTE: Pressing and
holding the button down for more than five seconds at a time is
not recommended. Running the motor continuously for more than
five seconds at a time causes excessive wear on the motor
brushes, causes rapid heat buildup in the motor and most
importantly, runs down the battery more quickly than the short
varied pulse method of operation.
After running a few courses, it is not unusual for the string
to start slipping or to double over on itself on the continuous
loop wheel. This is due to the string stretching and the course
redirecting the string into straight lines between the corner
pulleys. (We all have a tendency to weave a little while setting
up the course.) To correct this situation you will need to go
through the same process mentioned above to increase the string
tension...move a pulley or cut a 6 to 9 foot piece of string out
of the loop.
The Ford starter motor is not designed to run continuously
and has no provision for dissipating the heat that is generated
when operating any motor. Therefore, you need to monitor the
temperature of the motor periodically during any period of
operation. To monitor the temperature of the motor, you can
CAREFULLY place your hand on the motor casing or pour a little
water onto the casing. Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when touching the
motor because it can be hot enough to burn the skin. If the motor
is too hot to touch or water sizzles or evaporates quickly, you
need to let the motor rest and cool down. To continue to operate
the motor when it is overheated will do permanent damage to the
motor.
You can speed the cooling process by attaching a fan to the
motor housing. The rapid movement of air over the motor housing
will greatly aid the dissipation of heat between courses and
allow courses to be run with less down time for cooling.
A solenoid failure, though happening very infrequently, can
be a particularly exciting and frantic situation if you are
unprepared to deal with such an occurrence. What happens is that
the contacts in the solenoid become pitted and burned due to
normal operation and will weld together at some point. When this
occurs, the lure machine continues to run even though you are not
pressing the button. Usually, the lure machine can be stopped
with a couple of sharp blows being administered to the top of the
solenoid. If this action does not correct the situation, one of
the battery cables needs to be disconnected from the battery.
While all of this is going on, the safety of the hounds should be
evaluated and, if necessary, the string should be cut to stop the
course. The solenoid should be replaced with a new one after such
an occurrence.
The addition of a safety switch to the lure machine will
allow the machine to be disconnected from the battery instantly
by opening the knife switch. This is a much quicker and safer
method of stopping the lure machine when a solenoid decides to
lockup during operation.
If you are experiencing the string breaking at the knots you
have tied, the knot shown in Figure 5, called a Blood Knot, will
solve the problem. This knot is most generally used by fly
fishermen to construct the tapered leaders that they use to
present their flies to the fish.
To construct the Blood Knot, you need to extend or crossover
the ends of the string about 6” or 8” as shown in Step
#1. The two ends of the string are designated as “A”
and “B” and the arrows indicate the direction of the
string extending around the course. To complete Step #2, place
your thumb and index finger in the center of the 6” or
8” overlap, using either your left or right hand. With your
other hand, wrap the loose end around the string 3 or 4 times.
Bring the end of the string back to the center loop and switch
hands, holding the completed wrap in place. Wrap the second end
in the opposite direction 3 or 4 times and insert the end of the
string through the center loop in the opposite direction from the
first wrap (Step #2, Figure 5).
To finish the knot, gently pull on all four pieces of the
string at once, until the knot starts to form. When the ends,
“A” and “B”, appear to remain in place, you
can release them and complete the knot by pulling the string in
the direction indicated by the arrows. The completed knot should
look something like the one shown in Step #3. You can trim the
ends, “A” and “B”, leaving at least a
1/4”.
PICKING UP AND GOING HOME
When you finish coursing for the day, you will want to pick
up the equipment. The string should be removed from the
continuous wheel. With the string still out on the course, go
around the course and retrieve all of the pulleys. If you follow
the string around the course, you will not leave any pulleys
behind when you depart the area.
Leave one corner or hold down pulley in front of the machine
where it is located until after you retrieve the string. This
pulley will act as a guide and help prevent a mess when winding
the string onto the take up wheel.
Remove the continuous wheel from the machine and install the
take up wheel by using the 1/4” bolt and nylock nut in the
same manner as the S/S continuous loop wheel described earlier.
Cut the string about where you tied the knot to make the
continuous loop. Leave at least one lure tied to the string so
you can keep track of the string out on the course as you wind it
onto the take up wheel. Tie the end of the string, which is still
around the pulley mentioned above, to the take up wheel or to the
end of the string on the take up wheel. Turning the take up wheel
by hand, bring in enough string to take up any slack between the
wheel and the pulley in front of the machine.
Take the switch in one hand and a spike in the other. Using
the spike to guide the string back and forth on the take up
wheel, start jogging the switch and begin bringing in the string.
Take it SLOW AND EASY, especially in the beginning, because
letting the motor take up the line at full RPM will create the
biggest mess and tangle you have ever seen. Better to bring it in
slowly than to rush and end up throwing the string away due to
creating a gigantic bird nest. When you have completed retrieving
the string, just leave the take up wheel on the lure machine and
all will be ready to setup the next time out.
BASIC COURSE DESIGN
The following diagrams are given as a guide to locating the
lure machine and pulleys for a continuous loop and a take up
course plan. There are three basic possibilities when locating
the lure machine for a continuous loop course; in line with the
course, outside the loop and inside the loop. While these course
plans are a simple box for illustrative purposes, there are many
possible variations to any of these configurations and are
limited only by the number of corner pulleys available for use.
The last diagram shows a take up configuration with three corner
pulleys located in front of the lure machine. The three pulleys
are used to keep constant tension on the string and prevent a
backlash from occurring. You may get away with using only two
corner pulleys in front of the lure machine.
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