Now the spool is bigger and stronger, but I'm a little worried about the added momentum from the added weight, it might keep spinning and whip the handle, I'll find out soon.

So when testing the rope stopper (the rectangle with the springs), the handle slammed into it, triggered the main switch, and pulled itself apart. I went home and printed stronger and bulkier parts, and add a pulley to the stopper to pull the main switch if and when the handle makes it all the way back to the puller. (I'm hoping that the user lets go far enough away that the handle doesn't reach the puller, but in case it does, this is a safety feature). I also added a rope guide next to the spool to keep the rope from coming off when not under tension anymore. I'm still thinking of a way to mechanically trigger the low/high speed switch, so I don't know about that just yet.

The bare rope was getting a little tough to hold on to, so I designed and printed one.

So I began testing with 1 battery and after taking some video, measuring floor tiles and doing some math, we were able to figure out the speed of 1 battery to be about 7.7 MPH. I have recently started testing with 2 batteries in series, and the speed as increased by at least twice as much. There were some strength issues with the spool, but I am doing my best to address them. The problems are being caused by the sudden power and acceleration from the 2 batteries, so I need a way to more gently start the motor. I have thought to use 1 battery to start it for 3 seconds and then have the 2nd battery kick in and do the rest. This is going to require a special switch called a DPST (double pole, single throw) switch which will allow me to switch between the 1 battery and 2 battery circuits easily. I'm also going to add a toggle switch to the side so I can arm/disarm it safely.

So the puller is all assembled and I have thought of an ingenius system for controlling it. I have a pulley that rides on top of the rope that pulls on a lever that activates the switch. As you yank the rope, it pulls the pulley upward, it forces the switch on and turns the motor. As the motor pulls, it keeps the rope taught and the switch on... until you let go and it stops itself.

I have purchased 99% of the parts, and I have 3d printed a lot of parts including the motor mount, spool, and rope guide. I’m going to start cutting and assembling the frame next.

I went to my friends house this weekend and with the small amount of snow we had we threw together a jump and tested out the maiden run of the ski puller. Right in the begining you can hear a loud pop which is the side of the spool snapping off from the pressure of the rope. I picked up a bigger and stronger spool at another friends house which I will cut down to size and use instead. The initial speed of the puller was a little slow with two batteries, but it's most likely because I haven't recharged them yet since I bought them over 2 months ago.