From: azyweck@augean.eleceng.adelaide.edu.AU (Anthony Zyweck)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.volleyball
Subject: Repost: Re: outdoor volleyball nets
Summary: How I made my outdoor net.
Keywords: outdoor nets aluminium
Date: 15 Sep 92 03:23:55 GMT
Reply-To: azyweck@eleceng.adelaide.edu.au
Followup-To: rec.sport.volleyball
Organization: Electrical and Electronic Eng., University of Adelaide
Favourite-Ski-Resort: Copper Mtn. CO.


Since the topic of outdoor nets has come up again I thought I'd repost
on how I made my net. I made my poles from aluminium which is more
expensive but very strong. The system stands up very well in heavy
winds where most of the cheaper systems fall down. Net tension is
_excellent_ and was a major design priority. This system may cost a
little more but the quality is worth it for the serious players.

Tony.

Newsgroups: rec.sport.volleyball
From: azyweck@augean.eleceng.adelaide.edu.AU (Anthony Zyweck)
Subject: Re: REQUEST for homemade net system.
Date: Thu, 7 May 1992 02:06:16 GMT

We were sick of hiring out VB sets last summer so we decided to make
our own.

When we took it down to a beach tournament we had a lot of positive
comments and we have subsequently received 3 'orders'.


We looked at the following criteria:

Cheap (in comparison with quality commercial sets)
Light
Sturdy (especially in windy conditions)
Ease of setup/takedown
Must be ok for grass and beach.

What we came up with was the following:
(Measurements are metric and currency $AUS)
(sorry about the poor diagrams 8-(

Total construction time was about 2 hours. Most of the time was spent
getting the parts.

Net:
Quality net from a sports store $45.
Don't bother with the cheap varieties coz they won't last in the sun.

Poles:
Aluminium, light but expensive.

We went for 32mm tube with 3mm walls. Very strong but a little
expensive. We paid $50 for a 6m section.

Also buy 1m of 26.5mm tube.

Cut (done where you buy it) the tube into

4x 95cm
2x 75cm
4x 20cm (26.5 mm tube)

A single pole is then constructed as follows:
(not to scale)

            10cm   10cm         10cm  10cm
--------          -------------------        ---------
 95cm       |||||||||||| 75cm  ||||||||||||   95cm
--------          -------------------        ---------

32mm        26.5mm                   26.5mm    32mm

This gives a total length 95+75+95 = 2.65m which is just taller than a
mens net.

The small tubing slides into the larger tubing and is riveted in
place. The middle section then becomes something akin to a
double-adapter.

Add a rubber stopper to both ends.
Measure the exact net height from the bottom pole and screw in a hook.
An extra hook can be added for an alternative height (eg womens). Make
a couple of loops at the ends of your net and they will then be able
to hook onto the poles. The exact height of the net is important for
grass VB. On sand the height depends largely on how much sand you put
under the wooden supports. Go for wooden supports say 10"x10".

Add a hook about halfway down to secure the bottom of the net.
You can also run a rope through the bottom of the net for extra net
tension. We did this. Do it in front of the TV because it can be quite
tedious.

Why 3 sections for one pole?

Well, two sections means a cumbersome long bag. We looked at sports
bags around and found that 3-foot was a standard size. Hence all our
pole sections are 95cm so that they fit into a standard bag. We don't
have any problems with stability or strength with three sections.


Guide ropes and pegs:

This is probably the most critical part of the system, but nevertheless it
is the easiest to get right. You really see the good and the bad
set-ups on windy days.

Get about 30m of 6mm polypropelyne (sp?) rope. Divide into four
lengths. Add another hook near the top of the pole for the guide
ropes.

Sand:
Get some 36" PVC pegs from a camping store. A sturdy rubber mallet to
hit them in. We have never had a peg come out.
No more digging holes for wheels! 8-)

Grass:
Standard steel tent pegs will do say 1 foot in length.

For tensioning use 6"x0.5" wooden blocks. Drill two holes in the
block. Thread the guide rope through both holes to make a loop.
You have probably seen this done before and we recommend it.

Court rope:
This can be expensive as you need 54m of it.
We went for 8mm polypropelyne (orange) ($18) because it was the
cheapest option. Its nice to have reasonable thick sidelines. The
orange goes great with grass and does OK on sand.
You will also need small PVC pegs for the corners of the court. Tie
a hook and some octopus strap to the pegs. This can then clip onto a
loop on the court rope and ensure that the sidelines are kept taut.
(Just lift the rope and drop it and it will spring back into place.)


Thats about it. Mail me if you have any questions.

azyweck@eleceng.adelaide.edu.au
--

Tony.
-- 

Tony.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.volleyball