It’s Kinetic, It’s Awesome, Strike
it up! The Gyro-discs spin up to 1000 rpm!
Hours of fast-paced excitement for all ages!
Just hold the metal ring and strike the smaller,
colored discs. As you rotate the ring, the
discs begin spinning faster and faster, like
mini-gyroscopes! At first, the challenge is
to keep all the discs spinning. Once you can
do this, there are several tricks and stunts
to master!
How Does it work? (here comes the science bit!)
The Jitter ring is really just 5 little
tops of slightly unusual design which are strung onto
a metal ring so that they can freely spin. Have you
ever noticed that when you spin a coin on a surface,
it appears to spin much faster just before it comes
to a halt? Well this is what this prop takes advantage
of! You have to keep each of these little tops in
perpetual wobbliness! This rotation of the spin axis
is called ‘precession’ and causes the
ring to press on one side of the hole in the spinning
top. The contact point between the ring and the top
can be thought of as a gear that changes the motion
of the upward moving ring into the top’s spinning
motion.
How to Get Started
1.
Hold the large metal ring with one hand.
2.
Use other hand to spin-up washers
(one method that works particularly well is if
you rest the beads on your index finger halfway
up the ring, and then flick the beads to the side
with your thumb)
3.
Once the beads have begun vibrating, you need
to rotate the ring towards yourself. What you
are doing here is basically pulling the large
ring through the small beads! The friction from
this action is what keeps the beads vibrating/spinning
fast
4.
Practice, Practice, Practice! This is the trick
you need to learn before you can attempt any other
tricks, so take the time and master this trick
completely before trying any other tricks on this
page!
Still having problems?
If you are having problems with this basic move,
don’t worry, you are not alone! The most helpful
tips I can give would be as follows:
1.
Try to hit all the beads evenly
when starting the ring up. Remember that
the aim is to vibrate the beads, not to
wallop them with as much force as you can
manage! Try to therefore use a light but
firm touch.
2.
Try to move the ring smoothly,
without wobbling it from side to side. You
will notice that the faster you move the
ring, the higher the beads rise towards
your hands.
Some more tricks
Bear in mind that all of these tricks start with
the basic move above (getting the beads vibrating!
Backward
Turn
Grasp the ring
with one hand and begin turning it. You need
to keep the large ring moving through the
beads during all of this time or else the
beads will come to a halt. Once the ring has
completely turned, you will need to remember
that the ring will now be needing to go in
the opposite direction through the beads!
It’s not as easy as you might think!
You have a choice of turning the ring the
full 360 degrees, or reaching the point where
you are feeding the ring backwards, then returning
the ring back the way you turned it. Turning
clockwise is easiest with the left hand and
vice versa for right hand.
One handed
Once you get the beads going, you
can then just use one hand to keep feeding the
large ring through the beads. It is quite tricky,
but you can keep going for a long time once
you get the hang of it! Basically you need to
get the beads started (using both hands), then
pull the ring toward you and down, then grab
further from you and pull the ring down again
(and repeat ad infinitum!)
Throw and Catch
It should be possible for you to throw and
catch the Jitter Ring once the beads have started
wobbling. It takes a bit of practice for the
beads not to have stopped, and for you to make
a firm solid catch (and not catch the ring at
the part where the beads are!) As soon as you
catch, begin feeding the large ring through
the beads once again to keep the speed up. How
high can you throw and catch while successfully
keep the beads spinning?
Some tricks sent in by Ben W
360 flip
Start by getting the ring going really fast and
just throw it high so you can cathc it but in
mid air have it spin a completer circle done with
a good flick you can catch and continue.
foot start (best with
shoes)
Just hold your ring down and kick it with your
outside edge just grazing it to get a spin. then
turn like mad.
Some tricks and diagram sent in by Andrew Pershing
Reverse
Start the gyro ring. Get the beads close
to your fingers. Then, reverse your hand
motion listed as backward turn on the web
site so that you are threading the beads
backwards. If you do it quickly enough,
the beads will reverse direction and climb
up the opposite side.
Buddy Hand Off
First you and a buddy must have the basic
gyro ring motion down. Have one person start
the ring. Then, stand side by side. Next,
you basicly just hand it to the other person
and they continue threading it.
Buddy Reverse
Hand Off
You and your buddy must first have the reverse
gyro ring action down. Then, Stand across
from each other, about a foot apart. Have
one person start the gyro ring. Then, the
other person starts threading it in reverse
and the person who origionally started it
lets go.
Buddy Flip
Once you and a buddy have the 360 flip down,
then you can do this trick. Stand beside
each other, and have one person start the
gyro ring. Then have them flip it up and
slightly towards you. Then you catch it
and continue to thread it. It's easy once
you get it down.
Buddy Flip 2
You and your buddy must be familiar with
feeding the gyro ring backwards and a 360
flip. Stand about 3 feet apart across from
each other. Have buddy one start it. Then
have buddy one do one flip to buddy two.
Buddy two will catch it and thread it in
reverse. This one takes quite a few tries,
but my buddy and I have gone back and forth
4 times in a row successfully. If you are
really ambitious, you can try it alone.
I have done it sucessfully once. You throw
it, run to the other side while it is in
the air, and catch it in reverse. Thats
very tricky to do though.
Double Flip
(720 degree)
Very difficult trick. I am only able
to complete this sucessfully when using
the gyro-ring pro. I can't get it to work
with the origional. Start the beads. Flick
the wrist somewhat harder than for a regular
flip. Throw it 2-3 feet above you hand.
Wait until it has completed 2 "360
flips". Catch it and continue threading
the beads. Try to catch the rings when
they are up the side and at the height
that they normally are when you are threading
the beads. I'll say it again, THIS
IS A VERY DIFFICULT TRICK. You
should have the 360 flip down well before
attempting this.
180 degree
Inversion
This is one of my favorite tricks. However,
it is too difficult to explain without
pictures, so see below:
Reverse Flip
This is also a difficult move. You must
have the reverse Gyro-Ring motion down.
Start the beads. Turn/start the gyro-ring
so that you are threading the beads in
reverse. Flick your wrist in reverse so
that the gyro-ring rotates 360 degrees
(like 360 flip, only in the opposite direction),
and catch the gyro-ring in reverse. Continue
threading the beads. It is hard to flick
your wrist just right. I still am seldom
able to do this trick correctly.
You can also do all of these tricks one handed.
Obviously, it makes them more difficult.
MANY THANKS TO ANDREW
FOR ALL HIS HARD WORK!
Trick from Leslie
Bus Driver: To perform
this you have to hold the jitter ring like you are
driving a bus, then rotate it around. Be careful
you don't hit your hand though!
Trick from Market
Rollercoaster: the
trick is quite simple, but requires a good grip.
get the rings rolling and turn the whole ring 180
degrees, how it would be laying if it were on the
floor. you can then pass it back and forth from
hand to hand to keep the rings rolling around the
main ring and keep your hands out of the way. this
is where the grip comes in. there's going to be
a second or two of time where you will be holding
the main ring upright from one edge without letting
the other side drop. hard to explain, but if you
have a set in your hands, it's easy to see what
I'm getting at.
G
A
M
E
S
I am still getting the hang of these moves above,
so I will write some more advanced moves sometime
soon! Let
me know if you have any further tricks.