The starting cord is caught in my Powerball, what do I do?

Reason: The cord will sometimes become stuck fast around the rotor axle if it is not wrapped tightly around the rotor surface and then pulled straight out from the ball.

Solution: Ensure that there is no slack on the cord as you wind it around the rotor – pull it vertically out from the ball (that is to say; pull it perpendicularly from the rotor surface, do not pull at a left or right hand angle)

Detailed Explanation: If the cord is wound loosely around the rotor, or, if the cord is pulled out at an incorrect angle (see Fig. A) there is a good chance that it will slip down into the small gap between the exposed rotor surface and the sphere shell as indicated in Fig. B

In cases like this, it can wind itself firmly around the spinning rotor and will be all but impossible to simply pull out.

Once this happens, there are two options;

Pop off the digital counter (use a flat head screwdriver or your finger nail at the 12 o’clock or 6 o’clock position as indicated here and lift upward, away from the sphere) and work from that side as opposed to the smaller entry point on the base of the ball. Fig C

Insert a long, flexible probe down toward the rotor axle (we suggest a simple item like a plastic cable tie – this has a perfect combination of stiffness and flexibility) and gently lift the cord over each vane (spoke) of the gyro as you turn it manually against the wind of the cord. This will serve to yield about 1 cm of cord for each spoke that it passes over and in a couple of minutes, the cord is easily removed.