Trumping Towers


Trump means Trump! Trump means FART! A parping tower triggered by a golf ball for Barrow’s Full of Noises festival.

Trump tower crazy golf hole

I helped out John Hall making a Trumping Tower Crazy golf hole for the 2019 FON Festival in Barrow. John did all the arty bits while I worked on the electronic internal gubbins.

There were many, many prototypes

circuit board and small speakers

The first electronics attempt worked, but the speakers were too small

Single large speaker and circuit

The new speaker fried something!

guitar amp plugged into circuit board.

The third farting speaker (guitar amp) was just right said goldiplops.

golf ball, drain pipe, circuits.

First sound trigger test worked, but not all the time!

drain pipe with added yellow plastic.

The next attempt always triggered the sound, but sometimes the ball got stuck!

box with speaker, switch, circuit board and battery.

I was pretty pleased with my final packed lunch box full of tech!

I’ll skip to the first successful test, because I stopped taking pictures of all the failed attempts!

It took a while to get the ramp size right, and I found out you can flatten a drainpipe nicely with a heat gun.

Play

After a lot of prep we had three great days of play and the trumping tower worked flawlessly throughout.

Five crates

Following the brief we made it to pack down for storage.

sheets of reflective squares

John’s removable shiny cladding

Girl about to hit golf ball into tower

Putting the final tower through the Dot Whacker test.

Trumping Tower crazy golf hole on a golf green

We guffed on the golf course…

Woman playing golf in bandstand

Trumped in the town hall…

Two men standing behind golden tower.

and blew off in the band stand!.

Burst balloon

There was a flash from the grassy knoll and our balloon trump exploded! Assassination or heat stress?

people milling around golf hole in room

Town hall milling

Two girls playing the hole

Hole in one!

Mum helping child with golf club

The youngest players needed help, but otherwise it played pleasingly well.

Man punching the air.

Victory dance.

Woman lining up golf shot

And the crowd goes quiet.

Man about to play hole.

Can you tell that bandstand day was the day I remembered to take snaps!

Woman holding a fake dog poo.

First triple hole in one round won a “prize”

John pointing to trump tower

John explaining the farting sound wasn’t him!

Man looking at tower after taking shot.

Boom, hole in one!

Trump tower on golf green

One of the few shots taken in its natural habitat.