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Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

How To Activate Targets Indoors


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Pressure pads, pull cords, opening ports/doors, throwing football/baseball/dummy grenade...

Being indoors, you also get the benefits of having access to electricity. Amazing things can be done with motors, relays, etc. I'm considering using that automated doorbell at some businesses have that ring when a beam is broken. I just need to figure out how to wire it to activate some swingers...

Lots of options for a creative stage designer.

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Our club hosts about 60 indoor matches a year. Most of the time the swingers, drop turners, etc are activated by a pull cord; to keep the swingers in place (because staking them down to concrete is a bit tough) we welded up some steel skids to bolt to the bottom which extends the width and depth of the base.

Edited by kaiserb
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I have built a bunch of targets activated by all sorts of automotive solenoids (starter solenoids are quite strong), trunk latchs, door locks etc. To trigger them I have used simple momentary push buttons, IR beam style switches, car alarm shock sensors (first shot activates mover) and even simply running them in series so one target triggers another (or a few).

This video is of poor quality but you can make out the paint can lids on the IR unit and reflector. I break one beam after reset and the single swinger breaks the other on its first pass. Pretty much limitless what you can rig up.

th_autotargets.jpg

Edited by jmorris
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  • 10 months later...
  • 3 months later...

I posted the schematics of a circuit based on a vibration sensor. $30 bought enough stuff to build 4 sensors. The expense part was buying the plastic targets from LE targets. I tried a variety of materials, and the tuff plastic targets seemed to work the best. No walking down range.

My post is one about moving target activators

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Not in the rule book, but one of those remote control helicopters or an R/C car with a target attached, procedural if you hit the car/copter :-P

We had an indoor "dark room" where ports are heavy black trash bag style plastic, and only about a 10 Watt bulb, was quite an interesting course, maybe something like that?

What about like a clam shell wired to a cinder block or 2 to hold the contraption in place only raising it 6-8", taking care of the spikes if they're solid mounted?

Some kind of falling/domino style targets? All lined up you would have to knock down, wait til it fell for the next one to be seen? Maybe 2-3 rows of those? Attach targets to poppers, weight down, and have a cascade down effect? If that makes sense...

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  • 4 months later...

Some guys in our club took a screen door and attached it to a frame made of PVC with para cord. The PVC is very light and easy to assemble and transport. Chain, cord or cable can be attached to a cup hook screwed into door to activate.

Clint

Edited by clintv
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  • 10 months later...

I know this is an old post but I want to thank JMorris for suggesting the automotive solenoids. I bought 4- 12 volt door lock activators for 5 bucks apiece off ebay and I've been able to activate everything with those. I'm using the smallest lawn mower battery I could find and some of the rubber self sealing plates to activate the turners, swingers from a micro switch. I've had more fun the last week rigging up two turners and a swinger to use for our local indoor matches.

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