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#357135 Brass Breech (Sharpfire)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 December 2016 - 03:41 PM in Modifications

Both breeches operate the same way. The brass in the plunger tube slides snugly into the larger brass in the barrel extension. When you close the breech, the plunger brass slides into the barrel brass and makes a seal.

 

The difference is that Jay cut a tongue into the plunger brass and Walcom didn't. Otherwise, the mods are identical.

 

The tongue guides the plunger brass into the barrel brass, preventing it from misaligning and jamming open. It also provides a smooth guide rail to help you slide the dart into loaded position. Otherwise, it shouldn't affect performance or functionality.

 

The drawback of Jay's mod is that it's difficult to cut a good tongue into brass. Ideally, you'd use a bandsaw or a bench-mounted Dremel and vise so you can cut an even, symmetrical tongue. The cleanup is also tricky - you need to round off the sharp brass edges and carefully bend it back into shape.

 

The downside of Walcom's mod is that it's marginally harder to load the blaster. Also, if something flexes or shifts, the brass pieces can misalign, and instead of closing and sealing, the plunger brass will push the barrel brass out of the blaster and bend out of shape.




#357131 [NY] NYCNO 2 (Dec 17 Saturday)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 December 2016 - 12:36 PM in Nerf Wars

I need to cancel my RSVP - I don't have enough waterproof gear to survive a 35-degree rainstorm.

Good luck, guys! See you in January!



#357130 Top 5 best springers for Nerf wars

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 December 2016 - 12:29 PM in General Nerf

Try playing in the rain and ask the flwyheelers which type of blaster is king.


Good point. Just remember to strip, dry, and lube your blaster afterwards so the spring doesn't rust.



#357123 Hammershot vs Strongarm/Maverick

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 December 2016 - 02:19 AM in General Nerf

Voted Hammershot, but Maverick wins because you can play Russian Roulette.




#357122 Top 5 best springers for Nerf wars

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 December 2016 - 02:14 AM in General Nerf

If you're going to a NIC war, #1 through #4 are Rainbowpumps and #5 is a tie between a Plusbow and another Rainbowpump.

 

If you're doing a more casual, close-range battle, you will get outgunned by flywheels. Few springers have an advantage over a flywheel blaster, but these have special properties that could make them competitive:

  1. Longshot - The best platform for a clip-fed modded springer, period. Supports the beefiest springs, the silliest integrations, and the most sophisticated breeches. A maxed-out Longshot could outrange a flywheel blaster and provide area denial.
  2. Dart Zone Magnum - Big, filthy, stinking drum. If you can run really fast and have good game sense, you can mop up opponents as they swap mags.
  3. Buzz Bee Sentinel - The People's Rifle accepts Nerf mags, shoots 120+ FPS, makes you The Terminator, and costs ten bucks. You see A LOT of these at Superstock wars.
  4. Alpha Trooper - The definitive HvZ blaster. Lightweight, good ergonomics, cheap, and versatile. So reliable it's basically indestructible. Slam-fire works well. Not competitive in brief games, but perfectly suited for multi-day HvZ scenarios.
  5. Ultimator - The only springer that shoots HUGE ROCKETS. Provides +5 ranged touch attack and +10 movement speed while wielded by BallisticJoe.

Honorable mention: Stampede. It's technically a springer. But only technically.




#357117 Extended Hammer

Posted by Zack the Mack on 12 December 2016 - 06:22 PM in Modifications

Nice model. If I can get some printer time at the hackerspace, I'll run one off in ABS, 100% infill, and report back.




#357111 Preview: Rapidstrike Electronic Fire System

Posted by Zack the Mack on 12 December 2016 - 01:30 PM in Modifications

2016-12-12 13.25.31.jpg

 

The displays work!




#357103 Preview: Rapidstrike Electronic Fire System

Posted by Zack the Mack on 12 December 2016 - 12:12 AM in Modifications

 

The boards are etched and populated! Testing is in progress. The motor controller board is shown without the heatsink or fan. I'll add them both after testing, when I know I don't need to rework anything.

 

 

Bonus! This 3D-printed adapter replaces the Rapidstrike's upper sling mount point with two OLED displays. The model for this part is attached for noncommercial use by any NerfHaven member in good standing.

 

EDIT: Not sure why the pictures came in upside-down, and I can't figure out how to flip them back over

Attached Thumbnails

  • 2016-12-12 13.25.31 scaled.jpg
  • 2016-12-11 23.56.35 scaled.jpg

Attached Files




#357102 Fly Wheel Barrel?

Posted by Zack the Mack on 12 December 2016 - 12:05 AM in Darts and Barrels

 

So what if, the first stage of motors were something fairly weak and as the motors went on they got to something like 180s

 

That would work fine, but it will seriously complicate the build for a minor benefit. The blaster would be almost worthless without the extension.

 

I've been told that Rayvens and Rapidstrikes are good candidates for afterburners because of well-placed dead space in the shells.

 

If you're considering building an afterburner into a barrel extension, you're basically forced to use a Hyperfire or Stryfe because their flywheel cages are directly connected to the barrel extension adapter.




#357095 Gun computer MkIV

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 December 2016 - 12:38 PM in Modifications

Hook an oscilloscope up across the phototransistor, run the motor full blast, and check out the amplitudes.

It's possible that the peak output voltage of the phototransistor isn't going over the microcontroller's minimum logic high voltage. If that's the case, you'll need to bias the transistor or amplify it with a fast transistor or logic buffer.

The opposite problem is possible too - at speed, the minimum output voltage might be too high to register as a logic low! If that's the case, you can use black paint or aluminum tape to block ambient light, and add a current-limiting resistor to dim the LED.

The important part is to use a scope and see the characteristics of the signal.



#357094 Fly Wheel Barrel?

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 December 2016 - 12:23 PM in Darts and Barrels

The problem with that approach is that in an "afterburner" setup with multiple flywheel cages, the first stage should spin at a far lower speed than the second stage. Too slowly, in fact, to fire a dart.

In other words, your barrel extension won't be optional at all!



#357068 Preview: Rapidstrike Electronic Fire System

Posted by Zack the Mack on 08 December 2016 - 12:37 PM in Modifications

This looks awesome. I'm not as fluent electrically as I should be. Will this run brushless systems?

 

Most brushless motors need a really complicated multi-phase driver. This fire system is intended for DC motors; it would need more complicated drive circuitry to handle brushless motors.




#357056 Preview: Rapidstrike Electronic Fire System

Posted by Zack the Mack on 08 December 2016 - 01:11 AM in Modifications

I've been working on an electronic Rapidstrike driver board, and I thought I'd show youse guyses as I build it up.

 

2016-12-14 02.31.58 scaled.jpg

 

Working title: The Hot Beef Injection.

 

HBI Driver 0-1 Screencap.png

 

This first PCB is the motor driver. It replaces the Rapidstrike's front tactical rail and enables more sophisticated control than bare microswitches. Each driver is rated to 40A; a heatsink and temperature-controlled fan keep heat under control. This includes:

  • Full PWM - the system can ramp up the flywheels slowly, and keep them running at reduced "idling" speed
  • Dynamic braking - Prevents pusher overshoot, and lets me quickly halt the flywheels for "stealth mode"
  • Sensorless closed-loop control - I can tune the flywheel speeds to maximize energy transfer
  • Current sense - For fun. Also detects shorts and breaks for self-tests and safety.

 

HBI Motherboard 0-1 Screencap.png

 

This PCB holds the Teensy microcontroller and has a 5V buck converter for efficient power. This slots into the empty space where the retractable stock used to be. The large connector on the end links this to the motor driver. The other sockets are for I/O:

  • Top left: Trigger and rev button inputs
  • Bottom left: Two OLED displays connected with I2C
  • Top and bottom right: RFID board in mag well to detect magazine sizes
  • TBD: Stock pusher endstop switch and mag detect switch

I used a goofy layout, fat traces, and too many vias are because I'm etching these prototypes by hand. The copper clad should arrive soon, so I'll update the post when I etch them up.

 

Thanks for reading! This is an exciting project, and I hope to finish it by the 17th to bring to CPNO.




#357053 Releasing Rapidstrike Flywheel CAD

Posted by Zack the Mack on 08 December 2016 - 12:28 AM in Modifications

If I have some spare time in the lab this week, I'll try to print one up for you in ABS.




#357029 3D printing in Nerf

Posted by Zack the Mack on 05 December 2016 - 01:31 PM in General Nerf

I use OpenSCAD. It's easy to change dimensions of your model after test-fitting. You don't need to move a lot of geometry by hand.



#356919 Rate of Fire mod for Rapidstrike?

Posted by Zack the Mack on 28 November 2016 - 02:21 PM in Modifications

Rate-of-fire is largely determined by the pusher motor. This is the biggest difference between the Rapidstrike and the Stryfe-like blasters - Pulling a Stryfe trigger manually pushes a dart into the flywheels, but pulling a Rapidstrike trigger engages a motorized gearbox that pushes a dart.

 

Upgrading the pusher motor will increase ROF. Make Test Battle has an excellent video in which they replace the stock Rapidstrike pusher motor with their 6V "Honey Badger" motor. It boosts ROF to about 10 darts per second.

 

10 darts per second, or 600rounds/min is excessive. You may want to throttle down the pusher motor to a more controllable level.




#356869 [NY] NYCNO 2 (Dec 17 Saturday)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 25 November 2016 - 11:32 AM in Nerf Wars

If all the materials show up on time, I should be able to make it.



#356833 Frozen Foam 3: Chilled to Perfection

Posted by Zack the Mack on 23 November 2016 - 03:54 PM in Nerf Wars

Are FVJ's ok? I don't think I'll be able to get Koosh darts in time.




#356832 [NY] NYCNO 2 (Dec 17 Saturday)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 23 November 2016 - 03:51 PM in Nerf Wars

Are FVJ's ok? I'm having trouble finding a supplier for Koosh darts that will deliver on time.




#355316 The Mackazine

Posted by Zack the Mack on 01 August 2016 - 05:11 PM in Darts and Barrels

How do reloads work when there hopper is still filled with a few slugs? Do you have slugs fall to the ground or get in the way of the new Mackazine you're trying to insert?

 

The retainer snaps back pretty quickly and traps the darts inside. Sometimes, the retainer will pinch a dart against the hopper opening. 

 

I've found that one dart will usually stay in the wye. Loading a jam-packed Mackazine over it acts like overfilling a standard hopper and causes double shots. If you tend to reload early, you might want to leave an inch of headroom just in case.

 

Clear PVC helps too!




#355298 The Mackazine

Posted by Zack the Mack on 31 July 2016 - 11:17 PM in Darts and Barrels

You can also use these to reload a traditional wye through a ball valve (or check valve) if it doesn't have the other slip female connection cut off. That way you have the option of just topping off your hopper by hand, or doing a full reload of it.

 

That's a great idea. I don't have any "magic ball valves" with a loose dart fit to test, but if you used this configuration, you could use thinner-walled tubing to reduce the weight, since the Mackazine wouldn't need to mate with the wye.

 

the tape measure material will definitely break over time, but you've also got another ten+ feet to use so who cares. 

 

A 5.75" length of tape measure should buckle but never crease. This is the minimum length I could use - even a 5.5" segment of tape measure will crease after a few insertions and quickly snap off. 

 

But yes, one $5 Harbor Freight tape measure has enough material for at least 60 Mackazines.

 

Before settling on the tape measure, I tested styrene, PETG, HDPE, Kapton, vinyl, and ABS spring elements, and they all creased within a few dozen actuations. HDPE (milk jug, used in Aeromech's original design) was the most durable plastic, but it weakened after only 20 or so actuations.

 

If you wanted to make a really, really durable Mackazine, you could try heat-treating the tape measure or just using spring steel stock.

 

Those slugs look familiar, by the way!

 

Guilty as charged. Shands did supply the pictured Slugs, and they're quite good.




#355278 The Mackazine

Posted by Zack the Mack on 30 July 2016 - 03:46 PM in Darts and Barrels

Hoppers are simple, powerful, and reliable, but ball valves take forever to reload. Instead of feeding darts one by one like an asshole, replace the entire hopper like a magazine - a Mackazine.
 
2016-07-15 14.18.28 scaled.jpg
 
This uses a 3D-printed part, which you should print at crappy resolution with 15% infill. If you're not a member of the glorious 3D printer master race, you could mold one out of epoxy putty or ShapeLock or even carve it out of wood.
 
This project is an improved version of Aeromech's Quick-Change Hopper Clip.
 
Materials:
  • A hopper's worth of PVC pipe
  • An endcap or plug
  • Heavy-duty tape like Gorilla Tape
  • One tape measure, to be sacrificed for the greater good
  • One 3D printed / handmade retainer (STL attached)
  • Two spare self-tapping screws (about 1/8")
2016-07-26 00.49.13 scaled.jpg
 
STEP 1: Glue your endcap or plug into the hopper. Blasphemy.
 
Retainer scaled.png
 
STEP 2: Cut a 5 3/4" segment of tape measure. Drill 1/8" holes 1/4" and 1/2" from one end. These measurements are easier than usual because you're cutting a tape measure.
 
STEP 3: Cut a strip of tape long enough to cover the tape measure. Fold it over the tape measure. Use heavy-duty tape - the glue on electrical or duct tape can soften in heat and expose the razor-sharp metal.
 
STEP 4: Use two screws to fasten the retainer to the strip, right through the tape.
 
2016-07-26 14.11.11 scaled.jpg
 
STEP 5: Tape the retainer assembly to the hopper. Your Mackazine is done!
 
2016-07-29 00.35.10 scaled.jpg
 
STEP 6: Optional: Sand the edge off your blaster's wye to make reloading easier.
 
2016-07-26 14.12.04 scaled.jpg
 
To fill a Mackazine, just shove darts into the pipe, heavy side up. You don't even need to hold the retainer open.
 
Inserting scaled.png
 
To load a Mackazine, align the retainer with the wye and swing the mag into place. The tape measure will give way with an audible snap and release the darts.
 
2016-06-25 18.11.57 scaled.jpg
 
You can carry them in a magazine pouch - one AR15 pouch will hold two. The pictured rig is a Voodoo Tactical Six-Mag Drop-Leg Shingle purchased from Amazon. Note that one magazine pouch is deliberately not loaded with Mackazines - mags in that pouch could jab my lower body if I jumped too aggressively. Gotta be safe!
 
TACTICOOL CONSIDERATIONS: The main advantage that Mackazines hold over a dart-by-dart system (ball valve, Hole Door, breech) is that the darts don't need to be oriented as they're inserted. You don't need to pull a handful of darts from a dump bag and turn them around as you insert them, which improves situational awareness while reloading. 
 
The main downside is the weight of the Mackazines. The pictured 10x10 loadout didn't affect my agility, but it was heavy and fatiguing over time. For extended wars like Apoc, I plan to carry just four extra Mackazines and retreat to reload if necessary.

Attached Files




#355052 Midsummer Mech-Out 7.16.16

Posted by Zack the Mack on 17 July 2016 - 04:07 PM in Nerf Wars

Thanks Aeromech for hosting, and Zach for keeping the rounds moving. It was a great war, with varied battlefields, skilled players, reliable blasters, and great strategery.

 

UPSIDES OF THE SCHWARTZ:

  • Aeromech's Straifu
  • Van's Waifu
  • Mobstacles
  • Single flag with the thousand-pound Stampede
  • Aeromech's blatant hatred for Van's mods
  • Good variety of blasters and tactics
  • My new loadout performed great. Look for it on one of Aeromech's upcoming videos!
  • Meeting D3V1L
  • Meeting D3V1L's mom
  • Ice cream truck
  • Canceling a round to eat ice cream
  • Ample shared food, water, and darts
  • No downtime to fix blasters
  • Learned a lot about homemades and 3D-printing blaster parts
  • Four-person NIC team flattening the eight-person superstock team
  • Rainstorm struck just in time
  • No sidearm, no mercy
  • Varied game types
  • The best diner meal of all time

DOWNSIDES OF THE SCHWARTZ:

  • Too many players named Zack
  • Ludicrous weather
  • Van left his phone at Aeromech's place
  • Van found his phone while driving back to Aeromech's place
  • Goddammit Van this is all your fault
  • Wind, which blew the mobstacles away
  • Shredded the knee of my tactical pantaloons (tactaloons)
  • Someone's entire loadout self-destructed - their blaster broke, their sidearm broke, their belt broke, and even their darts broke
  • Sausage fest
  • No pokemon, pokestops, or gyms in range
  • Ants the size of grapes
  • DX runs too fast, needs rebalancing
  • The worst diner service of all time

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE WEATHER:

  • It was very hot
  • It was really, really hot
  • It was super fucking hot
  • Also humid
  • It was so hot that the hot glue melted on my Slugs
  • Players got dehydrated
  • Players got sunstroke
  • It also rained at the end
  • This is your fault for driving an SUV
  • We drank gallons of water and it wasn't enough
  • I drank half a gallon on the way in
  • Massive thanks for everyone who brought enough water to share



#355020 Dart and Barrels pictures thread

Posted by Zack the Mack on 15 July 2016 - 01:23 PM in Darts and Barrels

I improved Aeromech's quick-change hopper design with a 3D-printed tongue on a metal spring.

 

It's now reliable, shake-proof, and durable enough for war use.

 

2016-07-15 14.18.28.jpg

 

Writeup and 3D model soon!




#355019 Apocalypse 2016 - August 6th in Ocean Township, NJ

Posted by Zack the Mack on 15 July 2016 - 12:44 PM in Nerf Wars

I'm excited to end my hiatus and fight this Apocalypse! Also catch Zubats.

 

What is the correct term for an amount of Southerners?

 

The collective term is a ranch of southerners.




#355018 Midsummer Mech-Out 7.16.16

Posted by Zack the Mack on 15 July 2016 - 12:35 PM in Nerf Wars

Super stoked for tomorrow. My +1 is not, so I'll be going alone.




#355017 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by Zack the Mack on 15 July 2016 - 12:30 PM in Modifications

WIP Sceptor for Apoc. It used to be an airgun, but now it's a Poland Springer  B)

 

2016-07-15 13.07.13.jpg

 

2016-07-15 13.07.28.jpg

 

2016-07-15 13.07.37.jpg

 

Features:

  • TRACKED pump handle with styrene spacer
  • Water-bottle Dr. Pepper tank replacement, for hydration flavor safety. Water bottles won't hold pressure!
  • 14" 17/32 --> 9/16 telescoped brass barrel
  • Quick-change magazine hoppers with spring-loaded dart retainers
  • INTEGRATED CHRONOGRAPH and ammo counter (work in progress)
  • Super professional shell cutouts



#354941 [NY] NYC CPNO (July 9)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 July 2016 - 12:46 PM in Nerf Wars

Great location. Hope we do more of these. Thanks y'all for lending me darts and a Sentinel.

 

It's good to go back into battle after a few years! I was so tired afterwards, it took almost 24 hours to recover!

 

PROS

  • Transforming Van into Gimp Hitler
  • A Nerf war! In Central Park! Public transit! Bikes! Convenience!
  • Great topography. Lots of cover but still good sightlines.
  • Not interrupted as often as I expected. We had to hold every 20 minutes or so, which is great for CENTRAL PARK MANHATTAN.
  • The People's Gun did great
  • Mid-war modding with hacksaws
  • Tactics! Strategy! Teamwork! Excitement!
  • Grabbing sacks of balls
  • Integration game on fleek
  • I can still dodge
  • Superstock > 80-ft standoffs
  • Pistol round, with very inconsistent definitions of 'pistol'
  • Got to field-test like 10 types of darts
  • Good variety of game types and teamcomps
  • You can never have enough Overwatch references
  • Camcorder viewfinders
  • Everything was lit
  • Tacticoolness everywhere
  • Sucker darts sticking to humorous surfaces
  • Bum-rushing opponents mid-reload never gets old

 

CONS

  • Too many players named Dave
  • DX runs too much! Stahp
  • About a foot of mulch and dirt in the staging area
  • Couldn't use my Sceptor  -_-
  • Recovery took a full day, a TENS machine, and about 120mg of THC
  • VIP devolved into bedlam almost immediately
  • My Recon got dysentery and couldn't hold its clipamagazines in
  • No one told me that BuzzBee blasters hold Nerf magaclips



#354534 PETG-Ready HammerShot Cylinder - STL File

Posted by Zack the Mack on 24 June 2016 - 02:17 PM in Modifications

 FTFY. Sketchup is capable of the task.

 

I've never been able to efficiently work with undercuts in curved surfaces with SketchUp.

 

The ratchet isn't hard to model, but it will be hard to modify and tweak. Some day I'll model it in SCAD, which does this trivially.




#354507 [NY] NYC CPNO (July 9)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 23 June 2016 - 10:48 AM in Nerf Wars

I'll try to come. I don't have any superstock gear, so I'll just need to run a lot.



#354259 Midsummer Mech-Out 7.16.16

Posted by Zack the Mack on 16 June 2016 - 01:01 PM in Nerf Wars

I'll try to make it.

 

If you're coming from Manhattan or Queens, we should arrange a carpool or Uber. This looks obnoxious to reach via public transit.




#354254 PETG-Ready HammerShot Cylinder - STL File

Posted by Zack the Mack on 16 June 2016 - 10:42 AM in Modifications

It is a five-round cylinder. Increasing the capacity would require a new ratchet mechanism, which is beyond SketchUp's capabilities... and probably mine!

Mind posting a pic, Drac? I'm curious how it looks in other colors.



#354175 Hornet

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 June 2016 - 10:36 PM in General Nerf

I wanna Crack it open and figure out why the chamber indicator doesn't work properly.

 

It's connected to the trigger with a ratchet mechanism. The spring in that ratchet mechanism can fall out of position and ruin the feature.

 

 

I'm also working on a titan integration to either a spectre or to use a vagabond shell and then the pump handle to pump the titan.

 

Hornet tanks are great for integrations. Be careful about attaching the Hornet's pump to a Titan tank - its overpressure release valve is set to a way higher pressure than the Titan pump. It'll create a dangerous blaster that you should never aim at people.




#354169 Ravenshot (Hammershot Carbine Conversion)

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 June 2016 - 06:23 PM in Modifications

This actually looks sick.




#354158 PETG-Ready HammerShot Cylinder - STL File

Posted by Zack the Mack on 13 June 2016 - 01:16 PM in Modifications

Would you think about making a variation for the 1/2" Lee's tubing?

 

What about a 17/32" brass insert variation?

 

Some day, I'll remake the model in OpenSCAD so I can upload a parametric model to Thingiverse. That will let you customize the model to fit your barrel of choice. If you want to move faster, you can download the SketchUp .skp file from the link in the first post and tweak it yourself.

 

 

I added .stl files as an allowable file extension, let me know if you need any others, or if it gives you any trouble.

I tried to attach the .stl file, but it said I wasn't allowed to post that type of file. 




#354131 Need some help with ROF voltage drop in RS

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 June 2016 - 11:06 PM in Modifications

It seems crude to use diodes to drop voltage. Generally, you should use PWM to control motors.

 

You can use an N-channel MOSFET or an NPN transistor on the low side, connected to a PWM pin on an Arduino or other microcontroller, to vary the power more efficiently.

 

Those are all Google-able, if your circuits knowledge is a bit rusty.

 

EDIT: The problem with dropping voltage with diodes is heat. The extra voltage is dissipated as heat, and the more current the motors draw, the more heat is wasted. Laziness and ignorance are not viable reasons to waste 30% of your battery power.




#354125 PETG-Ready HammerShot Cylinder - STL File

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 June 2016 - 06:58 PM in Modifications

2016-06-11 14.25.26 scaled.jpg

 

I made a 3D-printable replacement cylinder for the HammerShot that fits standard 1/2" PETG!

 

It uses the existing ratchet mechanism and requires no dicking around with the seal. Ranges are 30-60 feet with my ancient Slugs, but better darts will probably fly further. This is a really fun blaster and makes a great sidearm.

 

Because I can't attach the STL file or the SketchUp CAD file here, I hosted the files on Thingiverse. You can download the STL and editable CAD file, and read the installation instructions, at http://www.thingiver...m/thing:1621677 .

 

2016-06-11 14.24.35 scaled.jpg

 

2016-06-11 14.25.35 scaled.jpg

 

What?! Zack the Mack?!




#354122 Solder: Lead vs Lead Free

Posted by Zack the Mack on 11 June 2016 - 12:45 PM in Modifications

Pro product developer here.

 

If you're new to soldering, remember:

  • Flux fumes, from leaded or lead-free solder, will burn your lungs and dry your skin.
  • Use a fan to suck the fumes away from you. Don't blow the fumes away - the fan will also blow the heat away. 
  • Don't apply solder directly to the tip of the iron! Hold the tip against both soldering surfaces until the wires or pads are hot. Apply solder directly to the surfaces and they will melt the solder. Then remove the iron. If you melt solder right onto the iron, the flux burns off too quickly to work.
  • If you're soldering wires together, first coat each stripped end with solder. Then, thread some heatshrink onto the wire. Then, twist the stripped ends tightly together. Then solder, then shrink the heatshrink.
  • Use heatshrink for crissake.
  • Don't solder electronics while they're still in the blaster! The heat will deform the plastic.
  • Stranded wires are easier to tuck into place than solid wires.



#304722 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by Zack the Mack on 15 September 2011 - 12:45 PM in Modifications

Posted Image



Posted Image



#302445 Barrel Break Nitefinder

Posted by Zack the Mack on 28 July 2011 - 04:14 PM in Modifications

Is it necessary to use the 1" PETG for the plunger tube or could you use the NF plunger tubes?


You need to use 1" PETG - it barely fits as-is. The original NiteBarrel BreakFinder was going to use the original PT's, but they're too thick-walled.

Fish, what improvements/differences did you make on the original design?