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#45881 Mac Vs. PC

Posted by Techno-Dann on 11 January 2005 - 02:09 AM in Off Topic

In all the time I've had my iBook (G3, 700 mhz, almost 3 years old), I have not had a single problem with it (beside the occasional human damage to it). For example, my sister was mad at me, so she tried to kick me. I was holding the lappy, and she kicked that instead, made it fall on the (carpeted) floor from about 2 feet. Beside a minor screen display problem, nothing is wrong with it. I didn't lose any data, or anything bad like that. I suppose that was slightly off-topic, but it's part of the reason I like Macs: they're durable.

Basically the same thing happened to my PC-based laptop. It didn't ge kicked, but it was dropped hard enough to crack the plastic shell directly over the aluminum frame. The damage? One little tiny crack, and one dead pixel. That's it.

Also, There is something to be said for the upgradeability of PC systems. I've got a gig of ram in my system. If I wanted to double that, it'd be easy. Unscrew six screws, clip in the new ram right next to the old one, re-screw the same six screws. Done. Last time I checked, Mactops aren't that upgradable.



#45879 Whoa This Is Weird

Posted by Techno-Dann on 11 January 2005 - 01:38 AM in Off Topic

I've got a text-to-speech program on my old Mac+, 1 Mb of ram and an 8 Mhz CPU! (not that I use it anymore... I've got a nice little laptop now.) Seriously, text-to-speech is old. Really old.



#45606 Combustion Gun Poll

Posted by Techno-Dann on 07 January 2005 - 01:32 AM in Homemades

the other consideration is that when using a gun with the ranges of the comb. gun, the nature of the game may change to accomadate them in that it will become a game fought accross longer ranges that it currently is.

The question is, do we really want to play over longer ranges? The most fun I have ever had while Nerfing was in a crazy, up-close-and-personal game, where everyone is close enough that a long-range weapon (Like, say, my 120-foot max loser-ish rifle) is overkill. If the range of weapons keeps increasing, the game will become more and more a loser's war: You won't know someone is even looking at you untill you're dead. I, personally, prefer a game where action is in the 10-30 foot range, not in the 150-200 foot range.



#45605 Air Power

Posted by Techno-Dann on 07 January 2005 - 01:12 AM in General Nerf

Erm... Air pressure goes up a little bit, but most of what happens with a setup like that is that the amount of air coming through the barrel is cut. All the mod really does is restrict the flow, thus giving less pressure on the dart side of the barrier, and thus giving less dart velocity and range. Why do you think we tear out the flow restrictors in stock guns?

Yeah. It's an interesting idea, but conceptually, I don't think it works.



#45370 Maverick Internals

Posted by Techno-Dann on 02 January 2005 - 10:26 PM in Modifications

Cool pics. T-D happy now. ^_^

Think you could wedge an NF plunger and tube into it? It'd rock if you could.



#45295 My First Homade

Posted by Techno-Dann on 01 January 2005 - 03:23 PM in Homemades

A word of advice on the barrel: start long. Very long. My homemade has a tank made of a 19-inch section of 3/4 in. PVC, and it shoots quite well through a 30-inch barrel. For a homemade as big as yours, I'd suggest that you start with three feet or more.



#44821 Oops

Posted by Techno-Dann on 24 December 2004 - 11:27 PM in Off Topic

If I remember correctly, CX posted a pretty good write up of how NH's security works... It was a while ago... I can't find it at the moment. It involved IPs, E-mail, ISPs, and a few other things. All in all, an e-mail change is never going to bypass NH's security.

CX is the Hax0rM4ster...



#44818 New Way To Breech Load

Posted by Techno-Dann on 24 December 2004 - 10:30 PM in Modifications

So... if I understand what 1313 is saying... He's got a two inch (or so) stub of brass permanently attached to the gun, and a three inch (or so) peice over that. He rams his dart down into the shorter peice, and then slides another peice the same size (but longer, of course) into the three inch peice...

Geh. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Posted Image

Like that?



#44505 Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It.

Posted by Techno-Dann on 21 December 2004 - 10:36 PM in Homemades

Also do you get rid of the thing that pushes out the candy thing?

A flat head screwdriver and some twisting. ;)

I think that this sort of clip is interesting, but I can see one problem with it: There is force shoving the darts up into whatever mechanism you choose to mount, so there is the problem of the darts squishing together and possibly jamming. Brass casings would solve the problem, but they introduce a whole new world of problems.



#44308 Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It.

Posted by Techno-Dann on 18 December 2004 - 11:35 PM in Homemades

I've got a digital camera and some PEZ dispensers... give me a minute, and I'll shoot some pics.

< edit >
Here's the pics...

Posted Image
My victim.

Posted Image
Here it is with head back. It would be pushing a candy out.

Posted Image
This is the part that really interests us. The plastic tray can slide up out of the thing, but there's a spring trying to hold it shut.

Posted Image
Also, that little white thing inside the dispenser can be pushed down, again against a spring.

Posted Image
Here's the underside of the dispenser with the tray pulled out.

Thinking logically here for a second, I would guess that the insides are something like this:
Posted Image
The pink is the outer shell, the orange things are the candies, the black zig-zag is the spring, and the white thingies are... the white thingies.



#43858 Sweet Fan-created Halo 2 Trailer

Posted by Techno-Dann on 12 December 2004 - 12:23 PM in Off Topic

http://coerce.net/mi...r_and_Chief.wmv

Enjoy.



#43750 Nerf War

Posted by Techno-Dann on 10 December 2004 - 10:56 PM in Nerf Wars

Kent Washington, buddy. Sorry.



#43718 Using A Silencer

Posted by Techno-Dann on 10 December 2004 - 12:26 PM in Homemades

Zero's Silencer Writeup
This is a good place to start.  Felt works well in Zero's design.  A hole-y tube with foam pipe insulation around it works well too.

Wait, don't real silencers have holes in a piece of "pipe" the same ID as the barrel? Otherwise the air would just escape around the bullet when the bullet reached the larger silencer tube. Has anyone tried Zero's silencer because I have a feeling that it might not work with the piece of pipe that has the holes in it is 3/4". But if the pipe on the silencer with holes in it was the size of your barrel, the dart wouldn't have enought momentum to make it throught the barrel with all the friction and no air presure behind it and it would probably get caught on the holes. Just my two cents on this issue.

I made mine based off of Zero's design. It doesn't affect the range, and the silencer works... kinda. It's more of a muffler than a silencer, but it still looks (and sounds) cool. I suspect that with a real gun or a high-pressure system it wouldn't work very well.



#43717 Foldable Sniper Stand Idea

Posted by Techno-Dann on 10 December 2004 - 12:20 PM in Modifications

if you play halo, you don't 'eat shit' anybody with a rocket launcher no matter how concealed you were. They might be surprised...but it ain't a eat shit.

Aww... come on. You should have seen me on the new Blood Gulch. I dropped a guy halfway down the valley with a rocket. :nugget: I got pwned anyway, but it was fun.

To get back to the topic, I think it's a great idea, and very well done, but not very practical for my style of nerfing. I think that the least accurate part of a nerf gun shooting is the dart and how it flies, rather than how steady the gun is. If you're dealing with real rifles, a bipod makes sense, but I really don't think I would use one while nerfing enough to justify the expense.

So... It's a great idea, it's excellently done, but I'm going to have to say "sorry, not for me, thanks."



#43592 Christmas Day Poll

Posted by Techno-Dann on 08 December 2004 - 09:59 PM in Off Topic

taita_cakes, I now hate you. Here in Seattle, I haven't seen the sun in several weeks. I haven't seen blue sky since yesterday.

On the plus side, I don't have to worry about forest fires.

To get back to topic, though...

Unwrapping presents (always), stuffing my face, hanging out with family (and Grandma's eMac. Who says that grandparents aren't cool?), and having fun.

And ompa, I'll stop by NH and say 'hi'.



#43591 Using A Silencer

Posted by Techno-Dann on 08 December 2004 - 09:56 PM in Homemades

Exactly. Dittoes to the hole thing. I've built a silencer for my pump-powered homemade. It's nowhere near silent, but it's more of a dull thump instead of a loud bam. In short, silencers work, but they aren't perfect. Yet.



#43539 Winter Break War In Seattle

Posted by Techno-Dann on 07 December 2004 - 10:04 PM in Nerf Wars

Panther Lake... I haven't been out there. I'll have to go check it out.

As for a big Seattle area war, I can probably make it.



#43537 Aiming With Nerf Guns

Posted by Techno-Dann on 07 December 2004 - 09:59 PM in General Nerf

The best way to aim better is practice.
~Halfling

Exactly. All the sights, scopes, pointers, and whatnot aren't going to make you any better if you don't use them.

To add my lucky shot story to the pile...

I made it with a blowpipe. No scope or sight, semi-auto feed, or anything. Just a 30" chunk of 1/2 in. PVC and a micro dart. My friends and I were nerfing indoors, (Seattle in fall. Rain city) and my friend's little brother was hiding behind two folding metal chairs with a blanket draped over them. There was a little tiny notch in the blanket between two of them: It can't have been more than two inches wide and three tall. I was twenty-some feet away, and I could just barely see the top of his head through the gap. I made the hit. (Didn't win the game, though. ^_^ )

The only way I could have made that shot was by tremendous amounts of practice. I've been playing with that particular blowpipe for several years. If I had just started using it that morning, would I have been able to make that shot? Probably not.



#43440 Halo Shotgun

Posted by Techno-Dann on 06 December 2004 - 12:43 PM in Homemades

Utterly sweet, ompa. That gun rocks.



#43407 Winter Break War In Seattle

Posted by Techno-Dann on 05 December 2004 - 09:48 PM in Nerf Wars

I'm interested... Not sure when or where, though.



#43405 Aiming With Nerf Guns

Posted by Techno-Dann on 05 December 2004 - 09:46 PM in General Nerf

You practice. And you practice. And you practice some more. Try shooting your gun with the gun inside an open-ended cardboard box. Learn to tell where your gun is pointed, just by the feel of the handle. And then learn how to use the force, too. :lol:

Really, it's all about practice.



#43133 Nerf War

Posted by Techno-Dann on 02 December 2004 - 12:22 AM in Nerf Wars

VACC owns you. And your house, too.

Anyway, I'm up in Fairwood, so I'm definatley in the area... I'm not sure about scheduling, though. School and a 15-hour workweek doesn't leave me much free time, I'm afraid, especially with the end of the Semester coming up.

On a slightly different note, do either of you go to Kentridge High School?



#42951 Halo Shotgun

Posted by Techno-Dann on 30 November 2004 - 01:09 AM in Homemades

Ompa, that is one sweet gun. Now I'm going to have to look at turning my BF into a plasma rifle...



#42082 Auto-pumping Idea For Supersoaker Sniper Rifles

Posted by Techno-Dann on 19 November 2004 - 11:18 PM in General Nerf

For a high-pressure hand pump, how about one of these? 260 PSI , for only $24.99!

Yes, yes, I do know that that pump moves next to no air, so it would take hundreds of pumps to get up to operating pressure. I'm not that dumb. Usually. :cry:

<edit>Just messed up my BBcode, big time. Maybe I am that dumb after all...</edit>



#41511 Sealing A Tank

Posted by Techno-Dann on 12 November 2004 - 12:05 PM in Homemades

If it's PVC, try the wonderful stuff called PVC cement. You'd think it was made for gluing and sealing PVC, or something.

If it ins't, use plumber's goop. Lots of plumber's goop.



#40535 At1k Help

Posted by Techno-Dann on 01 November 2004 - 10:04 PM in Modifications

AT1K mod:

1. Open gun
2. See tiny air chamber
3. Close gun carefully, put back in original package
4. Return, then get a Nite Finder
5. Mod Nite Finder

Just kidding...

1. Open the gun. That little purple plastic ring thingy that goes around the cocking lever does nothing but keep modders like us from getting into the gun, so you can cut it off.

2. Take out the rotator. Throw it away. Far away.

3. widen the little tiny hole in the front of the air chamber.

4. Glue your barrel on top of that.

5. Stick everything back together. You may need to cut some plastic off of the case where the barrel goes through.

Essentially, you single-barrel the thing.

Hope this helps...



#39541 Whats The Suckest Gun

Posted by Techno-Dann on 22 October 2004 - 11:13 AM in General Nerf

But all those guns have actual modding potential to at least some degree. I still think the Gyrostrike is the biggest piece of ---- Hasbro ever came out with.

Hey... Indoors, the gyrostrike is pretty good. In the few wars I've been in, when my friend runs his gyrostrike up to speed, everyone on the other team ducks for cover. Sure, it's not as powerful as a X-bow, but it's got enough power to launch across the gym where I usually nerf.



#38200 Blast Fire Spring?

Posted by Techno-Dann on 03 October 2004 - 12:44 PM in General Nerf

I see no reason that a rubber band wouldn't work... I don't know where you'd connect it to, but I really don't know much about Blastfire internals. I'd say you should try things untill you find something that works.

Hope this helps...



#38098 Shopping For Computer Parts

Posted by Techno-Dann on 01 October 2004 - 11:35 AM in Off Topic

Oh yeah. Gforce 6800s are good.

Also, for computer parts, try Puget Systems, a Seattle-area computer company. They build good stuff for a fairly low price.



#37443 Any In My Area?

Posted by Techno-Dann on 18 September 2004 - 03:38 PM in Nerf Wars

Kent would be fun... I'm just east of there. Unfortunatley, my calendar is pretty full for the next couple of months. Pick a date that'll work for you guys, and I might be able to make it.



#36507 What Are Some New Nerf Games?

Posted by Techno-Dann on 05 September 2004 - 06:29 PM in General Nerf

Here's some I dug up...

http://nerfhaven.com...?showtopic=2820
http://nerfhaven.com...?showtopic=1226

Enjoy!



#36263 Swish Barrel

Posted by Techno-Dann on 02 September 2004 - 07:14 PM in Homemades

That is absoluteley awesome. I'm already thinking of ways to attach more barrels.

One thought... You could use four way pipe connecters rather than the three way ones... Add an extra couple of barrels.



#35467 My Homemade Questions..

Posted by Techno-Dann on 27 August 2004 - 01:34 PM in Homemades

Hrm...

1. if your darts (or whatever else you're shooting out of the gun) fit snugly into your barrel, they won't fall out. Stefans can be compressed a bit and fit into a barrel, they'll expand back to their original size and seal against the barrel niceley.

2. There are tubeless tire valve stems that fit through a hole in the rim of the tire. It's quite easy to put one through a hole in PVC pipe. Most hardware stores should have them, look by the pumps.

3. No clue. That entireley depends on the pressure of your system, the size of your air tank, the diameter and length of your barrel, the seal between your dart and your barrel, the friction of the interior of the barrel, the valve, and a bunch of other factors.

4. Try stefans. They're cheap, easy to make, and can be shot easily. Read around for information on stefans and barrels. I believe someone (CXWQ?) posted an article on selecting the right barrel. If you want to shoot ping-pong balls (which would be fun, now that I think about it...), all you'd need to do is make everything on the gun larger.

As for the CO2 bike pump... CO2 cartridges get expensive after a while. I'd suggest that you get a small air pump instead.



#35120 Exciting Game Types

Posted by Techno-Dann on 24 August 2004 - 10:48 PM in General Nerf

Let's see here... Here's one that works with nerf or H2H.

Forever War

Everyone starts alone. When someone dies, they go to a pre-determined rally point. When two people are dead and at the rally point, they become a team and re-join the game. When one member of a team is killed, he looses all past alliances; it's perfectly fair for him to kill his old teammate when he re-joins the game. The game continues untill everyone wants to stop.



#34491 Homemade Flash Bang Grenade

Posted by Techno-Dann on 19 August 2004 - 04:32 PM in Homemades

Any good party store should have a couple... The downside is that you'd need to plug it in to the wall. You should be able to get the same effect with a camera flash at close range. However, if you ask me, that's not Nerf. That's playing a rather stupid prank with a toy gun in your hand.



#34265 Gunkata

Posted by Techno-Dann on 18 August 2004 - 12:41 PM in Off Topic

Well... I suppose it's possible to do a gunkata... Frankly, the 'position with the least statistical chance of being hit' is around behind a bulletproof wall. Moving through various martial art stances, cool as it may look, really won't do much for your statistical odds of survuiving. And, as Ironman pointed out, flailing your arms about really isn't the best way to hit someone, especially if they're also trying to reduce their statistical odds of being hit. But, that's drifting off topic.

I agree, standing the right way (side-on to the target, possibly crouching or behind cover) will reduce the odds of your being hit, simply because it makes you a smaller target. However, anyone who has worked with a handgun enough will still be able to blow your head off.

As THIRST said, reflexes work. Especially when you're looking over the top of cover. I've seen several people avoid being nerfed because they ducked at the right time. However, standing in the open, using statistical 'science', does not. It might reduce the chance of your being hit, but it won't do it by much. Sure, I'll be 1/1,000th less likeley to hit you... But is that really going to do you much good when the odds are close to 8/10 that I will hit?



#34261 Need Homemade Gun Help

Posted by Techno-Dann on 18 August 2004 - 12:10 PM in Homemades

Well... On my homemade (which is by no means the best, just so you know), my air tank is a 19 inch long section of 3/4 in. PVC. With my bike pump, it takes about eight pumps to hit max pressure. The size of the air tank really depends on the length of your barrel, and your operating pressure. (Or the other way around, if you design the gun around the air tank.) I'd suggest that you make the volume of the barrel be about equal to the volume of the air tank, for a first test. However, I'd suggest you don't glue it in; experiment with different barrel lengths untill you find the one that works for you.

As for the tubing, I'm not aware of anyone who has used it in a homemade. Nerf uses 1/8 in. I.D. tubing in their guns; it works, but it's hard to find fittings for it. 1/4 in. fittings are easy to find, as are 1/2 in. fittings. For the line from the air tank to the trigger, and from the trigger to the barrel, I'd suggest that you use a large tube, simply so there's more air flow. However, I think 1/2 in. would be all that you'd need.

Hope this helps...



#34062 Need Homemade Gun Help

Posted by Techno-Dann on 16 August 2004 - 12:36 AM in Homemades

About the rifle... I'd say that your barrel sounds too small for your air tank. When I was experimenting with my rifle, I found that having the barrel have about the same volume as the air tank works the best. Of course, depending on your operating pressure and dart fit and whatnot, that'd change significantly.



#33893 Fbr Trouble

Posted by Techno-Dann on 13 August 2004 - 11:00 AM in Modifications

Go with what works best for your darts. My FBR fit 1/2 in copper, but I highly suspect that your darts and pipe are a different size. So, grab a dart and head down to your local hardware store. Look around in the pipe section, trying as many different pipes as you can. When you find a pipe that the dart fits in nicely, buy it and use it for your barrels.



#33695 Nite Finder Ppk W/maglite

Posted by Techno-Dann on 10 August 2004 - 07:38 PM in Modifications

Erm... That's exactly what the NF already has, jpshyboi9. The switches that Hunter and I added are set up so we can have the light not come on when we pull the trigger.