"It sucks out of the box."
So I decided to modify it over the holiday break. I cracked mine open and began the process of dremeling out the back of the plunger tube to get the Air Restrictor, as well as trying to find a spring that would fit [my initial choice was doubling up two weaker springs, but even fully compressed, they were too large and it was nearly impossible to cock the gun. I finally settled on a stronger but smaller spring, which I've rated as 165 N/m; 9.24 lbs/in.]
Anyways, that's all pretty standard. Why I'm posting this is on account of the cosmetic work I did while I was in there. I wanted a laser sight for Longshot. While trying to decide where to place it, I was put off by the look of simply gluing it on (though that would've been easier than what I did).
I wanted to house the laser in the scope mold, because I still think, useless as it is, the scope looks cool perched atop the Longshot. So I set out to get it open... which was no small feat [See my trials and tribulations with that here].
Suffice to say, I cracked it open.
Now, here comes the point where things get interesting. The laser pointer I had (and which most people would have for this) is a bullet-style push-button laser. That is, it's a small cylinder with a button you must hold down to activate the laser. What I wanted for this mod is to be able to control the laser from a single switch mounted on the gun, and to remove the scope if I felt like it.
Lets deal with the button issue first. If the laser is inside the scope housing, I don't have access to the button, and even if I did, I don't want to have to hold it down the entire time. What needs to be installed is an external switch for the laser pointer. This is a separate task in and of itself, and I found a really useful tutorial about it that really helped..
At this point, I had it so that I had two wires coming out of my laser, and the device would activate when I connected them; that much is explained in the above tutorial. Next, I affixed this to the rail attachment of the scope. It used a combination of duct tape and rubber bands. The only reason I didn't glue it on was I thought that might make it hard to replace the batteries when they die eventually.
So, I got it attached to the rail.
Since I wanted it to be modular, that is, to be able to remove the scope, I needed a quick and simple way to connect the wires to whatever switch I eventually installed in the gun. At first, I found some "quick connect" terminals... but they were really cumbersome and almost impossible to wire up for this end.
(DO NOT USE THESE)
A much, much better idea I had later was to use spare terminal plugs for 9V batteries. (These come from RadioShack in packs of 5)
If you use pliers to loosen the crown end of the connector just a little bit, these connect easily and securely very quickly; exactly what I needed! So I wired that to the end of the wires coming from the laser pointer. (You can actually see this in the above pictures, as I took them following this step)
I drilled a small hole in the front of the scope, fed the 9V connector out of it, and sealed up the scope. NOTE: You need to leave out the front plastic 'lens'. I tried several configurations, but in each one, there was just too much refraction of the light on that plastic slice, so I nixed it.
With the scope done, the remaining task became to install the switch in the gun. I just got the switch from a hardware store for a buck-or-two; I wanted something small and subtle, but you could really use whatever you wanted. Then I picked the placement for both the switch, and the 9V terminal that would be mounted externally. I drilled one hole for the terminal wires to get into the gun, and dremmeled a square opening for the switch. (This was actually a little messy, as the rotary tool is probably not the best for this type of job. I covered my poor handiwork with e-tape)
The switched was mounted internally with hot glue, and the same was used to affix the terminal externally. Solder the terminal leads to the switch, and you're in business:
Put it all back together, and that should be it.
"But the dart doesn't hit where the laser point shines!!! Rip off! You suck! *general flame ensues*"
I will caveat this by saying I've yet to successfully calibrate it. It could be possible, but the stock darts vary a lot in how far/what direction they tend towards, and so a 'red dot' sight, as this is technically called, is somewhat impractical.
I did this because it looks cool.
If anyone is able to properly calibrate it, please let me know how you managed that!
The one thing I will say for this is that it's modular. Eventually, I'd like to cannibalize the "night time green light rail attachment" accessory simply for it's rail, and affix a high-powered flashlight onto it, and then fit it with a 9V terminal so that it can utilize the same switch. That's my favorite part anyways.
I'd appreciate thoughts, feedback, and suggestions.
Thanks!
[I'd also like to acknowledge Carrtoon for his original AR removal write-up, and to hornet, telekinetic, and Lynx for their suggestions on getting that damned scope opened up.]
Edited by M30, 30 December 2007 - 02:53 AM.
