• Please consider adding your "Event" to the Calendar located on our Home page!

No strings attached the low budget home version.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Healthservices

Healthservices

Member
Aug 29, 2020
2,394
1,364
SoCal, United States
So I was farting around, (yes I have a lot of gas) reading the post "no strings attached" and after my post in there I wanted one. Well at least a low budget version for home use. Probably because I'm a tight wad or maybe because I like to tinker... probably both. No not auto reset, but for home use I can push a button to reset the device as needed. I ordered a gamo target on Amazon and a few other items. Cobbled it together. Made some estimates, pulled out some tools, and I got something like this.















https://youtu.be/v0I4UmQQGbk















Playing in the back yard it works to 20 yards. After some adjustments and moving my receiver since it is not protected against being shot directly it seems to work pretty good to 50 yards. 















https://youtu.be/Fsb7I4NjR6Y















It's possible it could work further but I only have 50 yards at the house. I guess it's not too bad for just Cobbling things together. 



Allen


 
Actually was not complicated after having a few failed attempts. 😆 

Not including the battery (i used a dewalt battery that I have plenty of), adaptor to tap voltage off of it, some wood for my platform, and the cost of the gamo target. I think depending on where you source things probably below $20 maybe $25. I just clicked a bunch of stuff off of amazon and it costed me a bit more probably $35 to $40. I think I'm going to order some stuff of of ebay since it is cheaper and see how cheaply I can make it. But I have to say with my uragan compact the gamo does bend easily. Good thing I did not shoot it with the 30!



Allen
 
Upvote 0
Ok I have a couple mins before I have to pick up my daughter. 



Issue one finding a actuator that was strong enough to move the plate. There are a lot that can do it but none as cheaply as I wanted to spend at least not that I could find.



2. Finding a actuator that has enough stroke and still cheap. 



3. Finding a way to have the actuator move the plate up and get out of the way so it would not hinder the plate coming down when the plate is ready to come down. Many actuators are geared such that the arm stays where it is after it is put in a certain position.



Well I found a very simple actuator that was fairly strong and cheap. It also happens to have gearing that was not high and easy to overcome when no power was applied. 



This was a aftermarket generic door lock actuator! You can get these for as little as $4 each! You do have to buy more than one but 4 for $16 is cheap and easy to replace if you break it! 



20220128_154950.1643420608.jpg




The problem is stroke. There is not a lot of stroke so you have to put the pivot point very close to the hinge or attach to a bell crank with enough amount of movement but still be strong enough to lift the plate up. You could also make and 3d print a new housing for the actuator so it has the amount of travel required. 



The other thing is finding a 12 volt remote control switch. That part was easy. The only thing is finding one you can program to be momentary switch. Meaning it only pushes when you have the button down as you don't want power on the actuator once the plate is up because if someone shoots it while the actuator is powered something would probably break. I found these as cheap as $8 ($5 if you have your own remote) but it's on the slow boat from China. You can find 🇺🇸 suppliers for like $10 to $12. You just have to change the setting to momentary switch. 

Here is the Air venturi I just made. I don't like that it does not have a spring like the Gamo does to help the plate stand up once it is near vertical.







https://youtu.be/UxYwQzlNB30



I guess if I wanted to spend the time I could've this more low profile by using a bell crank of some type. Then again I could put a sensor on there so it knows when it is knocked down and apply power to the actuator as needed. 🤔

Maybe on my next free weekend...



Allen
 
Upvote 0
Yeah I am studying for the ham radio test and learning very basic electronics. I plan on going further and getting an electronic circuit kit for my little girl. Doing that with her should help significantly. I'm that bad. Building radios and clocks and variable speed fans on one of those kits will definitely get me into a better place. My brother is a software and computer genius I would love to work with him on an app that allows us to shoot airgun matches and record our scores over time with multiple players. He does insane stuff with those raspberry pie computers. I bet he could make something better than what's on the market. 
 
Upvote 0
If your kid likes to tinker she will love that. If not you will as it. 😆 

But If you can understand the basic circuit board you are doing with your daughter the wiring of this is just as basic or more so. 

As for your brother this stuff is so basic he will assume anybody could do this. And probably could do some setup like you said that can count score and keep track of who did what. 

Allen
 
Upvote 0
That is so cool. As, mention this was just something I saw and wanted my own at DIY home version. While building this, more gears were turning in my head, and before the second target was done i already have a stand alone reset setup in my head and ordered some parts to assemble 🤪 I took a extra day off to relax and not have to think about work but my head does not know how to stop. Too bad my body cant keep up with my head. Ugh.

Here is a single remote with 4 outputs. That way you don't have to buy so many remote control units. One unit can control 4 targets independently of each other. Easier to count as whether it was knocked down or not by counting the ones needing to be reset.

https://youtu.be/JzvbZN4S0Zc

My other parts just happen to come in today, if I have time I will see if I can wire a self reseting target tonight. 

Allen
 
Upvote 0
So last night was late and I rewired and reassembled the field target for Automatic reset. I just added a switch and wired a timer. This is on the Air Venturi version. It does not have a spring to help with reseting so it's does not always reset the first time. Which apparently is no big deal because as soon as the reset trigger is release, that part is reset so if the target does not stand up correctly the first time it trys again. I'll probably put a simple magnet and it should help with the reseting process.

https://youtube.com/shorts/SMKcqSkvmAU?feature=share

I did not have time to post this morning as I went to the range down by San Diego. Interesting enough it already got a bunch of views. Funny how that happen and I only shared with 2 people. 

Anyhow its not too hard as you see. I'm no brainiac I just happen to have a saw, can splice and can connect a couple wires. 



Allen
 
  • Like
Reactions: SANTO
Upvote 0
Great idea! it could work. The servo motors are fairly inexpensive. There are some strong ones for cheap too.

20KG Digital Servo Full Metal Gear High Torque, Aluminium Case Waterproof for Robot DIY (Control Angle 180) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073F92G2S/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_AAG9ED7TB2HP4VCPK9BC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Just make sure you don't shoot the target while the servo is moving up or down as you don't want to damage the servo.

I though about using a pneumatic air cylinder as well! 

Oh these sure loosen up quickly. They do need some type of locktite. I fired about 12 times before the linkage on the target fell apart enough to prevent the mechanism from lifting the plate up correctly. The other extreme is not to tighten the nuts and bolts too tight otherwise it will be too hard for the motor to lift the face place and mechanism together. 

As for how much force is required to push up the plate. It depends on where you are pushing on the plate. With the actuator I am using it has a short stroke so it must be used closer to the hinge. Which requires it to have a fair amount of force. 
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu