search

DragonShadesX / Arduino-Laser-Tag

A repository for my arduino laser tag stuffs
13 stars 2 forks source link

Hardware: Phoenix Compatibility #5

Open DragonShadesX opened 8 years ago

DragonShadesX commented 8 years ago

For some reason, the hardware in the Phoenix is only triggered when the custom tagger is within a few feet of the Phoenix. Best guess is that the IR LED is not bright enough. This could be fixed with a stronger IR LED (not recommended) or an IR-Permeable lens to focus the light and condense the beam, though this means the user will have to be much more accurate. This is low priority since Phoenix compatibility is not a main feature.

psykauze commented 8 years ago

You can focusing the IR beam by using a lens.

I think this is possible with a 45mm long black tube, a lens from Google Cardboard (<$3) and a TSAL6100 (<$1). This will focus the beam into a 16mm diameter cilinder.

If you use a TSAL6200 you should have a "45mm focal" lens of more than 26mm diameter. The diameter of the beam will be 26,3mm diameter.

DragonShadesX commented 8 years ago

I know, I've done the math and checked the numbers with a few cheap lenses. Testing with the Phoenix taggers and the TSAL6100 with no lenses gave me the same performance with respect to how far off the target I could aim and still have the target register a hit.

Also, consider that your target (on the Phoenix) is a small, moving, ~3cm diameter dome, and with a lens/beam setup you are trying to hit it with a 2.6cm wide beam at ranges of 3-40m(max range I was able to test). For a normal person that is near impossible, never mind when the target is a 4mm x 4mm square on the vest (if the player is trying to tag another player using the custom system).

psykauze commented 8 years ago

You're right, I've forgot the Phoenix system use a single shot gameplay. 1) Maybe if the Soft tries to spam the shoot during ~500ms the accuracy will not improve but there's more chances to hit. 2) Reducing the beam to 10° with a lens will improve range and the need of accuracy should be correct. 3) Use of laser dot ? (In case of 13mm cilinder beam. Is it cheating ???)

psykauze commented 8 years ago

Also, which wavelength use the Phoenix system ? Maybe it is more effective with a 850nm IR than a 940nm.

psykauze commented 8 years ago

You could also mesure the Phoenix beam by shooting on a white board and view it with a digital camera.

psykauze commented 8 years ago

Here some patents about Phoenix toys:

DragonShadesX commented 8 years ago

First comment: 1) It doesn't send correct data so you can't hit the target, not sure what that has to do with accuracy. 2) The LED has a viewing angle of 10 degrees already. 3) If you feel like it. I was going to avoid it because point lasers at the shoulder plates is dangerously close to someone's eyes.
Third comment: I made some night vision goggles to help test with the project, they worked well. Most digital cameras block IR since it messes with the pictures. Fourth comment: The EL-8L is a 30 degree .1 amp LED. Also amps =/= range, and there is no way that these work at 300ft. In testing the Phoenix dropped off at about 80ft in outdoor environments with relatively fresh batteries (~30 mins light useage). 38kHz is also pretty common, though the Phoenix do use it. Those patents are also from almost 20 years ago and not likely to be very relevant to the Phoenix. The third seems to have preliminary designs for the Laser Tag Team Ops gear, which is the Phoenix's predecessor (and it's sorta compatible too). I wouldn't bother with the patents.

psykauze commented 8 years ago

Sorry for the spam on this thread.

I've seen that the Phoenix LazerTag was based to the Tiger/Hasbro systems that was commercialized in 2004 (for Team Ops) maybe before. So it's why I've checked some technical informations about these systems also from patents.

I understand that the patents is not the reality, but they give us some clues on how the system works.

In the second patent, there's no info about the IR-LED or beam but the schematics show the IR-LED powered by a 6V battery, limited by a 1ohm resistor and drived by a bipolar transistor, so if I consider a voltage drop of 3V for transistor and IR diode, the peak current consumption is about 3Amps and can explain the 300ft range. (I know I can't be precise for the voltage drop. I've found the Vdrop should be just a little less than 4V, so the current should be a little higher than 2Amps peak.).

The third patent give some recommendations like the beam cone of 4° (adjusted by a lens) and the LED used in this patent (the EL-8L). For the last thing, we can conclude the system use a 940nm IR protocol.