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Hacking Laser Tag
Mike Yates plays lasertag. Now, I’m not talking about the kind of game that you might get in on down at the Family Fun Center, amusement park, or around your neighborhood using some toy.
Serious Lasertag
Mike is at the center of a group of hardcore lasertag players who prefer to play their games in the warrens of bunkers below abandoned military bases, using highly modified custom equipment.
Mike has been hacking lasertag gear for a decade or so, and I recently got to take a peek at his latest project, which he calls the Scorpion. The Scorpion is based on Hasbro’s newest Lazer Tag Team Ops
Since Mike moves in this shadowy world of underground tagger developers, he was able to obtain a pre-release prototype circuit board for an upcoming LTTO tagger, called the TMB from it’s developers, Shoot the Moon Productions.
The TMB would be a tagger that fired a foam-tipped IR-emitting “RPG” round. In order to fire the rocket, the player has to hand pump the gun to pressurize a plastic pneumatic tank, which propells the rocket 20-40 feet. Very cool, but not very Yates. Mike had ideas for improvement.
3000 psi multi-rocket delivery
Over the next 10 months, Mike and his pal/fellow laser hacker Duncan, designed and built the ultimate LTTO compatible IR weapons system. The Scorpion is Mil-spec from top to bottom. The most obvious feature is the 4 rocket magazine which attaches to the top of the weapon. 4 Mac pneumatic relay/solonoids control the airflow from the 3000psi air tank to the various rockets through stainless steel plumbing.
The trigger/grip for firing the rockets is from an actual tank and was found on ebay.
In addition to being a rocket launcher, the weapon functions as a high powered LTTO sniper rifle with a 1500 ft range thanks to the big 4″ adjustable focal length lens.
There’s deffinately a big element of one-upsmanship motivating the development of these guns. Everybody knows that when they show up at the annual Tagfest NW meetup, there will be some new show-stopper there. More often than not, Mike is behind it.
You can check out more of Mike and Duncan’s work on their CTDYNE web site.
I’ve seen similar DIY guns for paint ball, but never anything this cool. I’d love to see it in action.
I’m agog. Wow.
Dude, this one’s awesome. Great work!
Daaaaaaamn! Looks like something out of Rachet & Clank.
Part Number on those relay/solenoid units.
please.
Please.
PLEASE.
PLEEEEEASE!!!
With a cherry on top!?!?
Oh man, 300psi; the rockets must come outta there like they were fired from a gun…. oh wait.
Joking aside, gratz Mike!
Here is a video of SCORPION in action, taken at last July’s Tag Fest North West 2006 event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdHo42fk3Wk
Nice work , hey mike i need to ask you a question on a certain gun i would appreacite a reply
The valves are manufactured by MAC. The part number is 35A-AAA-DDAJ-1KB. The four valves in the magazine on the Scorpion have been modified for this application.
Sean O’Hara has mistakenly read the pneumatic system pressure as 300 psi instead of 3000 psi.
Understandable since he doesn’t know that there are primary and secondary regulators on the Scorpion. The first stage regulates the aluminum storage bottle pressure from 3000 psi to 800 psi and is fixed. The second stage regulator is adjustable and is set to approximately 120 psi. As the solenoid valve opens for each launch tube the pressure initially spikes at something less than 120 psi and starts to drop below 40 psi as soon as the missile starts to move down the launch tube.
When I was in the National Guard, we went to Ft. Hunter-Ligget with our M60A3 tanks and I “accidently” set up the MILES system on my track so we didn’t have to set off the main gun blanks to fire it. So, in the middle of the night we were using the IR scope to pick off the Op-For Infantry at around 1000 yds. This is even cooler than that. :)
i’m lookin gto start a lazer tag facility. Do you know a supplier that has the best prices. Thanks
kor had the same ?as iI do. I’ve got a grate location
but no supplier, think you can help?
THANKS
The only commercial tag gear I ever personally used is from Steradian Technologies. Steradian gear is designed to be used outdooors. I have been lucky enough to use this high quality gear on two different occasions. Each time I was extremely impressed with the fit, form and function of their gear. Probably not the cheapest commercial gear, but definately some of the best in my opinion. See it on the web at:
http://www.steradiantech.com/
Mike Yates
HiMike Yates !!!!Say please where it is possible to take the base information. It is very necessary!
That would go really nice with the tank I built, very well done! I am really impressed with the level of detail and level of quality you put into this design, very impressive to say the least!
Looks GREAT! Very impressive…
BTW, what is the weight of this gun? Is it very heavy?
P.S. Couldn’t help publishing a brief information about this at TRUTNEE http://www.trutnee.com/index.php?page=122 ; hope nobody’s against (the appropriate back links are provided)…
Hello Mr. Yates,
I was wondering what you used for the main housing of the gun (the beige parts) and where you got them? I am working on a gun-based project and this looks exactly like what I’ve been looking for. Any info on parts would be amazing. Thanks!
awasome