Well, the project has begun. We decided from the outset to start off with equipment we already have and will progress to more specialized equipment as we continue. That being said, right off the bat, we purchased a chronograph and laser site as those two tools seemed important and were consistent with previously published literature. For those interested, I will begin the documentation and enumeration of startup equipment and costs in my next post, and continue the tally as we move forward for informational purpose, should others wish to replicate or extend our results. Unlike most projects in which I am involved, as this is a hobby, we have not hard budget. With that being said, however, I am looking at keeping the overall cost of the project to under $1000 with a stretch goal of under $500, not including darts, which we use in everyday practice anyway just blasting each other.
Chronograph Test
We started with a chronograph test and videotaped it but lost the footage due to equipment use error. It was actually kind of funny, and right off the bat, my youngest and middlest got to learn, from experience, the importance of backups, redundant copies, and how to use the cloud drives. As I also was chronicling it on my own, I do have the following still shots:
Green Sight Laser Test
We also purchased a green dot laser sight that came with an attachment for a Picatinny rail and attached it to two of our test pistols securely, specifically the Nerf Rival Kronos and the Nerf Mega Cycloneshock. Neither of these blasters has a Picatinny rail, as would be expected due to the fact that they are TOYS! What I did not expect, and was pleasantly surprised by, was that in both cases, we were able to use the attachment that came with the laser site to securely fasten the sight to both blasters. Here is the test footage of the sight on the CycloneShock:
We also purchased a green dot laser sight that came with an attachment for a Picatinny rail and attached it to two of our test pistols securely, specifically the Nerf Rival Kronos and the Nerf Mega Cycloneshock. Neither of these blasters has a Picatinny rail, as would be expected due to the fact that they are TOYS! What I did not expect, and was pleasantly surprised by, was that in both cases, we were able to use the attachment that came with the laser site to securely fasten the sight to both blasters. Here is the test footage of the sight on the CycloneShock:
Finally, we did a screen test with my camera phone to test the video hardware and start trying to find an angle at which to film the strike point of the ball with the target, as it was recommended to not to film it at a direct 90 degree angle from the target. In the test footage, my youngest held the camera at roughly a 70 angle and came up with the following results:
This footage, while not great, confirmed a number of things:
1. Something we knew but wanted to confirm, was that the camera will not work for purposes of marking ball strike points in post production. Our next test will be with my eldest's GoPro Hero 5 to see if that will work better and we will see if we can ramp up the shutter speed to at least 120 to 125. I do not need professional grade video but I do need it to be accurate enough so that marking strike points and adding an outline of my youngest's head and torso will be easier in post production. I am hesitant to spend money on an SLR camera for this project, as the cost is already so far hovering at 150 dollars.
2. We discovered that the video software my middlest is using does not have the functionality to place dots on the strike points or do layers. We are now looking at free Mac-compatible versions (or Linux or Windows if the Apple platform fails us) of software for this purpose before we move to more costly alternatives.
Solicitation of Feedback
For anyone who has constructive criticism, I would love to invite you to comment and hear what you have to say. I will respond in a timely matter to questions posted on this blog. If you want to suggest equipment, that would be great. If you really want to add value to such recommendations, please list the price and if you would consider any tools if they are the lowest level tools in the category, highest level tools in the category, or the minimum enough to accomplish our goals.
For anyone who wishes to add negative criticism, use inappropriate language, recommend things out of scope, or tell me not to do this project, go elsewhere. Seriously. Go on Reddit and blast people with your negative opinions, reasons why you think this is stupid or useless, und so weiter. I don't want to hear it and you bring no value. Go away. This project is about scientific discovery. It is about process. It is about experimentation and learning what works so that me and my children can learn together how to create a multifaceted, technical project that piques our interest. Our ultimate goal is to spend time with one another and the people who share our interest in this hobby while creating documentation of useful data that people can use, not to fit some sort of market niche to gather subscribers or free swag.
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