Super IR bar from Arcadeguns

[Monyet]

Hey Guys,

 

I have a projector screen that's about 140 inches. Just wondering if anyone has got the Super IR bar and how far they managed to get from the screen? They say on the website that it'll work up to 75 inches, but someone else in a review there said they had it working on a 90 inch screen.

 

Here's the link: http://www.arcadeguns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=225&zenid=k5qv351t7kv5ulqki2fobu3ti3

 

I had emailed the owner and also Andy at Ultimarc, the owner says a few people have expressed interest and they might do a Super SUPER IR bar of some kind in the future. Andy also said it's possible it would work on a screen that size.

 

 

[wesfranks]

Shooting at a 140inch screen sounds fun if it works. You will probably not know until you try. I have the guns and super sensor bar, but my shooting position is closer (about six feet on a 50 inch screen) so no answer, just observations.

 

Website says works up to 12 feet away from a screen up to 75 inches. There is probably some play built in, but doubling the width of the screen might be pushing it.

 

The website also states that the original sensor bar had problems with monitors over 42 inches. The way they overcame this limitation was by making the super sensor bar wider and separating the ir-leds groups further apart. Since the original bar had limitations, you might assume the super sensor bar does also.

 

Additionally, the camera sensor in my guns are recessed in the "barrel" of the gun. I would assume that moving it to the side of the screen would at some point cause the housing to block the view of one or more ir-leds. You might be able to remedy this by moving back (i.e.- making the screen smaller), and increasing the gain on the leds to make them brighter to make up for the distance. But this would probably be limited by the quality of the camera sensor they use in the gun to recognize individual ir-leds at distance.

 

Oh, and some may suggest that the 10 foot USB cable is a limitation, but I have mine running through fifty feet of ethernet cable to a different wall. Probably not an issue.

 

Good Luck.

[Monyet]

Thanks for that info, food for thought. I imagine a super super bar might have two pcbs so you can position them at a decent distance. I was going to use active usb cables to go over 10 feet as I'm only about 15 feet to the pc.

[wesfranks]

Nope. One pcb for upper center of the screen. Micro USB connector, six ir-leds and 4 resistors together on one end and two ir-leds on the opposite end. I thought of that possible solution (DIY-making it wider) but the recessed camera in the barrel housing would still be a problem at some width.

 

The gain increase on the leds would also have limitations over distance. In addition to the quality of the camera, the website says that version 2.0 guns are having issues with interference from ambient light in the room and suggest turning out the lights or adding an ir filter to the lens of the gun. The gain increase setting is included ostensibly to shine through tinted monitor glass not to make up for increased distance. I would test it on my setup, but the screen and sensor are permanently mounted on the wall in a small room. Unable to increase the distance.

 

On the other hand, I do not want to discourage you from trying. Life size targets on gun games would be cool. It amuses me when a player's accuracy is so bad they get like 2 inches from the screen and still wound the innocent. Then they want to complain about real world situations and "bad calls" that other people make. It's harder than it looks and 140 inches of screen would prove that even better.

[Monyet]

So it pretty much sounds like there would need to be a new design of IR camera (and software) to cover a space that large. I wonder if you could put a fisheye type lens on it and arrange the leds around the four corners of the screen? This is beyond my level but I can always try to learn more I guess...off to the Library!