TECH: IMMERSIVE AIRSOFT

IMMERSIVE AIRSOFT: SYSTEM UPDATE

LAST MONTH JAMES SHOWED US HIS FIRST CONCEPT WORK FOR A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LOOK AT A SIMPLE “SHOOT HOUSE” AND THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WILL BE ONGOING NEXT YEAR! IN THE MEANTIME HE’S BEEN “RECRUITED” TO PROVIDE SOME VERY SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR ANOTHER MILSIM EVENT, ONE THAT WILL TAX HIS SKILLS TO THE LIMIT…

All change again this month... With an invite to attend another site and MilSim event early next year and new builds required to field for it, I was sold, so planning for another 24hr game begins! The launcher would once more be required this time in an anti-missile role and three new builds will be added for the event.

With dates for meetings with event organisers and site visits planned and ongoing I thought it best to send my time upgrading and improving the existing rocket launcher and its control systems to help eliminate any issues we ran into on it first live test before starting on the new projects. The first place to start would be the launch control panel.

In its first form it consisted of a small metal panel with three group-launch switches, with an external box for the 240-12v transformer to power it. Each switch would power four of the launchers twelve rocket tubes launching four pods simultaneously. This was originally planned 1) for cost savings and 2) to reduce the amount of cable required from control point to the launcher itself.

When it came to launching on the day I found that any minor fault between any of the four tubes would lead to failure of one or more rockets in that set, with then no other way to launch the failed rockets without resetting the firing lines. So the first job was to scrap this panel and install a larger panel with twelve switches one for every tube in the launcher to stop this cascade failure; every tube can now be fired individually and any fault will only affect one tube.

The larger panel also has room to move the transformer power supply inside, giving it better protection from the elements. To help prevent a mass of cables to the launcher four muiltcore cables are sleeved together to make one protected cable to link the units together. On the back of the launcher itself the connection box for the incoming firing lines has been updated with more terminals that now run to each separate pod.

The last change is the rockets themselves; this time I will be using single-use pyrotechnic rockets to allow for a large report at the end and will be ignited between matches. As this time it’s planned that the launcher will be much closer to the centre of the of the action an emplacement is planned around it, with a single blast protected entry point.

To signal to players weather it is safe to enter or if firing is about to occur I have made a simple red / green traffic light to be set on a stand by this entrance to be operated from the control point. With the launcher updated ready for use, the site layout is planned for next month, so I will begin the first of the new builds.

There’s a LOT more to come with this project, and much work to be done, but the end result should create something a bit special for the players involved! The “Kill House” is on the back burner for now, but I’ll also return to this in the future when more immediate projects are completed! AA

“IN ITS FIRST FORM IT CONSISTED OF A SMALL METAL PANEL WITH THREE GROUPLAUNCH SWITCHES, WITH AN EXTERNAL BOX FOR THE 240-12V TRANSFORMER TO POWER IT. EACH SWITCH WOULD POWER FOUR OF THE LAUNCHERS TWELVE ROCKET TUBES LAUNCHING FOUR PODS SIMULTANEOUSLY.”