LTAR Barrel Adapters!!

Well, it's taken us awhile, but the first version of the LTAR Barrel Adapter, designed by Eleri at'Xalien of the MLTA, is now available for purchase!

This part directly replaces the orange muzzle on an LTAR blaster so that you can attach a home-made custom lens arrangement (like the ones LazerBait makes) to easily extend the range of your blaster.  The part leaves the normal IFF Emitter underneath the main barrel to it's factory specifications while the top portion is flat with three holes.  The center hole is where you would run the wires from the LTAR's IR LED into the new lens arrangement.  The holes to the right and left are for screws to secure the lens arrangement to this new housing.  It's an identical version of what is used on Eleri's custom LTAR blaster, which has served as the testbed for these adapter products that we've been working on.

There are more products still in-development that we will eventually publicize and make available for the LTAR including a Weaver Rail adapter and Stock Adapter.

You can purchase your own LTAR Barrel Adapter part from Shapeways by following the link below.
LTAR Barrel Adapter

Halloween Game: 2013!

Had our Halloween Laser Tag game last night and I must say, it was a rousing success!  I actually think this was the best year for costumes and turnout wasn't half bad, either!  I had my Ghostbusters geddup, my fiance stole her dad's Air Force flight suit, Sundawg dressed up as Jayne from Firefly, and there was a guy in a full ghille suit that looked like a shrub most of the time!  Also starring mini Captain America, Gas Mask Man, the Brawny Paper Towels guy, even a Lumberjack.  The group photo isn't exactly complete, as we had a few folks show up late.  Final count for attendance was 18 players.

Scavenger Hunt: Day #1

Well we've had a few good tries so far, but no-one has managed to go 20 for 20.  A Perfect Score will end the game with whomever gets it first, but if there's still no perfect score by Halloween, I'll choose the person who A: submitted the most right answers in B: the shortest amount of time.  For instance, if you submitted your answers last night but you got 3 wrong and someone submits answers today who got 1 wrong, they'd be the winner.

It's been close though!  I'm impressed with how many right answers I've seen come in.  Have you had your try at it yet?

Tactical Tag Scavenger Hunt!

Scavenger Hunt Contest!

Thought I'd do something fun for readers of the blog by holding another contest.  It won't be easy to get it though, and you'll have to do it quick!  It's a scavenger hunt, Tactical Tag style!  With the resources on this blog, the Facebook Page, and the YouTube Channel, I figured I'd give a list of things to find that span all 3 sites.  Here's how it works.

There's a clue for each number on the list.  Your job, if you wanna win, is to find the link and post it as your answer.  For instance:

Item #1: A Picture of a close call up against some BuzzBee Suction Darts

So then you'd go find the link to this picture on the Facebook Group

https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1174687_560950690633753_1675037338_n.jpg

There are probably going to be multiple right answers for some of these questions, so as long as you get 'em right, it'll work for ya.  As far as scoring goes: this contest will end one of two ways.  The first being that someone finds all of the items FIRST.  If in the next 24 hours someone has already completed the scavenger hunt, the contest would be over provided they found everything correctly.  HOWEVER, if it's tough and there's a bunch that are CLOSE but not quite correct, I'll choose the most accurate one on October 31st, or more commonly known as Halloween in the US.  Post your findings as a comment below.  I won't publish your answers until I've found a winner!

Now then, I bet you're all wondering what the prize is.  Well, the answer to the first item to find is what you'll be getting if you win!  The list is after the jump.  Good luck, everyone!  Happy Hunting!

Lens Testing Results

Been awhile since I did a video, so I put a stop to that drought.  Here's a look at stuff we tested out at our Mod Night to prepare for our next game... and then some.

Really excited to use some of these lenses as the backbone to some new blasters.  Plus, once we get that LTAR Lens Adapter Kit produced, it'll be easier than ever to upgrade stock blasters!  See the video after the jump!

MEGA: Take Two

Well Nerf is pumping up the release of their next piece of the wildly successful N-Strike Elite MEGA lineup.  If you missed the hint of sarcasm there, you must not have seen my review of the Centurion.  Nerf just went public with the blaster on their Facebook Page.

To save you the trouble, my favorite part about the Centurion was the folding bi-pod.  While the MEGA Magnus looks to have a lower rail that could use said bi-pod... I worry it'll suffer from the same problem it's big brother did: those DARTS.  Sure the Centurion chewed 5 of the 6 darts it came with, but when it WAS working, the shots were incredibly inconsistent.  So, unless Nerf has addressed this flaw in their darts for the MEGA lineup, the Magnus will just be another bulky piece of red plastic tacti-cool-ness for your collection... collecting dust.

Who knows, maybe Nerf improved their MEGA darts, but I'll let someone else find out.  I already bit the bullet with the Centurion before, so I'm not so keen to rinse and repeat.

Mod Night! Halloween Style

Having a Mod Night tonight just shy of our next Lazer Tag game.  There's a couple of things that have needed to be done that we finally have the time to get to!  First and foremost, we've got some more lenses from LazerBait to test out.  You'll recall these long-range lenses that have been reaching out and tagging even our best players thanks to the immense range and accuracy of these custom-built lens arrangements.

The nice part about it is that, because they're all built from the same size piping, swapping out different lenses is actually quite easy.  Once you've made the adapter for the back portion of the lens, you can remove the tube and lens off the front and swap in a different one.  Different magnifications on the glass lenses that LazerBait uses denote how each arrangement is essentially "tuned".

With Laser Tag, it's all about how that IR Light is being focused.  You can focus a beam to be incredibly tight for long range but need incredible accuracy to land your shots.  On the flip side, having them slightly out of focus, or creating a "halo" effect with a strong center beam with a bit of a spread around it will work well for most kinds of general combat.  Pinpoint accuracy and deadly range only work for a little while.  And, considering that a stock laser tag blaster has a 500-600 ft range, it's tough to find a line-of-sight shot that exceeds that, decreasing your area of usable distance.

These lenses are all tuned differently, as we've found in range tests and actual in-game use.  The two links below show different lens focus types as well as the results of one of our nighttime range tests.  Both posts show videos displaying the kinds of effect focusing light can have.
Long Range Lens Testing
LazerBait LTX Lenses

We'll also be doing some aesthetic stuff to blasters in preparation for the Halloween Game.  I know one of my buddies is going as Jayne from Firefly... which probably means some kind of "Vera" is in the works.  I'll also be working on my Ghostbusters Costume and hopefully making some kinda blaster for that with a link to a makeshift Proton Pack.  I'm not sure what others are going as, so matching costume blasters for them may not be as important.  We'll see what we get for the Mod Night tonight!