Making a turning target (or similar) on a budget (<£20-ish)
Jun 28, 2022 0:23:51 GMT
HeadHunter, Modski66, and 5 more like this
Post by twodoctors on Jun 28, 2022 0:23:51 GMT
Yes, I got bored of shooting static targets. My reactive targets are no good for BBs. And I need to get myself back into Gallery Rifle type shooting...
...a turning target(s). How hard can it be right?!
It turns out that it's not THAT hard, and it can be done on a tight budget also!
To make a turning target, you need something that makes the target turn (a servo)! It has to be controlled by some sort of computer (or microcontroller). Then you have to build something to hold it all together.
Hopefully most people have heard of the Raspberry Pi Foundation... similar to the BBC Micro in the 80s, it's some organisation that is there to promote computer coding to kids (and the masses). Their budget computer, the Raspberry Pi, is powerful enough to do various things like playing Minecraft, run a VPN or Media server etc. They recently released something called the Pi Pico, which is essentially a very small chip that can run mini programmes that you can write yourself to perform certain tasks. Costing under £7 each, it really is that good value. With a bit of imagination, the world really is your oyster.
So I picked one up from Amazon. I did invest in a kit which has other stuff inside to help me learn how to use it properly. The kit cost £35, but for the purpose of this build, you don't need most of the stuff included.
For the proof of concept model, I "only" need: (price from Amazon UK)
Pi Pico microcontroller £6.60
Servo (the cheap one I used) £2 each (if bought in 10!)
USB A to micro USB cable £0 (you'll have one at back of your cupboard!)
Some cables to hook things up £2(?)
Breadboard (something we use in electronics for testing/creating simple circuit without soldering) £3 Ish (Not needed for the final build)
And this is the kit I used (servo not in view).
Plugging things in isn't that difficult. If you can solder, you'll be just fine!
The microcontroller programming is done on the desktop via a free software. You only need very limited number of codes to get this up and running. If anyone is interested, I am happy to share the code I used.
For this demo, I made the target face for 5 seconds to take aim, then it will "edge" randomly for between 2 to 7 sec (can be changed to whatever you want). The target will face for 3 seconds, then it starts again. 6 shots in total.
I just taped the target onto the servo, and taped the servo onto the desk, just for a quick demo. It is rather cool if I may say so myself. Of course one does not need to limit to turning targets. You can make it drive a belt/train of targets, at random speed perhaps. Or flip targets from different part of your shooting gallery perhaps? Flashing lights and sound if you must. It really is going to be great fun.
Next steps is to see how I can make the code a bit more complicated, so that I can run a number of preset programmes, or even adjust what I want on the fly, via some sort of menu system. Before that though I might just find some decent wood and build myself a proper turning target system!
Happy to help anyone who wants to have a dabble, but bear in mind that I am not a computer programmer by trade! 😅
...a turning target(s). How hard can it be right?!
It turns out that it's not THAT hard, and it can be done on a tight budget also!
To make a turning target, you need something that makes the target turn (a servo)! It has to be controlled by some sort of computer (or microcontroller). Then you have to build something to hold it all together.
Hopefully most people have heard of the Raspberry Pi Foundation... similar to the BBC Micro in the 80s, it's some organisation that is there to promote computer coding to kids (and the masses). Their budget computer, the Raspberry Pi, is powerful enough to do various things like playing Minecraft, run a VPN or Media server etc. They recently released something called the Pi Pico, which is essentially a very small chip that can run mini programmes that you can write yourself to perform certain tasks. Costing under £7 each, it really is that good value. With a bit of imagination, the world really is your oyster.
So I picked one up from Amazon. I did invest in a kit which has other stuff inside to help me learn how to use it properly. The kit cost £35, but for the purpose of this build, you don't need most of the stuff included.
For the proof of concept model, I "only" need: (price from Amazon UK)
Pi Pico microcontroller £6.60
Servo (the cheap one I used) £2 each (if bought in 10!)
USB A to micro USB cable £0 (you'll have one at back of your cupboard!)
Some cables to hook things up £2(?)
Breadboard (something we use in electronics for testing/creating simple circuit without soldering) £3 Ish (Not needed for the final build)
And this is the kit I used (servo not in view).
Plugging things in isn't that difficult. If you can solder, you'll be just fine!
The microcontroller programming is done on the desktop via a free software. You only need very limited number of codes to get this up and running. If anyone is interested, I am happy to share the code I used.
For this demo, I made the target face for 5 seconds to take aim, then it will "edge" randomly for between 2 to 7 sec (can be changed to whatever you want). The target will face for 3 seconds, then it starts again. 6 shots in total.
I just taped the target onto the servo, and taped the servo onto the desk, just for a quick demo. It is rather cool if I may say so myself. Of course one does not need to limit to turning targets. You can make it drive a belt/train of targets, at random speed perhaps. Or flip targets from different part of your shooting gallery perhaps? Flashing lights and sound if you must. It really is going to be great fun.
Next steps is to see how I can make the code a bit more complicated, so that I can run a number of preset programmes, or even adjust what I want on the fly, via some sort of menu system. Before that though I might just find some decent wood and build myself a proper turning target system!
Happy to help anyone who wants to have a dabble, but bear in mind that I am not a computer programmer by trade! 😅
