Hanging around

I'm in the midst of a load of electronics based projects but took half an hour out to make these.

OK, they look like clothes hangers but they're actually to hang banners on for a bit of set dressing at a LARP. The brass knobs unscrew so you can slide the banner on.

It's just some dowel, old manky brass knobs polished up and a bit of cheap decorative chain but they've come out quite nicely. I'd be tempted to make a few more to use at games but first we'd need the banners to go on them.

Matched pair

I finished off the pair of holdout Lasertag pistols I've been making last night. They're unlensed with reduced power for use indoors (10m range, little reflec) and have turned out very tidy. There's a Lipo battery inside and I made a compact charging socket from a 0.1" pitch connector.

Trouble is I finished them quite late and then couldn't sleep so I'm totally shattered at work today.

The extra 'plugs' are different resistors to adjust the power of the IR as getting it right for use indoors is a bit of an inexact process.

These are really nice and compact, ruler included for scale.
Bog standard enamel matt spray has given them a decent look, although it is likely to wear off a bit in use. I've made no attempt to remove the Nerf branding because they're for a game and once clasped in somebody's hand just look like a cool little holdout gun.
 I'm quite happy with how tidily the controls fit in the base. The X where the plunger went in is perfect for fitting a recessed on/off switch and the air holes are 3mm, perfect for an indicator LED. Charging socket is a bit improvised but sits nicely where I've put it.
 The IR emitter is in 40mm of brass tube which is inserted in a hole in some acrylic rod. This then has a 3mm white LED drilled into the back of it. This makes for a lovely even diffuse ring of light round the centre when it fires.
The standard tag circuit and Lipo just fit inside the handel of a Nerf Jolt. This is one of Spartan Design's boards rather than an Arduino based one of my own.