Designing a pistol box

First topic message reminder :


What would be great features in a good custom box?

For example: have the pistols face into the box instead of across it. No drawer needed on this level, but the box would be wider. This brings up the questions: what are the largest bullseye guns, tallest, longest?

What is the best spotting scope mount?

Moisture is a matter of foam type.  For moisture concerns closed cell won’t pick up moisture or damp air.  But the downside is that it is stiffer and doesn’t allow air to circulate.

SteveT wrote:.....Cameras are getting cheap. Displays are getting cheap. Why are digital spotting scopes either crappy toys or really expensive? .....

Well, you can include this outfit in your dream box:
https://www.amazon.com/Spotting-Digital-Eyepiece-Camera-Digiscoping/dp/B06XC8QB5W

Thanks Mike I just put that on my Amazon wish list.  Don

(I'm doing something just like this right now in India, except that it's going on a microscope in the Operating Theater at a hospital, and I'm making my own camera using a Raspberry Pi.  This all sounds like "science fiction", but it's all quite do-able.  We're using a plug-in Wi-Fi hotspot so anyone can watch, live, on a mobile phone....  Within a year, it will be available for sale. The tube you see on the box needs to be fitted to an eyepiece.  How many would you like?   :-)



Just make room in your pistol box for a suitable battery, and a place to pack this away when not in use.

)

mikemyers wrote:(I'm doing something just like this right now in India, except that it's going on a microscope in the Operating Theater at a hospital, and I'm making my own camera using a Raspberry Pi.  This all sounds like "science fiction", but it's all quite do-able.  We're using a plug-in Wi-Fi hotspot so anyone can watch, live, on a mobile phone....  Within a year, it will be available for sale. The tube you see on the box needs to be fitted to an eyepiece.  How many would you like?   :-)



Just make room in your pistol box for a suitable battery, and a place to pack this away when not in use.

)

Nice.

I am interested Mike.  Don

I'll post here when it's done, but in the meantime, you can buy small adapters to keep in your shooting box, that will let you do this with a mobile phone.

mikemyers wrote:I'll post here when it's done, but in the meantime, you can buy small adapters to keep in your shooting box, that will let you do this with a mobile phone.

I have one of those Mike but it is a pain to use.  Don

Another member of this forum is interested in building one, and has a 3D printer.  I'll help him if I can, and if he gets it working, he can post the details here.  

It needs to be designed to work with a spotting scope attached to the shooting box, it needs to be reasonably rugged, and maybe water resistant.  Any idea what diameter ranges are used by the eyepieces on spotting scopes?

Most of those adapter are pretty simple, but we found one that we think will work well.  We'll be trying it out in around two weeks.

Going the WiFi route seems better- those USB cameras are viewed on what- a laptop? Who's hauling that to the range?

Curious Mike, as to why the complexities of a Raspberry Pi? Do you need all that computing power, or are there special needs for your medical application?

John

It's inexpensive ($25 or so) and not much more for the camera, around $35 as I recall, and we can do anything we want to/with the image or video.  It will work with USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.  It isn't "all that much" computing power really - your mobile phone has far more power than a Raspberry Pi.  The "camera" is simply a small circuit board with a sensor and lens attached in the middle, which plugs into the Raspberry Pi.  There's also a newer model of the Raspberry Pi which sells for far less than the one that we selected.  At home, you can plug the device, or just the memory stick, into your TV and watch your shooting progress on a big screen.  

(I don't yet have a shooting box, and the trunk in my tiny Mazda is so small, I don't think I'm likely to, nor do I have a spotting scope (yet).  I can't say for sure, but I think I would rather look over at a smart phone somewhere on my bench, with the video of my target, than peer through the scope, which for me probably means changing glasses so I can see properly through the scope.  The problem as I see it isn't getting the camera to work, but getting the system integrated into a shooting box to make it convenient.  I'm certain it will be an improvement over my binoculars that I use now.   Anyway, my version of an "ideal" shooting box would be a lot smaller than others here are likely to want, and being a small guy, the total weight is important to me.)

If you have never been to a match Mike you might not have an idea how shoulder to shoulder we are. There are as many different size pistol boxes on the line as there are different sized shooters. All of them are there to make it easier to shoot. More toys and higher tech does not necessarily equate to higher scores.

Bremerton WA.

LenV, now that you've said it, it's obvious, but I never put two an two together to understand the reason WHY many bullseye shooters want to have a box.  Until I read what you wrote, I didn't understand.

Toys and higher tech - I agree with what you wrote, but some things just make it so much easier, such as when I first tried a magazine loader.  Sore thumb problem solved.  My binoculars "work", but they're not very convenient.  Stuff like that.  I can see how a good box can organize things for me, but the real reason is apparently what you wrote.

Nice photo!  Explains exactly what you mean.

As a lefty shooter next to a right hand shooter you also have the distractions of them face to face with you. I simply blow kisses at the other shooter to disrupt them mentally.

Maybe we should all get a "brass catcher"?  
Maybe I should get one anyway?
Do they fold up into the box?
If I buy one now, I should probably find one that eventually will.

Thanks Mike, but beware of the resolution limitations of those $35 board cameras. If you're looking to see .22cal holes at 50 yds, you need a quality camera. (And optic)
I've built a few scope cameras.
I'd like to survey the board and see if recording the video is of importance to most shooters. Would you really like to sit and watch holes appearing in paper after a match or practice session? Thanks!
John

Meanwhile, back on track, since I don't have any ideas burnt into my brain of "what is good", and since something "good" needs to be considered as a starting point, here is a page of lots of boxes:

http://www.bullseyegear.com/bullseyepistol/home.php?cat=6

If I limit myself to only three-gun boxes, and decide that all guns will be pointing down range, apparently there are several manufacturers, and lots of choices including the material they are built from.  I'm assuming aluminum is available to save weight.  Ignoring cost, what makes some of these better than others, and how important are those features?  Do you guys put "everything" in the box, or do you carry a separate bag for other things?

In discussions here, people would talk about the winds at Perry.  These boxes could have slide-out "extenders" to lessen the chance of them being blown over.  Maybe they could minimize the chance of rain getting inside.  There are probably lots of other considerations, which I haven't thought of as I've got zero experience at this.  Are "scope mounts" standard, or do they vary depending on what scope you get, and how large it is?

jwax wrote:Thanks Mike, but beware of the resolution limitations of those $35 board cameras. If you're looking to see .22cal holes at 50 yds, you need a quality camera. (And optic)......

The Raspberry Pi camera is made specifically for the Raspberry Pi.  In terms of resolution, what you can easily see through the microscope (or spotting scope) should be visible if you're using HD.  Still shots have even more resolution. I think the biggest limitation would be the optics, and how much of a field of view you want.  The more area you cover, the smaller the holes will be.  

If we don't use the Raspberry Pi camera, any camera that uses USB will plug into the device.  It's also possible to remove the lens and use a replacement lens, meaning you could mount the board camera with lens removed, on the back of a long enough focal length lens, to see the specified area.  The Raspberry Pi is capable of excellent resolution, but the cost and performance of the optics is something else.  Think of mounting one on a small telescope to take photos of the moon as a starting point.  It will also need to be attached with a sturdy mount.

I'll have to dig up my formulas to calculate the focal length needed to cover a two-foot (???) square at a distance of 50 yards/meters.

Here's my scope-in-a-box for downrange viewing. Analog video camera installed in place of the Burris Compact eyepiece.
There's a rechargeable 12 volt, 7 AmpHr Gelcell in the box to power the camera and monitor for many hours.

Pretty good way for everyone to see your satellites before going down range.  

How does bright sun light effect the viewing?  That was the problem I had with my IPhone.  Was great indoors.  Don

Satellites? Are those the holes that you put a dime over to show off your great group? 

Bright sun is always a problem for LCD screens, but they're getting better. Definitely want to keep the screen in the shade.

jwax wrote:.....Analog video camera installed in place of the Burris Compact eyepiece........There's a rechargeable 12 volt, 7 AmpHr Gelcell in the box to power the camera and monitor....

'jwax', plug the analog video output from your camera into this device, which converts analog to digital, and plug the output into the USB connector on a laptop.   It will save video (and audio if you have a microphone) in digital format.  There is no apparent loss of quality, and you can save it in any format you want, even the full size video with no compression.  These have always included a "Pinnacle editor" which allows you to cut out the wasted video, and only keep the best parts.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1015438-REG/pinnacle_dvcptenam_dazzle_dvd_recorder_hd.html

(We've probably bought 50 or so of the earlier versions of this device. The one I linked to is a new one, with a higher price.  The old one B&H says is no longer available.)

Thanks Mike! Familiar with the device and analog to digital conversion, just wondering about the need to do that. Is there a need to record your shooting sessions?
I've recorded mine before on an analog video recorder, watched it later, and did not get much knowledge from it. Perhaps some folks would.
I don't know of too many shooters that would want to lug a laptop to the range, along with a gunbox.
Seems the main need is to produce the spotting scope information as soon as the shot is fired, in the most convenient fashion.