Hey ! thanks for the advices. I actually discovered the piece you're talking about just before posting here, browsing the different topics. It sounds like I'm late for the last run that has been done, but I'll PM Matt to ask him anyway.
Yep you're right : some hack has to be done for the BB counter. It's an optical fork that creates a pulse. Well, the IC in the counter is actually not detecting an edge, which is a shame : as soon as the input level on the IC pin goes low, it starts counting down very fast, instead of decreasing just one, wait for the level to go up, then wait for the next edge. The thing works since the BB passes the fork very fast.
My ack is that my board has its own "software counter" in the program of the little processor, and sends the pulse to the slave visual counter. I had to adapt the duration of the pulse until it matches the BB speed.
You're totally right also about the airsoft sound vs the PR sound. Well, I definitly couldn't afford 2 PRs
So I decided to make a combination of the 2 systems. It's more a prop than something to be used with a costume I'll probably never make. For now, the trigger info is taken from the airsoft motor itself, I don't have a real other solution if I want to keep the airsoft working. The solution I've found anyway is to use an almost empty battery. Not enough juice to activate the motor but it triggers the opto coupler and the soundboard. Sure, it's not so good to do that for long runs cause the battery is pumping, but since it's a high discharge (10C) version, it's designed for that purpose, it just slightly heats after a while.
And for the next step, I have to finish the case and I'll move to my motion tracker, with display, animation & sound and it will be also a real GPS (working and displaying direction and coordinates in the hama slide viewer). But that's another story, I'll probably document that here too !
Erv'
