sightfx
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There is nothing like Blu-Ray for making glow in the dark stuff glow. Tracer rounds for your airsoft gun are no exception.
This tutorial is to show how I modified my AK47 Beta airsoft rifle to use a Blu-Ray (405nm) laser diode (BRD) to charge air soft tracer rounds on demand. Airsoft guns are all built slightly different so you may have to use some of your own DIY creativity to do this with yours.
I had been using high powered LEDs built into my clip to charge up my GITD tracer rounds however this is not the best when you want to fire off a few dark rounds so as not to giving away your own position.
Please feel free to ask questions. That will help me fill in any blanks to this tutorial. I actualy did this last fall and I'm finaly getting around to sharing.
Parts
Airsoft Gun
DDL driver
110mW BRD
Wire
Momentary push button switch
This image is my AK 47 Beta all disassembled. The highlighted areas are where the screws are found.
This is the front portion of my airsoft gun. The part I am dismounting is called the hopup. airsoft pellets are forced up into the hopup just before being forced out the barrel with a burst of air. This is where I will be installing my Blu-Ray diode.
I prep the Hopup by first filing a flat spot along the input. This both makes room for the blu-ray diode and provides a stable platform to mount the diode and its heat sink.
I left the diode in the original heat sink it had in the sled. I then taped the sleds reading lens to the diode in order to focus the laser within a millimeter or so of the diode.
Hole drilled in the hopup at the proper measurement for the diode and lens.
BRD is mounted to the hopup using aluminum tape to reflect any light inward.
Heat shring tubing around that for strength.
Here it is running with only 60mA going to it. Plenty for the job!
Here it is with the gun re-assembled, wires ran to the 9V battery pack to a lm317 DDL Driver placed in this nice hiding place. The DDL driver has a Schottky diode added to it to protect the laser from reverse current that will surely occure with it using the same battery source as the airsoft motor. There is a switch in the airsofts gear box that causes it to drive the motor only when needed. I’m sure this action is causing reverse current spikes and is what killed my BRD on the first attempt at this. I added a schottky diode in reverse polarity to the driver input so that when this spike reaches the DDL driver it will pass through the schottky diode instead of the driver and saving my BRD from an untimely death.
Here is a shot of the old switch I had for the driver at first. Since then I have replaced it with a momentary switch on a coiled cord that runs to the front grip of the AK47. I will take a picture of that when I get back home. As well as some shots of it all put together. till then here is a video of it in operation.
The video really doesn't do it justice though. They are brighter in person and I only have the driver set up for 60mA so the BR Diode will last a full life.
Ryan
This tutorial is to show how I modified my AK47 Beta airsoft rifle to use a Blu-Ray (405nm) laser diode (BRD) to charge air soft tracer rounds on demand. Airsoft guns are all built slightly different so you may have to use some of your own DIY creativity to do this with yours.
I had been using high powered LEDs built into my clip to charge up my GITD tracer rounds however this is not the best when you want to fire off a few dark rounds so as not to giving away your own position.
Please feel free to ask questions. That will help me fill in any blanks to this tutorial. I actualy did this last fall and I'm finaly getting around to sharing.
Parts
Airsoft Gun
DDL driver
110mW BRD
Wire
Momentary push button switch
This image is my AK 47 Beta all disassembled. The highlighted areas are where the screws are found.
This is the front portion of my airsoft gun. The part I am dismounting is called the hopup. airsoft pellets are forced up into the hopup just before being forced out the barrel with a burst of air. This is where I will be installing my Blu-Ray diode.
I prep the Hopup by first filing a flat spot along the input. This both makes room for the blu-ray diode and provides a stable platform to mount the diode and its heat sink.
I left the diode in the original heat sink it had in the sled. I then taped the sleds reading lens to the diode in order to focus the laser within a millimeter or so of the diode.
Hole drilled in the hopup at the proper measurement for the diode and lens.
BRD is mounted to the hopup using aluminum tape to reflect any light inward.
Heat shring tubing around that for strength.
Here it is running with only 60mA going to it. Plenty for the job!
Here it is with the gun re-assembled, wires ran to the 9V battery pack to a lm317 DDL Driver placed in this nice hiding place. The DDL driver has a Schottky diode added to it to protect the laser from reverse current that will surely occure with it using the same battery source as the airsoft motor. There is a switch in the airsofts gear box that causes it to drive the motor only when needed. I’m sure this action is causing reverse current spikes and is what killed my BRD on the first attempt at this. I added a schottky diode in reverse polarity to the driver input so that when this spike reaches the DDL driver it will pass through the schottky diode instead of the driver and saving my BRD from an untimely death.
Here is a shot of the old switch I had for the driver at first. Since then I have replaced it with a momentary switch on a coiled cord that runs to the front grip of the AK47. I will take a picture of that when I get back home. As well as some shots of it all put together. till then here is a video of it in operation.
The video really doesn't do it justice though. They are brighter in person and I only have the driver set up for 60mA so the BR Diode will last a full life.
Ryan
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