Thread: DIY Steel Plate Impact Detection

I think it's a great idea with potential but it comes down to how well the electronics handle a steel gong getting pummeled over and over.

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

There's also the thought that a sound detector/mike installed nearby to catch the ring of a struck plate might work.

It wouldn't have to be on the plate, just close enough to work well enough.

Indeed. A small FM transmitter and a microphone safely coverednearby. Receiver is a common seat of ear muffa with built in FM radio.

Depemding on local commercial stations, you could set the transmitter frequency of each gong monitor to 101, 102 and 103MHz for 100, 200 and 300m respectively.

Would be cool as you'd hear the sound of misses too.

Hey mate, how about gluing it to the plate with urethane? look up the correct primers etc and it will never come off! should be flexible enough for a good pasting.
Even the plate could be urethaned to some brackets for hanging etc,
No bolts or chains or rubber to get shot up either.

Originally Posted by 40mm

Hey mate, how about gluing it to the plate with urethane? look up the correct primers etc and it will never come off! should be flexible enough for a good pasting.
Even the plate could be urethaned to some brackets for hanging etc,
No bolts or chains or rubber to get shot up either.

Thanks, Urethane not something I knew about. Will definitely read up on it and give it a go. Can you possibly recommend some brands and type of urethane glue to start off with?



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Yup, just a strap folded to have a hook at the top that fits neatly over the plate. Possibly doesn't need to hang too far down the back either, and would probably have plenty of pressure to keep the sensor firmly on the back of the plate so no need for magnets. Like those hooks they hang over wardrobe doors. And would be transferable to any plate. I think your units stand much greater chance of being damaged when travelling and setting up if permanently attached to the gongs, hung as a separate unit would negate all that worry.

Probably a crazy idea, but I always had a plan that when the time came I'd mount a small mirrorball above and to the plate. So when the plate swung my spotter would detect flashes of light from the mirrors. Untested. Cloudy day may be a problem.

I think we're dropping the ball on this thread.

Originally Posted by janleroux

Thanks, Urethane not something I knew about. Will definitely read up on it and give it a go. Can you possibly recommend some brands and type of urethane glue to start off with?



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Sika or 3M are usually pretty good brands. Read up on the specs and instructions properly and you should be good.

Sikaflex 260 comes to mind for a good multi purpose urethane. I've used it to glue my boots back together and lasted ages. You would want to have a decent thick layer between the box and gong, to act as a bit of a shock absorber.

Or attach with good old velcro. Cheap, easy to replace, holds well, provides a little impact 'give', lets the units be removed.

Originally Posted by janleroux

For a month or two I have been tinkering with this steel plate impact detection idea for when you go practising target shooting on your own. I found it sometimes difficult to hear a hit (earplugs) and to see the hit (recoil or dare I admit it - old age). I got it working and today I took it to a dog-walk park with my son and tested it all the way to 350m.

Here is a video of it working in my workshop: https://youtu.be/7acWxYwWrTg

50m test: https://youtu.be/jYXJJbm0JaI

100m test: https://youtu.be/ID9QplH6RR8

200m test: https://youtu.be/JgVao70CrxY

350m test: https://youtu.be/f0KK7jSD3as

I tend to over-think/over-engineer things, so what sort of range would one need to make it work at to be really useful - will 2 km be enough?

Any all ideas and feedback appreciated.

I think it would be useful to have a relay to power a bright Strobe. Is it possible to get the plans or even buy a set up from you? A 1000 meter range should be sufficient for my purposes but your suggested 2KM would be ideal.

Originally Posted by Rebel Grey

I think it would be useful to have a relay to power a bright Strobe. Is it possible to get the plans or even buy a set up from you? A 1000 meter range should be sufficient for my purposes but your suggested 2KM would be ideal.

Still work in progress - like most of my projects I get side tracked and the projects evolve into something different. This project is no exception (unfortunately).

Current setup works well with 22LR. Current version does not have a strobe light, but it has two high-bright RGB LEDs that means I can use the same receiver with multiple plate detectors and assign a specific colour to each one.
Centrefire cals have created some issues especially with smaller plates on shorter distances - the impact shock created all sort of issues. Shooting antennas off turns out to be a real problem similar to finding methods to reliably install the impact sensors on existing plates.

I am working on a revised prototype that we plan to test in about 2 months. I will post on here when I get it working reliably.

We’ve been using the magnetospeed ones for about 3 or 4 years. I rebuilt steel mounts bolted to the target for them as we shattered the plastic ones that came with them, and the Velcro was useless. We keep them on the targets on the range 360 days a year, replace batteries once a year. They have a few sensitivity settings but found big cals set them off when flying past the target even at 2km. So the solid mount stopped that as they are on the low sensitivity settings, have no problem 6.5 creedmore setting them off at 2km.
I made the same mounting system and protection for the targets I made for the military.
I’ve seen units fall off from Velcro at 1000m then someone shot it when lying on the ground.
I have a home built one made by a local guy. Works ok. Needs a better mounting system than the magnets they used as it just fell off. You have to turn it off each time though. The magnetospeed ones have a sleep mode.
We used other ones made locally once upon a time too that used a camera flash off to the side, but still had to be taken off each day.
The magnetospeed design took out the 1 hour range prep time putting up flashers.
Sparrowhawknz