Musings on my own bad memory

Memory is a fickle thing.

For instance, I believed the helmet on this system had over a dozen LEDs. Obviously I had confused it with another project. I imagined there was a speaker in the gun itself for the shooting sound. Maybe this was the case in some suits, but from what I've seen the speaker is in the helmet where it can be more clearly heard over the arena music track. My mistake, the gun sound board is in fact wired to the gun connector, as documented in this very blog. The sound board is not in the gun itself, however.

After seeing some of the old equipment, I seem to recall there being those peanut lights on either side of the face, but why are they there? My working theory is that they were originally meant to add a faint edge-lit glow to the face shield, but the shield wasn't used in the game so they may have fallen by the wayside. A second example of the equipment has LEDs there and so my refurbished helmet also does.

I had once imagined all discrete decade counters and 7-segment display encoders running the score display. Thank goodness the 74C925 was available when this unit was designed; it runs all 3 digits with its multiplexed output, a perfect choice for this application. There are decade counters but that's for counting scored points (and, by extension, for timing the delay before you can be hit again).

Home stretch

Reconstruction of the display pack is almost done. There seems to be a flaky connection somewhere causing the score to go up; this was a VERY common symptom back in the day. If I can find it I'm going to fix it. The helmet needs to be lined, and another polish would be good too. There's some crud to be scrubbed off the boxes and dirt on the plastic shell, and more work to be done on the fabric trim.

(Edit: I did find the bad connection on the terminal strip in the upper left corner of the battery box.)

Reconstructing the helmet

The helmet being reconstructed has been gutted and its insides blown clean.

Helmet cleaned up and being rewired.

The team color LEDs were not so good. One LED was too dim and did not match the others, and another one had a cracked leg. Both of these and their dropping resistors were replaced, and the whole chain rewired neatly.


There was no speaker; a 1980s vintage paper cone speaker was added. It fits perfectly in the recess provided.

Laying out the new wiring.
The terminal strip is new and serves to make repair easier, should it ever be needed.

The original harness was also secured with duct tape, but it was just trash. Sloppy connections, wads of wire, and a big pillar of ground wires soldered together in free space.

All of this was removed, including the peculiar stubby cable that was too short (and doesn't actually plug into any known connector). This new cable uses the correct mil-spec connector, plugs directly into the suit, and matches the original in appearance if not durability.

Incorrect helmet connector on left. Correct connector on right (plugs into back box on vest).

On the other end of this cable, I went with a cheap screw-terminal strip since this will be for display purposes only. All this and some layers of felt for appearance's sake complete the display helmet.

Considering the helmet

Time to catch up on posts. First, some reflection on the helmet I'm refurbishing.

The holes in the helmet being reconstructed do not match the one that was on display at the Laser Tag Museum, nor do they line up with my recollection. On the helmet for refurbishment there are two cheek holes; the next LEDs (one on each side) are only a few inches back; and there are no holes on the sides, front, or back for hit detectors.

Side has two LEDs and a light bulb, but—alas, poor Yorick!—no hit sensors.

Compare this to the helmet previously on display at the Museum in 2015, where each cheek has only one LED; the next LEDs have been moved up where they will be better visible from above; and sensors have been added which can be hit from the sides or from above. Since shoulder-top sensors and lights had not been invented in those days, these would be a must for multi-level arenas.

Much easier to see or hit this player.

Returning to the reconstruction helmet, there is also a parietal cluster of four holes on the left side which could have had sensors; but if so, why only on one side, and all in one place?  There is nothing like this on the other sample.

Suspiciously located over a rounded pocket that just happens to fit a small speaker.

The speaker was missing when the helmet arrived for reconstruction, but this is the most likely place for it, and perhaps it was meant to be heard from outside the helmet as a result of these holes.

The interior is now fitted with a vintage speaker.

I've tentatively concluded that this helmet was never fitted with hit sensors at all, which may explain why its cable and connector had only 4 wires (2 for LEDs, 2 for speaker) on a stubby cable with an Amp CPC connector which is not used anywhere else in the system.

I built the correct cable in the original style, long enough to reach the connector on the pack, which uses an Amp 3470 series Mil-spec connector ... unquestionably the single best design decision made on this pack design.

Oddball connector on the left. Correct, military grade connector on the right (granted, with strain relief suitable for display only). 

Perhaps this helmet was a prototype or test fixture not used in the game. Or maybe (since it is a youth size helmet) it was offered to allow younger, inexperienced players a handicap to improve their scores. Who knows?

It remains to be seen whether the refurbished unit will have the audio circuits working, but we are at least prepared if that turns out to be possible.

Edit: Improved discussion of helmet connector.

Star Laser Force's Light Gun

Why are there no photos of people playing Star Laser Force?  You're about to find out.

The only available weapon for the Star Laser Force suit (pack) was the attached light pistol, which was holstered at the left side of the logic box. Unfortunately I don't have one of these for the pack that I'm restoring. However, I was able to visit the Laser Tag Museum and examine both of the available extant pistols for future reference.

Pistol on display at the Laser Tag Museum, November 2015

The pistol contains a simple photography flash circuit powered by a 2.4VDC supply provided by the pack. At the business end of the pistol you can see a bit of the glass flashtube sticking out of the potted assembly. After the circuit charged (which took several seconds), pulling the trigger would result in a bright white flash. If you let the flash capacitor charge longer before firing, the higher-energy shot would have greater range.

Muzzle of the pistol with the extended barrel removed.

The unit currently on display in the Museum is missing the barrel extension that narrows the flash to a tight beam. The video previously posted shows the barrel:

It doesn't work right without this.

Some clever (cheating) players found that the nozzle could sometimes be removed, transforming the pistol into a close quarters "grenade" with a wide cone of damage.

Hitting any sensor on a pack with this beam caused the pack to register a hit and count up 10 points against the player wearing that pack. Naturally it was important to aim only at the opposing team's players, as you could hit anyone from either team.

Pistol in holster on front of the suit.

Because any sufficiently bright flash scored damage against players, it was against the rules to bring cameras onto the playing field, and unfortunately this has meant that photos of the game actually being played are either rare or non-existent. Had there been an observation window or any other facilities for spectators, disruption of the game would inevitably follow.


One final technical note: A few sites on the web suggest that Star Laser Force was an ancestor to the original 1980s Lazer Tag home systems by Worlds of Wonder. While the game play and concept translated well enough into toy form, there are no comparisons to be made in circuit design. Lazer Tag has always used invisible infrared light signals, and has never used white light.  However, there was a home system some years later that did use a flashtube to trigger hits on the sensor, and that was Buddy L Phaser Force.

Project update

More posts coming on the Star Laser Force equipment soon; in the mean time, have a look at Tiviachick's tour video of the actual Laser Tag Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, featuring none other than the curator, Erik Guthrie. There is a different story behind each piece of equipment, and you'll get to hear a small sampling of them in this video. The exhibits are free to visit, by the way, and you can play laser tag while you're there!

Color brochure

The museum site posted a full-color scan of the Star Laser Force sales brochure from 1985, including a full-color copy of the promotional photo that I posted back when this blog first began. Now I can update my sidebar with a decent copy of this iconic image.

This confirms the original pricing of $3 for a 7 minute game. (The play price was reduced in 1986, after the arrival of Photon in December 1985 ate into sales. According to the Gina Seay article, "member" pricing had fallen to $1.25 per game by summer of 1986.)

Text of the brochure follows:

Front box and logic

On to the logic board inside the front box of the Star Laser Force pack, or suit. I was personally eager to see this system again after so many years, and while it looks exactly as I remembered it, it's actually much more plain in both design and function; memory utterly failed me in several details.

With no computer, no radio, and no networking or communication, Star Laser Force's simple, low-power logic board operated independently, offering up only the player's own score with no way of knowing which of your opponents (or teammates) attacked, or whether you were the careless victim of the Reactor at the center of the arena.

 

Behold the power of TTL discrete logic.

On the front, with the lid on, only the 3-digit score display, the amber status light, and one opto sensor for hits were visible.

Behind the logic board were two sound modules that appear to have been removed from other devices. The smaller one generates the gun "shot" sound while the other makes the noise when you are hit. The Star Laser Force gun was adapted from a noise-making toy, and I assume either one or the other sound board came from that product - who knows, maybe even both.

The hidden recipients of signal GUN and signal BOOM from the logic board.

The "duck box," as previously explained, resets the pack to the initial score of "000". This step was, at least in my memory, performed in the Transporter room during the "journey" to the playing field. If your pack's sensors were hit by a flash beam from another player, your pack would play the "hit" sound and count up 10 points against you, after which you could be hit again. Judging from the video that was posted, this took about 4 seconds; all the pack's lights flashed during this time to indicate that the player was hit. I haven't determined whether the gun was disabled during this time.

The pack also received a "shot" signal from the gun and triggered the "shot" sound effect. I don't have a gun so I'm not sure what sort of hacking was done to make this work.

Bench test.

The main board still seems to work perfectly. For display purposes I went ahead and unhooked the main filter cap (date coded 1973?!) and substituted a modern one.

I will post a technical discussion of the logic when time permits.

Tackling the battery box

The back box of the Star Laser Force pack is pretty much all batteries, which is not uncommon in the industry to this day, although technology has vastly improved since then! Each of the three separate power supplies used conventional NiCd cells.

All hand built, too.
The single remaining AA cell was removed due to corrosion.

Workspace shift

Took two weeks off to set up, play, and tear down laser tag, and one more for a pinball project. Since then I've decided to move the restoration project to another room with better lighting and more space. I'm tackling the battery box next.

Deconstructing the helmet

As hinted in the last post, I have the exceptionally rare opportunity to inspect and clean up one of the Star Laser Force packs for the Laser Tag Museum.  Part of this will involve making sure it's in functioning condition, or at least that it might light up while on display as it once did when it was being used.

A quick inspection shows the helmet to be worse off than the vest, so I'll tackle it first. It is not ready for polite society. The padding is rotted, the leather is moldy, and the wiring is trashed. There's no ID number, so I can't pull the service logs, but going by appearance it seems to have seen a lot of battles.

I was a teenaged Xenon Red Raider.

First step was to remove the lining and foam. I found the wiring to be held in place with duct tape, or (most often) no longer held in place, and the tape dull or balled up.

You volunteered.  Suck it up and get scrubbing, soldier.

Some of the duct tape still holds wire runs down or even sticks bare soldered splices in place so they don't short. Unfortunately whoever built this (or repaired it) didn't use simple heat shrink tubing to slip over the soldered connections. Most splices are insulated with electrical tape, which is holding up pretty well considering its age, but it will all need attention.

Okay, I can see the team color LEDs everywhere, but where are those hit sensors?

T 1¾ size. Ish.

Hmm... there's a peanut lamp on each side of the face. Try as I might, I can't remember these being used in the game... but don't hold me to it.

A real light bulb, with a filament and everything. How about that pile of particulate crud that showered out of the interior when I flipped the helmet over? It's like my dad's ashtray. Actually the light bulb is kind of my dad's era, too, now...

There's a pretty substantial pocket carved out of the Styrofoam in the helmet, a couple of unused holes in the top of the helmet, and four neatly severed wires, so I'm going to assume for now that the helmet sensors are gone... or were they any sensors to begin with? Perhaps a sensor board, or even a speaker? There's not much to go on here. I hope there will be another unit to compare with someday.

There's a 6" harness out the back of the helmet that's in good shape until you get to the interior, where the connections are iffy and the multiconductor cable itself can't be inspected without hacking it up, but it looks like something I wouldn't trust, like a cable that has been abused. I may end up bypassing it and going straight to the pack connector for the restoration.  Besides, I'm looking forward to finding out why the vest plug has 6 connector pins, while the helmet harness has only 4 pins (shield/ground, LED power, and two unknowns).

In the mean time, I've given the helmet a light polish, preserving the battle scars while removing a layer of grunge. The road to polite society has at last been found.

Megatron 100

It's almost time to blow the lid off this system.

Hardware geekery to come.  Shoutout to Lee Weinstein.

Poster Giveaway!

The Laser Tag Museum seeks to preserve and commemorate the historic foundations of the game (or sport), documenting the efforts of the laser tag pioneers and collecting the original equipment used in those games.

Starting last year, the 30th anniversary of Photon, the Museum issued the first International Laser Tag Day poster depicting the battle gear actually used in arena Photon games.

The new 2015 posters

The 2015 International Laser Tag Day poster honors the 30th anniversary of Star Laser Force with a photo of the newly recovered battle suit of the Starship Blue Force.  Thanks to the Museum I have a limited number of these 18x24" posters to give away to readers.  Here are the rules:

• First come, first served. Email me at the address on the sidebar to request a poster.
• If you are in or near the City of Houston, I can probably meet with you and give it to you directly.
• If not, I may ask you to pay for postage.

It's as simple as that. If this message is still here, posters are still available.

3rd in order, Hall of Famer

After years of research, the Laser Tag Museum has declared Star Laser Force to be the third indoor laser tag system opened to the public worldwide (after Photon in Dallas and Laser Zone in Chicago). If you were ever at Star Laser Force, that makes you an industry pioneer!

30th anniversary honors.

Battle Suits received at the Laser Tag Museum

I'm delighted to report that the Laser Tag Museum has secured three sets of the original Star Laser Force battle gear, or packs, for collection and display. Congratulations!

Edit: New link