Water gun ROMP

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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Popeye the Sailor Man
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Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:20 pm

Water gun ROMP

Post by Popeye the Sailor Man » Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:26 pm

hello, I have a question about building a small water cannon. I have built a remote operated moving platform (ROMP)...basically a setup similar to a R/C car but with unlimited customization...Right now it is a waterproofed wheelbase with a flat piece of wood covering the top. I have installed a turret on it, and it too is remote operated, but now I would like to put a small water cannon on that. I have space for reservoirs. I am a complete idiot when it comes to building water guns. Does anyone have any suggestions that I can use? Maybe a small battery operated pump? If you can design it, I probably can make it Remote Controlled, so don't worry about any limitations on that design factor.
Thank you!
popeye

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:49 pm

Yup, it would be easy to make these things all remote-controlled--but make sure you waterproof all the electronics. For example, a solenoid valve would be really easy to work with.

Sounds great--using servos to control a water shooting machine! Hope everything works as planned! Anyway, I have a few questions about your machine. First of all, how capacious will the batteries be? Most of these tasks are pretty juice-intensive.

Also, what types of weapons do you want on the ROMP? There are regular water guns, easily doable using an electrical pump. There are CAP (Constant Air Pressure) systems, like SuperCAP and this truck-mounted gun (under construction), which are more powerful but not so practical. And then there are pneumatic water balloon launchers, which would be really easy and practical, while offering a different type of shot.

Good luck! I'm interested in future updates. Oh, and I also changed the thread title to be a little less vague. ;)

Popeye the Sailor Man
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:20 pm

Post by Popeye the Sailor Man » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:07 am

Thank you for replying so quickly. I built this particular ROMP specially designed to be aquatic.....Ive waterproofed everything...moved the electronics to a higher location (with sufficient waterproofing), created air intakes out of sprinkler tubing and large wire twist ties, etc... Now, I read an article online about R/C paintball battle tanks..where they take ordinary paint guns and modify them to be remote controlled, and I thought "why not do this with water"? It would be much safer and people wouldn't mind so much if I sprayed them. I have plenty of space to put the water tanks in, along with space for batteries and any other things that make the gun work. I have a seperate remote control operating the turret, so two people can work together-One drives while the other shoots (sort of like the Halo Warthog). I don't want this to be too extravagant, just something I can impress my friends with. I don't have too many size limiations. All in all, I want this to shoot like a water gun...with enough force to seriously annoy people if I choose :) This ROMP has plenty of speed and mobility. Thank you,
Popeye

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Silence
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Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:01 pm

Post by Silence » Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:49 am

Thanks for all the information, and now it sounds even better! But what are the actual specs--namely the length and width?

I'm guessing a regular soaker system is all you'll need. A CAP homemade is far larger, more resource-intensive, and it uses up way more water. But you will definitely want a WBL...seriously, all you'll need are a small air compressor, a few feet of PVC tubing (which would actually be a lot), and then a barrel with a solenoid on it.

Sounds cool!

Popeye the Sailor Man
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:20 pm

Post by Popeye the Sailor Man » Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:56 am

Thanks for your reply. I have a question about the battery powered air compressor? Where would I find one?

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