1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello everybody, 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris Polette 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: and I'm an editor at how stuff works dot com. 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: Sitting across from me as usual as senior writer Jonathan. 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: But I was going into Tusky station to pick up 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: some power converters. So today we thought we would talk 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: about something courtesy of a little listener mail. This listener 10 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: mail comes from Johnny. Johnny says, hey, guys, I thought 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: a good podcast would be on laser Tag, and you 12 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: guys are number seventy one on iTunes for you, Thanks Johnny. 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: Sometimes we get all the way up into the forties 14 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: and sometimes we drop off that charting time. We're not 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: talking about those times. Now. Let's let's talk about instead. 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: Let's hope by laser tag. Laser tag, are you is 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: it out of your system? Now? Not even remotely. Long 18 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: time listeners will remember that any time we have a 19 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: podcast in which that word is mentioned, Jonathan will do 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: that at least once. So, however, laser tag, and at 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 1: least in the off the shelf, go it to your 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: toy store. Sense does not in fact use lasers right 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: at least not as the instrument of of transmitting or 24 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: receiving any sort of tag. But there are some systems 25 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: to do, and in fact, one of the I would 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: consider it sort of the pioneer system for the whole 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: thing U used by the by the United States Military 28 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: as a training exercise. UM does in fact use real 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: uh lasers. So you're talking about the Multiple Integrated Laser 30 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: Engagement System. Yes, I am otherwise known as MILES. Yeah. 31 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: My favorite was when uh Pallette actually sent me a 32 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: link in preparation for this podcast, which was to a 33 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: subset of that particular system. And here is the full 34 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: title because it just it tickles me. The Multiple Integrated 35 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: Laser Engagement System Independent Target System SLASH Wireless Independent Target 36 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: System or the MILES its wits. You know, they probably 37 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: don't refer to it that way. They may actually use 38 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: a number of some kind or they're just like, yeah, 39 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: go grab the thingy, grab the thing that's that's actually 40 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: a pretty substantial piece of hardware. That the gear that 41 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: they're using is much heavier and uh much more substantial 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: than the stuff that you will find it your local 43 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: toys or us. Right now, this stuff is made to 44 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: to really simulate battle conditions as as closely as possible 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: without really putting anyone in harm's way, because clearly one 46 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: thing you don't want to do when you're training your 47 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: soldiers is shoot them. Yeah, that that turns out to 48 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: be a bad motivator. Also you have to train new ones. 49 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: But yeah, but anyhow, No, they actually affix the laser 50 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: to the end of an actual weapon and the firing blanks. 51 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: They fire blank cartridges to simulate the actual experience of 52 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: what it's going to feel like when you shoot at somebody, right, 53 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: because you don't want you don't want to have the 54 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: experience of pulling a trigger and there's no recoil, there's 55 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: no bang, there's no vibration, there's nothing other than just 56 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: the fact that a little laser shoots out of the 57 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: end of the gun. Because then, of course it's not 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: going to handle the way it really wouldn't the true 59 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: combat situation. No, but it is sort of amusing to 60 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: think about actual soldiers in actual combat gear running around 61 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: the field going right, you're dead, I hit you know 62 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: you did, and yes, I did it totally did you 63 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: know what That's funny because in this these systems actually 64 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: go back to the nineties seventies from what I understand, 65 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: and uh, they actually sort of did that in the 66 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: very first versions. Um, when you would shoot somebody, the 67 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: system would register that you had been hit, but people 68 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: would turn them off and turn them right back on, 69 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: which would essentially reboot the system and suddenly they were 70 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: alive again, right, and there there was no connection between 71 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: the gun and the sensors so um, which meant that 72 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: you can keep firing, right if you if you made 73 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: if you made it a connection where I mean, the 74 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: thing that makes sense is that if you are hit, 75 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: then you are incapacitated someone, especially if your hits some places, 76 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: that's gonna be a uh pretty critical wound, right if 77 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: you're hitting the leg. Theoretically, you could keep on firing, 78 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: although I would imagine most of us would probably be 79 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: mostly concerned about trying to get undercover and and to 80 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: stop the bleeding. You know, it's there are people who, 81 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: in extraordinary circumstances can continue to fight even under that 82 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: kind of that kind of wound. But um, but the 83 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: way the system theoretically should work is that if you 84 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: were hitting a critical area, your gun would no longer 85 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: function because if this were a real situation, you would 86 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: no longer be able to fire your your weapon. Um. Now, 87 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: the earliest them did not have that connection. There was 88 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: a sensor, and there were or several sensors, usually placed 89 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: in various strategic areas on the body, like there might 90 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: be one on the belt, there might be one or 91 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: or several on a vest, on the back of the vest, 92 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: maybe on the helmet, um sometimes on the arms and 93 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: legs as well. Uh, before the the in the early days, 94 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: like you were saying, there was no connection. So if 95 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: you were hitting the sensor, yeah, it would register that 96 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: you are a quote unquote dead. But you could keep 97 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: firing the gun cheating, or as you said, you could 98 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: turn it off, turn it back on. It's like rebooting 99 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: a computer. Suddenly you're alive again. It's like getting extra lives. Sadly, 100 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: this is not something that pertains to actual battle conditions. 101 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: It turns out that if you're shot in battle, you 102 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: don't have a magic reboot button, as much as I 103 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: wish it were otherwise. So since that is kind of 104 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: antithetical to the whole purpose of training, I mean, you're 105 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: not you're not training so that you win your training, 106 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: so that you understand and what you need to do 107 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: in an actual battle situation. So eventually these systems became 108 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: more sophisticated so that they could communicate with one another, 109 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: the sensor and the gun, so that the sensor, once 110 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: it was registered a hit would deactivate the guns. You 111 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: could not keep firing, and you were you were dead. 112 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: A many generations from that very first system now right, right, yes, yes, 113 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: the system they used now is is far more advanced. 114 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: In fact, one of the things I thought was really 115 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: kind of cool about the system that the military uses 116 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: is that they have they can actually set the the 117 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: the burst that comes out of the gun and tune 118 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: it to the various kinds of weapons they actually use 119 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: or they might actually come into contact with. Right, So 120 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: it's not like a laser from your your assault rifle 121 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: would be the same as a laser from a handgun 122 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: or say a rocket propelled grenade. Even they can adjust 123 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: the power and the intensity and even the the uh, 124 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: the sensitivity of the sensors. So let's say that you 125 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: they they'll often use um armored vehicles in these training exercises. 126 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: Well armored vehicles of course. I mean the they have armor, 127 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: and that armor is pretty tough stuff and your average 128 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: gun cannot pierce it. So if you were to shoot 129 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: an armored vehicle with one of these guns, your shots 130 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: might hit your target, but they wouldn't register as a 131 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: hit because in reality, the bullet would not penetrate the armor. 132 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: But if you had a heavier weapon, um, and you 133 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: fired at that vehicle, then it might register it as 134 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: a hit because you've used a weapon that would actually 135 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: be capable of doing some serious damage to that vehicle. 136 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: This kind of you know, sensitivity, really makes it an 137 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: effective tool for simulating these these conditions. Now, the version 138 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: that you see in the world of citizens is nowhere 139 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: near as sophisticated or compl x or expensive or expensive. 140 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: It's still it's still can be fairly complex. It doesn't 141 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: have to be the the you know, stupid version. But uh, 142 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: I guess what we should probably do is let's let's 143 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: go from the low end and work our way up. Okay, 144 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: So a very basic laser tag system, yes, as in 145 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: the kind that originally came out back in the uh well, 146 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: late seventies was when the first one started coming out, 147 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: But eighties is really when I remember him because that's 148 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: when I remember laser tag itself debuting. Well yes, um, yeah, 149 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: the very the very first one. And I should say 150 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: that I got a lot of my information from a 151 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: from a website of a guy named Brian Farley, um 152 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: who uh. If you're in laser tag circles, you might 153 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: know him as Tag Ferret. Uh. Apparently he's a laser 154 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: tag enthusiast, but he's also the software engineer and co 155 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: inventor of the Laser Tag Team OPS line of toys, 156 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: which is a newer version of laser Tag. Um. But 157 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: he had a pretty neat that had all sorts of 158 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: history um and apparently, according to what he said, the 159 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: very first system was the Star Trek Phasers that came 160 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: out in nine which is funny because I thought that 161 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: the the arena style uh laser tag systems were popular 162 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: first and that they were a take home product based 163 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: on that. But apparently I was wrong, right. It was 164 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: the good old set stun. Yes, yes, so it was 165 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: set to laser but but no, it was a guy 166 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: named George Carter the third who was inspired by the 167 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: aforementioned uh sort of uh Star Wars, who decided he 168 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: wanted to create an arena where you could play, uh, 169 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: a laser gun game. Um, and he's the one who 170 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: apparently came up with the system known as photon Um. 171 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: First center opened in four in Houston. No, I'm sorry, 172 00:09:55,679 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. First system opened in Dallas. Well, the the 173 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: these weapons did not use laser beams, despite their name. 174 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: What they're using our infrared signals, infrared LED I believe, 175 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: and uh and so it's outside the spectrum of visible light, 176 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: so you can't you know, we can't see it. It's 177 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: we do actually sinse infrared radiation as heat. So but 178 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: there's some problems with infrared signals. Now, almost all current 179 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: laser tag systems, apart from the military one and a 180 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: couple of commercial ones for for entertainment use, still rely 181 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: on infrared signals. But one of the problems is that 182 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,079 Speaker 1: it's a divergent beam, meaning that it doesn't remain focused 183 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: like a laser does, doesn't have a great range, it 184 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: can bounce off stuff, so you can actually get hit 185 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 1: by infrared ricochets. But more important eight and as far 186 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: as the game goes, you don't have to be terribly 187 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: accurate with one of these guns to register a hit 188 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: in general, I mean, you can do things to refine 189 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: it as much as possible, but in general, the further 190 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: a way you are, as long as you're within still 191 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: you know the range of whatever the gun you're using is, 192 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: because you can change the intensity of these things. Um, 193 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: the further way you are, the less accurate you need 194 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: to be in order to register a hit. Yeah, and um, 195 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: you could tell doing some research actually some of the 196 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: the the knockoff systems, the ones that were really inexpensive. 197 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 1: We're using a form of visible light, but those were 198 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,199 Speaker 1: horribly inaccurate, right, and if you tried to play them 199 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,679 Speaker 1: outside you could get hit by the sun. Yes, that's 200 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: sort of a sort of a problem because you in 201 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: general are gonna want some kind of room to run 202 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: when you're playing these games. Um. But but yeah, I mean, 203 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: and it's possible to use a lens to try to 204 00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: focus it down, and some of the laser tags is 205 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:04,079 Speaker 1: to over the years have done this and and to 206 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: varying degrees of success. I mean, Um, a lot of 207 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: the earlier systems apparently used out uh an infrared emitter 208 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,960 Speaker 1: with about a plus or minus five degree um, which 209 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: had sort of a mediumish range like a hundred to 210 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: two hundred feet somewhere in there. UM from what I 211 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: read UM on Mr Farley's website. Uh, some of them 212 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 1: more advanced systems UM. And also read read that as 213 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: expensive systems can get up to around three ft three 214 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 1: fifty feet UM. But as you said, I'm not sure 215 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: how you know whether or not they're as accurate from 216 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: that distance as they would be if you were closer up. Yes, 217 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: it's very similar. And we'll talk a little bit about 218 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: remote controls in the second because the two are related related. 219 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,079 Speaker 1: But it's kind of like if you have a remote 220 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: control where you can just kind of pointed in the 221 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: general direction of the television or cable box or whatever 222 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: and it'll it'll work. UM. That usually means that it's 223 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,679 Speaker 1: got a decent powered led in an infrared l E 224 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: ED may even have more than one. Some remotes have 225 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: multiples so that it gives you a wider angle that 226 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: you can use to to change the channel. You know, 227 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,320 Speaker 1: I don't know about anyone else, but I have played 228 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: the game of how how how wide an angle can 229 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: I get before I can't turn up the volume anymore 230 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 1: because I don't have friends. So um. Also, well, let's 231 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: work if I bounce it off the couch, how about 232 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: the ceiling. Yeah, So, same thing with the some of 233 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: these laser tag games is the same sort of general 234 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: idea is that you don't have to be uh like, 235 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 1: have a dead on aim in order to to really 236 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,079 Speaker 1: register a hit. Now, some of them actually do use 237 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: lasers in the sense that they'll use them as an effect, 238 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: like the there'll be a second l e ed or 239 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: a second like a laser attached to the gun that 240 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: fires visible light. But that's not what is actually registering hits. 241 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 1: That's just all it is, is just a visual effect 242 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: to give it that extra little so that when you're 243 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: pulling the trigger, you're not thinking, hey, my gun's not 244 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: doing anything right. So, um, I hadn't actually realized that 245 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: some of them actually used lasers like that. Yeah. Again, 246 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: it's just as an effect, it's not it's not as 247 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: a way to transmit a hit. And these infrared systems 248 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: can get pretty advanced now. In the old laser tag system, 249 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: um pretty much meant that any hit was gonna register 250 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: on your target, like any any hit from any other 251 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: laser laser tag gun. Yeah. Yeah, I mean you could 252 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: essentially shoot yourself and because the the very first system 253 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: named laser tag and that's laser with a z uh, 254 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: which came out by Worlds of Wonder Um and um 255 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: yeah it the gun wasn't connected at all to the sensor, 256 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: so it had no idea who was shooting whom and 257 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: whose team you were on or any of that information. 258 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: It was just a since or and just an emitter really, 259 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: that's all it was. And it helped to be standing 260 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: within three feet of your target because otherwise, you know, 261 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: it wasn't as accurate as you might like it to write. Now, 262 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: the more advanced laser tag systems can do much more 263 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: sophisticated things. For example, you can build into your sensor 264 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: a database of codes. This is again very similar to 265 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: what remote controls do. And in the guns you can 266 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: set it so that the the infrared beam that it 267 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 1: shoots has a very specific series of pulses, so when 268 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: the sensor is hit, it can actually detect who shot you. 269 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 1: And that's very much what goes on with your remote control, 270 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: because your remote control is using a series of codes 271 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: as well. Um. Otherwise it wouldn't be able to tell 272 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: which number you're pressing if you want to change your channel, 273 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: or whether you want the volume up or down or off. 274 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: Each of those has its own identifiable code. So um, 275 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: so yeah, like if you push, if you volume up, 276 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: this series of this series of pulses comes out. And 277 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: then what happens is the receiver that the sensor picks 278 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: up those series of pulses, it converts it into binary 279 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: and then consults its little database to see what that 280 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: command translates to. Same sort of thing with laser tech. 281 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: It'll look up its database and say, oh, well, player 282 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: two was the one who shot you, And so you 283 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: can see at the end of the game who it 284 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: was that was, you know, plaguing you, and if it 285 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: was someone from your own team, you can chew them out. 286 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: But uh, and and a lot of these systems also 287 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: will include a radio frequency transmitter and that is sending 288 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: signals to the master control not the master control program 289 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: was about to go into tron there for a second. Uh, 290 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: the master control unit, which will then kind of act 291 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: as a score a scoreboard, you know, keeping track of 292 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: who shot whom and which team is winning and that 293 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: kind of thing. And um again, it's just that the 294 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: sensor picks up the it sends a signal to the 295 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: RF transmitter which then sends a signal to the master 296 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: control unit, and uh, you know, it keeps record of 297 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: your score. It's pretty cool system. I'm I have never 298 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: played in one of those laser tag arena type things. 299 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: I've played the back when I was a kid in 300 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,120 Speaker 1: the eighties, I actually did play with the the laser 301 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: tag system that the first one that hidden in eight six. 302 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: Like you said, Um, but that was very primitive compared 303 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,239 Speaker 1: to these. Yes, yes, um, yeah, there's there's a lot 304 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 1: of history out there about those systems. Um. I was 305 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: one of the people that, Um, apparently, when World's Wonder 306 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: went into bankruptcy, Uh, it was really easy to pick 307 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 1: up the original laser tag system on the cheap, which 308 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: is what I and two of my closest friends did 309 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: in high school. And I remember, Um, you know, we'd 310 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 1: go up to school at night and run around in 311 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: parts of the area where they had you know, the 312 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: school trailers and stuff. Uh, and we would play laser tag. However, UM, 313 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: it would probably have benefited us if we had paid 314 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: attention to what it was going on, because um, as 315 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, somebody was somebody was. Actually it's 316 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: not funny. I don't didn't mean to to laugh, but 317 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 1: it's ironically enough, somebody was actually killed playing at a 318 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: school when a police officer who was responding to a 319 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: call about somebody running around the school with a gun. Uh, 320 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,960 Speaker 1: you know, he was investigating, and when the kid had 321 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,119 Speaker 1: the laser tag gun and pointed it at him, he 322 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: fired in what he thought was self defense. So I 323 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: wouldn't recommend if you decided to go out and buy 324 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: a laser tag kit that you run around in places 325 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: where it is dark and you may or may not 326 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: appear to be up to no good. Yeah, of course 327 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: it's back in the eighties. This was back still in 328 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 1: the time where you would be able to purchase toy guns. Yeah, 329 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: the toy guns that looked like at least, you know, 330 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,640 Speaker 1: an analog to a real gun. Nowadays it's all neon colors. 331 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 1: Of course, that always raises the question in my mind, 332 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: what stops someone from painting a real gun on neon color? 333 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: But let's not go there. Well enough people paint the 334 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: fake guns black, so the people it's just a big 335 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: crazy um. But no, actually, in response to that, Worlds 336 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: of Wonder, although it was still operating under bankruptcy conditions, 337 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,679 Speaker 1: uh did make some white different white weapons, and they 338 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: came out with a whole bunch of other stuff too. 339 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: After UM They after they initially went under, the company 340 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 1: re emerged a couple of years ago. They a few 341 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: of the original founders formed a new company UM and 342 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 1: UH called Shoot the Moon Products, which is still in existence. 343 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: UM and they licensed their stuff to to Tiger, and 344 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,480 Speaker 1: they came out with a whole bunch of new stuff. 345 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: They even had a basically a blast bazooka laser tag 346 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: bazooka that would function as a mortar, as a bazooka, 347 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: or as a rifle, depending on what it was attempting 348 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,239 Speaker 1: to do. I guess that just increases the area of effect. Yes, yes, well, 349 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: I mean if you're using it as a bazook would 350 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: it would fire any in a very short pattern, but 351 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: in a wide array, so virtually anybody within a certain 352 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: area is going to get hit. UM And in mortar 353 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: mode it would actually fire in an arc UH and 354 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,959 Speaker 1: protect its sensor from an attack from the front. And 355 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: if you used it as a rifle, it would actually 356 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: Now I'm going from the marketing compy, I'm just trying 357 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: to figure out how you fire infra red ray in 358 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: an arc. Yeah. I was kind of wondering that too, 359 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 1: but that's what it's supposed to have done. And then 360 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: in the rifle mode it is is a highly you know, 361 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: it's a very precise and more precise and precise. Well, yeah, 362 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: but I don't think it was. It wasn't uh sending 363 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: the signal out over his wider ranges when it was 364 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: in the other mode. But apparently it was really neat 365 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: and again really expensive because you know, it was a 366 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: larger toy. Yeah, and some of the guns would have 367 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: I remember reading about one that would have sensors on 368 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: the gun itself so that if the gun were hit 369 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: it um a certain number of times, it would stop working. 370 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: And and of course a lot of the laser tag 371 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: games that are in arenas or whatever are in systems 372 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,719 Speaker 1: where similar to the military, if you are hit a 373 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: certain number of times, your gun will stop working and 374 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: you have to go and recharge or to uh to 375 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: continue playing. Um. It's a lot simpler now than it 376 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: was back in the eighties when really the only option 377 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 1: you had back then if you wanted to try and 378 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: achieve that would be to tether the gun to the vest, 379 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: which you know then affects your mobility. Yeah, but it would, 380 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 1: and it also would involve some hacking, especially on these 381 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: off the shelf systems that you would get forty or 382 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: fifty dollars. What's interesting is I have seen plans on 383 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 1: the internet for building your own laser tag gun and 384 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: sensor systems. Interesting. I looked through them and they are 385 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,679 Speaker 1: well above my area of expertise. So after reading the 386 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: first three or four steps, I said, this is a 387 00:21:55,359 --> 00:22:00,920 Speaker 1: good project for someone much more electronically inclined than I. So, 388 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: so you're not handy with a soldering iron, is what 389 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: you're saying. I'm a left hander. I find that most 390 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: tools are designed for right handers. And that's my story, 391 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: and I'm stick and do it that I'm a sinister 392 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 1: kind of guy. That's an old French joke for you 393 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: guys out there, alright, Well, not like an old French 394 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 1: it's a joke about never mind. Um right, well, let's 395 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: let's go back to remote control just for a second. Sure, 396 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: so I know where you're gonna We gave the connection 397 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:34,399 Speaker 1: between remote controls and laser tag uh. We should, of 398 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 1: course say that this means remote controls that are using 399 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: infrared signals not. Most most modern ones do, although some 400 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: of them do use radio signals, right, And I wouldn't 401 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 1: be surprised if some started to use things like you know, 402 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,920 Speaker 1: you're over your home networks, right, or bluetooth. That would 403 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: be another another one that would make sense. But if 404 00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:01,160 Speaker 1: you go back to the early and you hadn't forgotten this, now, 405 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: this is this is a sidebar, a sidebar on the 406 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: whole laser tag remote controls discussion because it has to 407 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: do with sound as opposed to light the sidebar and 408 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: how old we are? Yeah, the old old remote controls 409 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: used ultra sonic some signals in order to make your 410 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: television do things. There didn't even need to be a 411 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,639 Speaker 1: battery in the remote control. No, it didn't use a 412 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: battery at all, because all you're doing is pressing a 413 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:32,479 Speaker 1: button which caused a tiny aluminum bar to vibrate at 414 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: a very high frequency and ultra high frequency. Uh, and 415 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 1: the receiver, once it quote unquote heard that frequency would 416 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:47,720 Speaker 1: react the appropriate way. UM. So example examples would include 417 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 1: power volume, that kind of thing sort of the sort 418 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: of similar to, um, what the the the current remote 419 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: controls do? Um? This meant that if you were a 420 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: fidgety child who happened to have a who happened to 421 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: have a popular toy that was around in the seventies. Um, 422 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: you could accidentally affect the behavior of your television. Would 423 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: you like to reveal the name of said toy? Oh? 424 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,120 Speaker 1: Uh well, actually for me, it was a different toy 425 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,959 Speaker 1: than it was for you. What was the toy for you? 426 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: For me? Remember those? Uh? Well, they still make them, 427 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: the the magnet kits that have all the little metal 428 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: pieces and you can basically sort of shape the magnet. 429 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: You could. There are two magnets, and then you can 430 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: pick up the little metal pieces and make them into 431 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: a little arc, kind of make little animals out of them. 432 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: Every once in a while, I'd be playing with that 433 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 1: thing in my grandmother's house and she had one of 434 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: these TVs with the Zenith Space Command TV remote, and 435 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: uh when the pieces would all fall, you know, it 436 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: would I would basically make something that that had no 437 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,679 Speaker 1: structural integrity and it would fall in on itself as 438 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: soon as it made a certain noise, the change the 439 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: channel would change on the TV. And I don't know 440 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: what those are called, so I don't have a name. 441 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: So the little the little metal piece of little metal 442 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: pieces would vibrate at the right frequency, and the television 443 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,880 Speaker 1: would think, oh, I need to change the channel or 444 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: or adjust their volume or whatever. Apparently, a neighbor's dog 445 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: who came by every once in a while to their 446 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,920 Speaker 1: dog tags would rat would jingle at the right frequency 447 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 1: and change the channel on it. For me, Um, I 448 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 1: will tell you it was the slinky slinky it walks 449 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: downstairs and right. The slinky convinced me that I had 450 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: the powers of a television god because I wouldn't even 451 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: have the remote in my hands, and yet I could 452 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 1: affect the channel and the volume, not in any predictable way. 453 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: So clearly I had a long way to go. But 454 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: I was a kid. I figured, you know, I'd grow 455 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: into my godly powers and eventually use them for good 456 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: and fighting crime in various television related escapades. Um, As 457 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: it turns out, No, it was just that when I 458 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: was moving the slinky back and forth, that was occasionally 459 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: iterating just the right ultra high frequency to uh to 460 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: affect the television. Crazy stuff. Oh and I also had 461 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: another toy later on in life that does relate back 462 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: to laser tag. Yeah, I can't let this go either. 463 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: So in the late eighties there was a series of 464 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:23,439 Speaker 1: toys and then a cartoon that was truly terrible called 465 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 1: Brave Star. Go to YouTube search for Brave Star. Yep, 466 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: it's actually it's technically three rs because there's one after 467 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:36,119 Speaker 1: the B. But yes, b R A V S T 468 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: A R R and it's all one word. Brave Star 469 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: was a space cowboy. Some people called him Marie and 470 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: he uh he had a he had a horse that 471 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: would turn into an nthropomorphic horse. But the toys that 472 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: came out had these little laser tag type backpacks and 473 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:57,399 Speaker 1: you could put one on the bad guy one the 474 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: good guy, and you can actually have a little shooting 475 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 1: fights between the two, and the little backpacks would register 476 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: shots and and and hits, which I thought was pretty 477 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 1: darn cool because I was lame. And if you try 478 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: and watch one of these cartoons on YouTube, first of all, 479 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, and second of all, um, you know I 480 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: have no I had no taste as a kid. It's 481 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: only marginally gotten better as an adult. Ouch. All right, Well, 482 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: that that pretty much wraps up this discussion on laser 483 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: tag and remote controls. I would say we actually wrapped 484 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,400 Speaker 1: that up a few minutes ago we kind of did. 485 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but but no, it was it was good 486 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: to go back to the space command thing because I 487 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,919 Speaker 1: always did think that was fascinating, and you know, I 488 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,639 Speaker 1: had no idea as a kid. How how much of 489 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,640 Speaker 1: it's easy to find if you're interested in in that remote. 490 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: There are tons and tons of photos of them, of 491 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: varieties of them. They had them out for years, as 492 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,679 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, for many many years. So it 493 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 1: was pretty much the first considered as far as I 494 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:59,679 Speaker 1: can tell, the first remote UH made only had like 495 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 1: four button song it. Yeah, the the remote that we 496 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: had before that one was me Yeah, yeah, that's the 497 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: one that we had for a long time until we 498 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: got our first cable box. Go and change the channel, son, 499 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,920 Speaker 1: turning the knob, trying to get that was my father, 500 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 1: the widely published author and scholar of American literature. Clearly 501 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: he talks just like that. Now that we've wrapped that up, 502 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: let's go on quickly to our second round of listener mail. 503 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: This listener mail comes from our friend Ben Ivy, and 504 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: Ben Ivy is what we call a super fan. He's 505 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: also a big fan of stuff you should know as 506 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: well as other uh how stuff Works podcasts and blogs, 507 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: and Ben sent us something that was really cool. Let 508 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: me read the email. We can't let stuff. You should 509 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: know his Facebook page be the only one with fan art. 510 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: So here's a little something for your consideration. It's nothing new. 511 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: Perhaps in the future I'll incorporate your pictures into something. 512 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: The big fan of all the house stuff Works podcast. 513 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: Please keep up the great work, Ben. So, what Ben 514 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: has done is he has created his own fan logo 515 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: for tech stuff and you can actually view this on 516 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,200 Speaker 1: our Facebook page. We've uploaded it into an album for 517 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: or fan art and it's pretty cool, very retro, kind 518 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: of has a Transformers vibe to it. Uh, the old 519 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: animated series, not the new new movies. But so, if 520 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: you guys have any fan art you want to send in, 521 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:24,840 Speaker 1: you want to try your hand at something like that, 522 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: you send it over, we might upload it up to 523 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: the fan page and and have it up there on 524 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: our our Facebook page. Yeah, pretty cool stuff. We look 525 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: forward to seeing more of that. If you have any 526 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: fan art you'd like to send, or comments, questions, more 527 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: topics incident to our email address, which is tech stuff 528 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. Chris and I will 529 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: talk to you again really soon. If you're a tech 530 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,800 Speaker 1: stuff fan, be sure to check us out on Twitter 531 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 1: Text Stuff hs WSR handle, and you can also find 532 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: us on Facebook at Facebook dot com tech Stuff h 533 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 1: s W. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 534 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: visit how stuff Works dot com and be sure to 535 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: check out the new tech stuff blog now on the 536 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: House Stuff Works homepage, brought to you by the reinvented 537 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you