Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question for Steradian? Check here first!

General

Is Laser Tag safe?
Absolutely. The worst chance of getting hurt when playing Laser Tag is by tripping and falling.

Why is Steradian Technologies known for outdoor equipment?
We offer equipment that fits your needs for outdoor laser tag. Steradian Technologies is the outdoor laser tag company. Our SunPlay technology allows for excellent range and consistent results, far beyond anything else on the market. Our SunScore technology gives you full digital transmissions, with variable damage per shot, remote healing, add clips, resurrect, instant kill, reset, and more. Guns can only be turned on and off by the field marshal to prevent cheating. Our SunBand is easy to fit to any size head, letting you set up a player in mere seconds.

Are there franchise fees involved or any such annual payments and if so how does it work and what is the cost?
No. We simply sell you the equipment, which you then own. There are places like LaserBlitz which offer franchises to help provide you with sample business plans and field management techniques. But that is entirely your option.

Do all toy guns need to have orange muzzle tips?
Federal regulations require that all look-alike firearms sold or transported in the United States be marked with blaze orange at the end of the barrel (see CFR 15 sec 1150 for details).

Do you sell just circuit boards?
We only sell our circuitry to OEM manufacturers, those who are set up to manufacture laser tag equipment commercially.

Is your equipment waterproof?
Like all electronics, our gear does not like water, but will generally survive encounters with water.

What about repairs?
Repairs - we do suggest having a couple guns on hand to use in an emergency.  Most gun repairs tend to be just resetting the configurations, which can be accomplished through our technical support.  Every once in a while we'll have a gun that needs to be shipped back for repair.  We can also send repair parts to you...many options that make viable solutions. 

What is in your future development?
We have many projects in the queue.  We intend to bring a full computer system for game setup and stat tracking to market by the end of the year.  We are also looking at a couple of new gun styles and are researching new features such as the possibilities for RF communication for real-time stats or area effects, like grenades.

How big does the play area need to be, to make for good play?
This totally depends on the type of game you want to play.  You can have a good game on an area as small as a backyard with some barriers.  This leads to a very fast-paced, tactical type of game very similar to paint ball's "speedball" and is a fairly good simulation of close-quarters combat.  A couple of our customers operate mobile businesses this way; with just a trailer full of foldable barriers, they can setup a game virtually anywhere.  You can see a good picture at http://www.crossfirelasertag.com (click on the Safety link on the left for the best picture). On the other hand, if you want to have a more strategic game that's more of a military simulation you'll want more area with more natural barriers.  In this case you'll probably want around ten to twenty acres of land to give the teams plenty of area the maneuver in.  You may need more if the area is very open (not very many trees or brush to hide behind).  The goal is to have the teams start out of sight of each other so they can setup their strategy freely at the start of the game, and give them an opportunity to maneuver with some degree of safety (as long as they're careful) throughout the game.

The important thing is that the field provide enough cover to allow the players to maneuver around with some degree of safety.  The smaller the field is the more cover it requires.  Most of the fields we play on are wooded plots of land and we haven't really felt the need for any artificial structures because the woods provide sufficient cover.  On a large field, some basic bunkers to represent bases at either end of the field can add to the game by giving teams visible objectives and making parts of the field more defensible.  On smaller fields, lots of small barriers tend to work better.

Game Management

How do your products prevent cheating?
The sensor and gun electronics are fully integrated with each other.  When the sensor dies after taking the last hit, the gun becomes disabled and cannot fire.  Also, the SunBand's sensors light up solid and bright, showing the person is dead.  In addition, the gun cannot hit it's own sensor. 

What is the "anti cheat power switch"?
The power switch is a 1/8" plug, doubling as a charger jack.  When there is a dummy plug or charger plugged in, the gun is off. When you remove the plug, the gun and sensor turns on.  This is robust, safe and secure. 

What prevents players pressing the buttons on guns to change configuration, add a life or get more ammo etc?
A gun can be configured by a Game Controller at any time. However, configuring a gun by hand can only be done at gun power-on. Since only the referees have the power keys, a player can only use a gun as it's handed out. Shoot, change clips, adjust display brightness, etc. He cannot cheat in any way, shape or form. If the player unplugs the SunBand in an attempt to stop taking hits, the gun locks and cries out a loud warning beep, until the SunBand is plugged back in. The gun will start working again, and the player has now given away his position. (It is not possible for this connector to fall of by itself, thumbscrews hold it in place.)

If you set the hit points to 10 for example and the player takes 10 hits, does the gun turn off until a "referee" reinitializes it?
Yes.  Any of our guns can be reset again by the game master or referee. 
 

Technical

How close does the aim have to be to record a hit?
At distance, the spread of the beam is a few feet. Anything smaller, and players find it frustrating.

If anti-self-hit mechanism is active, can I in the moment of shooting receive the shoot from another player? Will it be not identified as self hit?
Yes, you can be hit while shooting even with our self-hit mechanism.

How long does a charge last in a gun? How long does it take to charge the guns?
Because of the lithium-ion battery we use, the charge will last all day (20+ hours). As a routine, just plug it in at night, like you would your cell phone, then it's ready for use the next day. Some companies have built shelves that hold a row of guns and have the plug-ins for the charger right there.  Keeps the guns safe and is a good reminder to plug in each at the end of the day. It takes about three hours to give a gun a full charge if it's totally empty.  That charge will last twenty hours of constant run time.  We use Lithium-Ion battery technology to give the most battery life and fastest recharge time for the least amount of weight in the gun.

What wavelength of IR do you use?
Our guns fire 950nm IR, which is pretty standard.  The sensors can receive anything in the 850-1000nm range, but peak around 940nm

Is there a hit sensor on the gun?
The Eclipse 260 and 405 models and the LaserHopper have hit sensors built into the guns in addition to the SunBand. 

What frequency is used?
We use a 56kHz carrier for all of our signaling.  That carrier can then either be modulated at 1.8kHz for WoW compatibility, or encoded with digital data using our SunScore protocol.  The receiver can receive either type of signal at any time.

Do you have compatibility with other systems? WoW?
Yes, we will receive all WoW hits and guns can be configured at game time to transmit a WoW signal instead of our digital SunScore signal if you want.

I read that there is a lens system; does this need to be aligned, cleaned, etc?
No, the lens is fixed focus and sealed.  The lens is also recessed in about one inch of tube so it's almost impossible for it to get scratched.  You may need to occasionally wipe off the exterior if it gets dirty, but that's it.

Since the beam spreads as it goes, does it get easier to hit targets at distance?
While the beam does spread, its power also drops over distance, so the percentage of the beam that can actually score a hit reduces.  The end result is that you do have to aim more accurately to hit targets that are farther away.

How easily and quickly can the guns be reconfigured?
If you use our Game Controller unit, you can save up to four different configurations and setup a gun to one of those configurations in under a second.  Setting up a new configuration on the Game Controller takes about 30 seconds.  Without the Game Controller, you can still reconfigure the guns using a built-in menu system, which can take about 15-45 seconds per gun depending on how many settings you want to change.

Is there a computer system that allows you to give players a post game 'analysis'? How is the download accomplished?
Yes, our Scenario Master software provides full individual scoring for each player. Data is downloaded from the guns at the end of the game over a wireless IR link.

What are all the features that can be configured/manipulated on the guns?
You can set any of the following on each gun, either using menus on the gun itself, using our Game Controller handheld unit, or using the Scenario Master software package:
• Rate of Fire: 0.1 seconds per shot (600rpm) to 9.9 seconds per shot
• Burst Size: 1 (semi-auto) to 9 shots per trigger pull, or full auto
• Clip Size: 1 to 99 rounds per clip, or unlimited
• Number of Clips: 1 to 9 starting clips, or unlimited
• Shot Power: 1 to 30 points of damage per shot
• Hits Allowed: 1 to 99
• Game Mode: Friendly fire allowed/disallowed
• Team ID: Up to four teams
• Player ID: Up to 30 players per team

You can also set a game timer on each gun which will kill the gun after a specified amount of time.

Do you have physical feedback in the gun?
When hit, lights on the SunBand modules flash and a sound effect plays on the gun. The S-7 Tactical Edition has a feedback to provide physical feedback when firing.

What are the construction materials?
We use a variety of materials to maximize durability and usability.  Our lens assemblies are machined aluminum.  Our gun bodies use both aluminum and plastic materials. Our SunBands are made of cloth, elastic, and plastic for the modules and small electronics box in back.  Each of our models is drop-tested several times from seven feet onto concrete to ensure it does not take any damage.

Will the guns work indoors?
Every gun comes with a lens reducer which lowers the power of the gun to a suitable level for indoor use. The one thing you need to pay attention to for any indoor system is lighting. Some compact fluorescent lamps and large dimmable florescent lamps cause interference with electro-optical devices. Standard fluorescent work fine, as do high-pressure sodium and other standard indoor lighting systems.