So I had one of my more electrically aligned friends make something up for me. It is a FET based solenoid actuator, that will hold the solenoid on for a preset amount of time and then turn it off for a preset amount of time based on some pots on the board. It is also set up so that it will either (with the flip of a onboard jumper) either perform one actuation cycle per on/off toggle of a transmitter switch or it will keep doing the solenoid cycle so long as the transmitter switch is on. It was set up this way to try to not waste gas, as well as provide a rate of fire limit. now I need to go get some solenoids to use it on so basically, you first set the "on" time for the solenoid required to fire your cannon. (currently the code allows for 50ms to 5 seconds) Then you set the wait time, which is how long between shots you have to wait before firing again. (currently the code allows for 100ms to 10 seconds) then you pick whether you will fire continuously while the button is depressed, with the specified wait time between each shot, or will only fire once and will wait for a button cycle prior to firing. I will see if it works ok, it probably won't be anything he would be interested in building for people, but if it works well enough, we probably could create a DIY parts/ preprogramed chip kit..
I've mentioned before someplace that it would be nice to have an electronic timer circuit to open and close the solenoids for two reasons; using only as much gas as needed to fire a cannon, and a delay until the next shot for clubs that have rate of fire limitations. I would buy one.
Here you go: http://www.google.com/search?q=solenoid&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a I particularly recommend the Wikipedia entry.
In general terms, a solenoid is an electric actuator. In this forum, it's generally slang for a solenoid valve, which is an electrically-operated valve, typically used to fire guns. While that's not technically correct usage, that's what it means around here. JM
