Call me crazy, but I have an idea about electronics and bows.

[John Lipinski]

Being interested in electronics, and having some knowledge of working with them, I was inspired for this idea by reading the Hunger Games (good read for those of us that are in high school, or if you guys have kids in school).

Here's the gist of it:

I'm thinking of attaching a sensor that measures flex to the limbs of a bow (probably a recurve) to measure what position the bow is in during the draw. When it's at mid-draw, it will activate a small vibration motor in the riser, and will stay on until I reach correct full draw. Sort of like a clicker, but only quieter and more direct. I was thinking initially to activate it when I was at full draw, but soon realized that would not help shooting, having a riser that's shaking when I'm taking a shot. Anyway, this is going to take a while to develop, but the question that I have now is this:

If I wanted to create a cavity in the riser to put the electronics/battery in (2 sq. inches maximum needed), where would be the best location for them? Can I laminate the riser without using heat (because I don't want to heat-stress the electronic components)?

I'm going to have to think this one over... It's going to be a while before progress is made on this, but hopefully I can have a prototype working without being mounted in a riser by the end of summer.

[CaptainJ]

Interesting idea.

I've never used a clicker or anything like that. A consistent anchor point is sufficient for me. I'm kinda simple that way. There also seems to something incongruous about laser sights on a self bow if you know what I mean.

But I do like technology and new ideas.
I actually made an arrow crester out of a Lego Mindstorms kit.
 Lego Crester Page  

Would a sensor in the grip be easier and more effective? A pressure sensor would be able to trigger a signal at any draw weight so you could buzz at 45# and stop at #55 or whatever.

Let us know what you come up with. Should be interesting.

CJ

[Bradford]

I like it!  Hope you can get it to work.  Just be careful of adding to much weight to the limb.. maybe can hide a very small sensor in a limb saver???

Sounds like you would need to put the motor in the palm section of the riser.. that is the only spot that will have a 2" square.. most of my risers end up being 1 3/4" wide around the grip area.. smaller sometimes.. maybe make a larger pad area up top and bottom to make it work.. just add it in the design??

Hope to see how this works.. I am all for adding the future to the past!  Been coming up with some of my own ideas for that type of thing.. try to get the next generation into this cool sport of ours.

[John Lipinski]

I've never used a clicker either, so this is mostly for the cool factor of it all. A pressure sensor would also be a good thing to look into, thanks for the idea CJ. Clever idea with the crester, too. The only concern with the sensor in the grip is that different people hold it in different ways, so it would have to be tuned for different users. Still, it sounds easier.

Bradford, that's great that it's in the palm section of the riser! the space doesn't have to be all concentrated in one spot--it can be a thin cylinder if it needs to be, but having the motor in the palm section would give the best buzz.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Your crazy John

[John Scifres]

You are indeed crazy.  But I like it.  Sort of like "Magic Fingers" (google it) for your bow.

[NJWoodsman]

Use a "warf" bow (an old compound riser converted to recurve). You could fit a small PCB or components in the bottom limb pocket.

Another alternative is use a stabilizer fitting, and stuff your components inside a 1" tube, or for that matter, a small project box.

I think the real problem is the sensor, and the vibration motor will just be a nuisance. How about a fiberoptic photoeye mounted on the top of the riser, looking at an angle down to a retro-reflector spot on the lower limb? Limb bends, trips the photoeye, sound a buzzer.

Probably more reliable, if you're using wood or carbon arrows, is a proximity switch that would trip when it senses the field point.

Crazy idea, but I'm an EE so I'm used to that...

[razorsharptokill]

Maybe a laser, mirror, and light sensor that reflects only when the belly of the limb is bent to a predetermined full draw position?