[BC Pneumatics]

sounds pretty cool, but if you ask me....it's way more in depth than it needs to be. I like the "spudder of the month" idea though

I just noticed this post, and after what has unfolded, I think it is pretty funny that SThorne started off talking about pat's system being 'too complex' for our humble little forum

[STHORNE]

lol, yeah....but now that i understand it I'm totally into it.

lol, blooper!

[jrrdw]

This thread has also been high jacked. Remember it started out being about a "rep system", not badges. Unless you want to consider them cusens.

[Ragnarok]

150KJ, 300KJ, 500KJ, etc. Shot (320KJ is ~ .5kg@Mach1)

150 Kilojoules? I hope not. Even the heaviest of .50" BMG rounds is only around 20 KJ.

I really hope you mean Joules, or DYI is going to destroy the planet trying to get even the first badge.

The idea sounds neat enough, although programming all this will be a mother of a task, and I don't envy the person who tries to take it up.

Perhaps experimentation should start with a regular rep system - but I can see how the badge system would really spark some really cool ideas in people's minds.

[STHORNE]

anyway... here are the badges

[PCGUY]

Instead of a badge system I would call this more of an achievement system where you earn badges, since I really don't think we need to start issuing special badges for just building a type of cannon. I much rather have badges be issued for doing something hard vs having everyone get issued badges for simple things.

A rep system however is still planned and I still plan on doing it. This achievement system could possibly be added along side of it however.

[BC Pneumatics]

Oh, such embarrassment!
I wasn't throwing out numbers, I actually pulled up the calculator and plugged in numbers that I thought would be worthy of recognition, such as a .250-.75 kilo projectile at M1 (The upper end of which is incredibly impressive.)
So, the problem? When I plugged my numbers into the common KE=.5MV^2 formula, I used 1200 for the speed of sound, instead of 350! Thats right, I used Imperial units in a Metric equation and paid the price.

The values I meant to give were around 15-40KJ.
Of course, this is still high, but as I said before, we have to keep these badges something impressive, or they will loose all meaning, and will not drive innovation.
I know that people have made 8+KJ with their cannons (water filled TBs at M1+) and I think 15KJ is a reasonable goal.

I would amend my post to correct the mistake, but then people would get to Ragnarok's post and think he was a crack-pot, when really he is just doing some good lookin' out

[STHORNE]

Instead of a badge system I would call this more of an achievement system where you earn badges, since I really don't think we need to start issuing special badges for just building a type of cannon. I much rather have badges be issued for doing something hard vs having everyone get issued badges for simple things.

A rep system however is still planned and I still plan on doing it. This achievement system could possibly be added along side of it however.

badges for position (admin, mod, donating mem, badge mod)?

[daberno123]

I like the rep system idea, its seems that people with a little amount of posts aren't taken very seriously.

The badge idea is cool, and I agree with PCGUY for isssuing them for doing something hard instead of for simple things. That way you wouldn't get the same badge for building a spray and pray and an advanced combustion.

[Ragnarok]

I would amend my post to correct the mistake, but then people would get to Ragnarok's post and think he was a crack-pot, when really he is just doing some good lookin' out

Meh, I'm a crackpot anyway:
Definition: An eccentric person, especially one with bizarre ideas.
That's me to a T.

15 KJ is still beyond any current spud cannon.

The other problem that comes to mind is that it's hard to confirm energies. Velocity is one thing - a chrono picture will do. With energy, you need a weight, and a speed, and the knowledge that both refer to the same projectile.

[daberno123]

Velocity is one thing - a chrono picture will do

The only thing is, not everyone has a chrono either. Luckily I do, and I encourage others to get one, its a good investment. Those who don't will probably get mad if they don't get a badge just because they don't have a chrono.

[Ragnarok]

The only thing is, not everyone has a chrono either.

I know, which is a bit of a pity, but you can't hand out awards on the basis of a GGDT output - even if the inputs are probably nearly exact.

I probably need a better chrono, mine isn't very sophisticated, just a jumble of wires and parts I threw together.
However, it's results should still be good enough.

[DYI]

I'm pretty sure that FEAR should be capable of the 15KJ, and so should spudfarm's hybrid and the 20x hybrid that I'm building.

I like the idea of an achievement system. Some impressive things might get built because of it.

[Ragnarok]

I'm pretty sure that FEAR should be capable of the 15KJ, and so should spudfarm's hybrid and the 20x hybrid that I'm building.

Arghh, I knew I should have put "almost" into that sentence of mine.

FEAR can make it, you are quite right - it escaped my memory. However, with not too much to spare, IIRC.

[BC Pneumatics]

Rag- the reason I picked something like 15KJ is for the exact reason you stated- practically no current cannon can do it. The idea is to drive innovation, not reward people for repeating the past.

You are right, these records would not be something that would be easy to prove. In fact, some of us are working behind the scenes, bouncing submission and proof ideas off of each other trying to solve the problem.

Luckily a lot of the people that would be going after these badges are the types that do in fact have chronys.

Energy is not all that tough. All you must do is make a video of a projectile on a scale being loaded into a cannon, and then fired through a chony. Even for velocity shots it would not be a bad idea to get a video, since who knows what was shot through the chrony before the picture was taken.

Also, anyone attending future Vegas IPLA Meets will be able to prove their cannons, as all the necessary equipment will be available. (Hopefully the same is/could be made true for other Meets.)